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!

Tulip Time 2014

Mid April I asked Jed if he would, once again, take the first Friday in May off so we could take a family day trip to Pella for Tulip Time!  Last year, we got snow in central Iowa during Tulip Time so we didn't make it.  The forecast for the festivities this year was a little iffy but ended up being great.

First thing we did was pick up a couple plates of poffertjes.  Mmmmm.

Then we met up with some of my family and found a fabulous spot to enjoy the afternoon parade!

Mom packed tons o' snacks to keep everyone happy all day long.

Here's Lainey waving to my Aunt Barb, cousin Lauren and cousin's wife Jenny during the baby parade.

After the parade, we had some time to kill before we met up with friends from our Bible study who would join us later on.  We walked around town a bit and then headed over to Central's campus.  I've mentioned a few times recently some things about "friends from college..."  For example she knows that HER friends' Trigg's and Izzy's mommies are my "friends from college."  She has even been pretending and talking about going to college.  This is hilarious because she has no concept of what that means, but anyway...

We walked around campus a little and snapped this photo.

Once our friends' arrived we pretty much just paraded the kids around and made them sit for pictures in a million different places.

The TULIPS!  That is after all, what it's all about.  There were many beautiful blooms to enjoy though I bet there are tons more THIS weekend after a few warm days this week.

Our most important goal of the day was to recreate this photo that we took 2 years ago.

Looking at this picture, I just CANNOT believe how quickly 2 years passes.  I remember that day 2 years ago like it was yesterday.  I love sharing life with our community group and raising our kids together.

The boys first Klompen pic!

These two thoroughly enjoyed Tulip Time!

Proud to say that my kids lasted a whopping 8.5 hours at Tulip Time and we stayed through almost the entire evening parade too.  I thought ahead and packed their PJs and changed them when we got to the car.  Wyatt fell asleep on the walk back to the car and slept through his entire outfit and diaper change and Lainey was definitely asleep before we left town.

Love Pella, Love Tulip Time, Love family days!

Pumpkin Patch Part 2

We have really taken full advantage of all kinds of fall activities this year and loved every minute.  Saturday we headed out to the Winterset/St. Charles area and went to The Pumpkin Ranch!  (Thank you Groupon)  It was a bit on the chilly and windy side but we bundled up and made the best of it.

I loved this sign that said "How Tall This Fall?"  Will be fun to try and get back there next year to compare!

Wyatt's height is deceptive with that huge hat on his head.

I love this guy.  He was a trooper hanging out in the stroller most of the time we were there.

Lainey and Jed headed down the BIG slide!  

Jump jump!

It's funny how a toddler has such a small and short attention span.  She literally did each activity for a couple minutes then saw something else she wanted to go see or do.

Lainey and Jed stood in line to ride a horse so Wyatt and I did some exploring.

He could swing for hours!

Brr... I look cold.  Yeah, it was cold.

In the end, Lainey did not ride a horse.  She was so excited... She introduced herself to the lady helping, and even let her hold her but then when it came time to hop on, she got really scared.  I can't blame her... horses are large creatures!  She's still talking about the horsie named Domino though so I bet next time she'll definitely do it.

Wyatt... ready to go.  Lainey, too busy with her popcorn.

We took 4 pumpkins home - a big one, a medium sized one and 2 munchkin pumpkins for my munchkins.  We picked up some acrylic paints so the kids could paint their little punkins.

Listening intently to directions I'm sure....

This was as short lived as it looks... Wyatt cannot be trusted with crafts.

Lainey on the other hand loved it.  She took her time and took careful attention to each detail and stroke of the paint brush.

The Pumpkin Ranch is open one more weekend in October.  I'd definitely recommend it.  The drive out there is beautiful and they have lots to offer for the whole family.