strawberry shortcake birthday

THREE YEARS OLD!!!!!!

AAHHH!!!!

I keep hearing the three's are much much worse {please no one comment saying this is true, I can not handle the anxiety}.  We had a few bumps {aka Everest size mountains} in the tantrum and sleep departments of the two year old phase but are saying cheers to new round of problems ;)  The terrible three's.

To kick off this terrible three phase why not throw a great big party!!

Strawberry Shortcake Party here we come!

Berry Bitty Café is the restaurant that Strawberry Shortcake works at.  We named our food station just that.  We had Chicken Salad Sandwiches, heart shaped PB&J, Fruit Salad, Chips, Blueberry Muffins and strawberry applesauce. 

{For a great chicken salad sandwich, click here. Rave reviews from the party! I used rotisserie chicken, threw out the onion and green peppers and added grapes instead.}

And then did a "Make Your Own Cupcake" area {hello, sprinkles are still being found in my house!}

 

 

This is how Madison parties!  {Sleeping the first half of her own birthday celebration}

 

 

Waking up just in time to open a few presents! {Wow, such amazing friends and family!}

 

Clothes, laptops, window crayons, legos, books, crafts, stickers, finger paint, engineering toys, Little Mermaids, etc.  The list was amazing.  She is having a blast with each one.  Each day I bring out a new one so that she can enjoy it a bit more than having this mound of new toys.

 

The swarm of unwrapping presents... Wow is all I can say!



Lets sugar these kids up!!

 

 

And then a party favor filled with strawberry shortcake candy, strawberry fruit snacks, play doh, slime  and a mini arcade pin ball game.

 

Huge success!  With such a range of children I was so surprised at how well everyone played.  I prepared myself for some tumbles and some fighting but there was none!  Great kids to have surrounding our little cupcake ;)

where does time go

I hate to be cliché but the truth is I feel like I was just holding my first born in my arms wondering what her voice was going to sound like or overwhelmed by how I was going to be her mother.

Time goes by quick.  I can not believe my little girl is 3 now.

A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm.  ~Bill Vaughan

I try to remember this when I feel the need to buy a new toy because I am excited about the pretty pink princess doll she is loving on in the middle of Target.  The minute or sometimes even the second we walk out the door she is already wanting something new. 

Parenting a three year old is not buying new things or having the best of anything. For Madison, it is about creating fun new memories we talk about at night or meeting new friends at the park.  Those are memories she enjoys.  She loves playing hide and seek or rolling down the front lawn hill, while the pile of toys sit in her room.  Now, do not get me wrong, she loves toys too.  The difference is she rarely remembers them after that day {Until Carson is walking around with the new toy and she thinks her world is crumbling apart}.

Children make your life important. ~Erma Bombeck

My life was important before children but now I feel like I truly have more purpose.  I am responsible for these little munchkins.  Ben and I are forming them into responsible, loving, forgiving, kind people.  Everyday. Every Moment.  Every Decision.  Every Action.  We are the role models they look to.  My purpose is their being.

 A characteristic of the normal child is he doesn't act that way very often. ~Author Unknown

Oh how this rings true for our family.  Ben and I discuss on a routine basis, "Why is she so whiny" or "He is just fussy" or "What happened to our kids!?!"

Normal is just that,  the whiny, fussing, "something has to be wrong" child.  When a perfect day comes along we look at each other like "wow, that was an awesome day."  Normal is the abnormal day.  Life is about that unpredictability of the children.  You just really never know which one you are going to get.

Through our 3 years as parents we have discovered a true happiness in our marriage and in our family.  Never could we have imagined life being THIS good.  I mean the amazing, perfect, joyful, loving life.  We had it good before kids and now... it is overwhelmingly great!

We are apt to forget that children watch examples better than they listen to preaching.

Roy L. Smith

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_parenting.html#wsvOvTF9JOFpLDwr.99

We are apt to forget that children watch examples better than they listen to preaching.

Roy L. Smith

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_parenting.html#wsvOvTF9JOFpLDwr.99

We are apt to forget that children watch examples better than they listen to preaching.

Roy L. Smith

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_parenting.html#wsvOvTF9JOFpLDwr.99

big girl beds

When Madison was 17 months old we transferred her to a toddler bed.  I felt completely comfortable that she was ready for that transition, although the underlying reason was that I needed the crib for Carson.  The pediatrician recommended a solid 3 months in between each child sleeping in the crib so there would be no "Why is he stealing my bed" drama. 

17 months old
 



This is how she slept often :)

Now looking at my 17 month old son I can NOT imagine putting him in a toddler bed.  I do believe the whole girls are quicker and on some occasion more mature at this young age has been true in our home.  Carson would be climbing and throwing and torturing every object in his room.  I seriously would never want to even attempt it!  That plus so many more differences are noted on almost a daily basis between boys and girls. 

The white blanket and the blue puppy blanket are his favorites

He still sucks his thumb to fall asleep.  My sweet boy.  I love him so much.

madison {isms}

"What are you doing Madison?"

"I just breathing air" {as she sits on the toilet}


Happy Birthday to a beautiful little lady :)

Pout Face

great post!

I could not have said this any better.  Being parents of toddlers is hard, like I will do anything for a small moment of peace hard.  As I type I have one kid hanging at on my leg, crying to be picked up allowing him to bang as hard as he can on the keyboard and the other yelling "I want to watch a movie."  Life in a nutshell. 

Check out this amazing perspective:

Things I Said My Children Would Never Do

snow, snow, snow