Lainey is 3!

(Okay, so I wrote this post on Lainey's actual birthday buuuut I'm just getting around to posting it.  OOPS!)

I've heard it said about life with kids that the days are long but the years are short.  I couldn't agree more with that statement today as we celebrated Lainey's 3rd birthday.  That steamy weathered, long, long summer day I spent 3 years ago in a hospital room seems like just yesterday.  Never would I have imagined what life would look like being the mom of a 3 year old girl - a sensitive, bright, intuitive, early rising, princess loving, soft hearted girl.

We started out the birthday celebrating the weekend before with some family time.  My parents came down with my niece Claire.  Unfortunately, my nephew Will was sick so he and Emily had to stay back :(

Lainey's birthday dinner choice was Hickory Park.  No complaints here!

Birthday treat #1...

And #2.  I tried my hand for the first time at homemade buttercream.  Um, yes.  Never buying a can of frosting again!

 

Excitement abounds.  It was as delicious as it looked!

Lainey's 3rd birthday also marks the 1 year of anniversary of us living in our new house, which seems CRAAAZY to me because it still feels new.  Though, the scuff marks and hand prints on the flat painted walls remind me otherwise...  Since last year, we couldn't really offer her the celebration we would have liked, we hoped to make up for it a bit this year.  

Our little early bird was up with the sun.  How can you sleep when you know it's your birthday?!

We let her enjoy opening some birthday presents right away.

Princess helmets are pretty cool when you're 3.

You can see in her right hand is a roll of bubble gum.  She had been asking for months to try gum and we said we'd let her try when she turned 3.  Yeah, don't do that.  She swallowed it.  A few times.

7:00 AM scooter ride!  She scored this sweet scooter from her Ma and Papa over the weekend.  The helmet really completes this ensemble I'd say.  Safety first!

Jed took the day off and we decided we'd take a family day to the Iowa State Fair!  We headed to the Capitol complex to park and ride because when you're 3 and 1.5, the bus ride to the fair is almost as exciting as the fair itself.

(They look so big in this picture, I can't even handle it.)

We hit all of the great kid spots - Animal Learning Center, Little Hands on the Farm, etc.

 Then, Wyatt had had enough.  Passed out with cotton candy in hand.

 We took the birthday girl for an ice cream treat while Wy snoozed in the stroller.

But even the sugar rush couldn't keep her awake.

Then Wyatt woke up!

I'm proud to say we actually lasted over 6 hours at the fair.  My expectation was 3, maybe 4 so I was excited.  It was nice that the kids napped at different times so that we could do and see more and we gave each kiddo a special experience and treat (Wyatt got a fair square but I didn't get a pic :).  The pregnant lady got a treat too... mmm... cheese curds. :)

We rounded out the birthday with some bike practice.  The helmet gave her some crazy new confidence and she's a pro now!

Like I said, last year Lainey's birthday was overshadowed a bit with the move.  I don't remember exactly how the conversation flowed but Lainey pretty much decided on and planned a birthday party all on her own.  I don't even remember if I offered to throw her a birthday party to be honest, but she had the idea and we went with it!

Her requests were "just girls" and she wanted to "paint nails" ... easy enough!

So with a little help from pinterest, we kicked the boys out of the house and went with a spa theme!

A little craft to make some fancy flip flops!

The nail station complete with a foot bath!

Lainey has some of the cutest little gal pals!  The girls all had a really fun time and it was so cute to watch them play together - many of these little ladies have siblings and several of them have brothers so it was extra fun to have just mommies and girls I think!  I can't wait to try to recreate this picture in 5 or 10 years!

All in all, we had a fabulous time celebrating our sweet girl.  Birthdays are so fun to me.  It was especially fun that she had a greater awareness of the fact that it was HER day and we were celebrating her.  She was incredibly thankful for each gift she received and has been so excited to enjoy them too.  Blessed to be her mom and excited to see what the Lord has in store for her life this next year!