Three.

How it's even possible that it's time for me to sit down and write this post is beyond me. I can't believe my firstborn is already three. It's been the hardest birthday for me because I see every little bit of baby slipping away and being quickly replaced by little girl. I love the little girl that she's becoming, but I surely miss the sweet baby stage. Logan is such a joy to be around and I know I say it a lot, but I feel so blessed that God chose us to parent her. She is such a blessing to our lives and it's hard to remember a time when she wasn't around.

At three years old Logan:

- Is wearing size 3T clothing.

- Is wearing a size 7T shoe comfortably, but we've started buying size 8 to prolong the usage of her shoes (she shot up from a 5 to a 7 in literally 3 weeks).

- Has a pretty head of blonde hair. That won't grow. Seriously, I feel like it'll be stuck at shoulder length forever! I even got it trimmed up because I'd been told it helps it grow back more even and more quickly. Not the case for us.

- Is sleeping in a twin bed!

- Is night trained. Took one wet bed and we haven't had one since!

- Still naps 2-2 1/2 hours a day. She is SUCH a great napper, goes right down and sleeps really well. We thought about cutting her nap a couple of times but she's a b-e-a-r when she doesn't nap and then has a really, really hard time falling asleep at night. So, we're going to hang onto it for dear life!

- Her days normally start between 7:00-7:30, she eats breakfast at 8, plays with little brother until 9 and then has mommy all to herself until 11. This is usually when we do some kind of structured preschool activity. We eat lunch at 12, she naps from 1-3ish, then we play until dinner and she's in bed around 7.

- She is not a picky eater. Though, she does favor the phrase, "but I don't like that, mommy" when she's told what we're having for dinner. She has to be reminded that it's not a kind phrase and that she has to try whatever is put in front of her. And usually she'll devour it. The only food I can't seem to get her to enjoy is spaghetti sauce...I think the acidity in the sauce doesn't sit right in her mouth as she always complains it makes her mouth hurt.

- Her favorite foods are: mac and cheese, peas, french fries, whole grain french toast, bananas and strawberries.

- Her favorite toy is her baby Lucy. She carries her everywhere! I often get quizzical looks from people when they see her walking around with Lucy until they realize that Lucy is a doll and I'm not, in fact, allowing my three year old to carry my infant around by the arm. :) She's such a sweet little mommy and wants her dressed in normal clothing in the morning and pj's at night. She has woken in the middle of the night to find Lucy in play clothes and will wake me to change her.

- Her favorite book is her Disney Princess bedtime story book. We read from it most nights along with her Bible. Her favorite Bible story is the story of Jesus' birth and she can pretty much recite the entire thing from memory.

- Her favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast. She'd watch it on repeat if I let her. She also really loves the Princess and the Popstar (it's a Veggie Tales movie) and Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue.

- Her favorite TV show (of the moment) is Micky Mouse Clubhouse. She also really enjoys Super Why.

- She is very, very girly. Hates to be dirty. Hates stains. Loves dressing up and wearing jewelry. Loves getting her nails done and always asks for "pink" on her cheeks (blush).

- Is a fantastic big sister. She has yet to get aggressive with Brody. She's usually gentle and loving and only really gets upset when he's taken something she really loves and put it in his mouth. And it's usually not even because he's taken it, just because he's "sauced" (slobbered) on it. She loves to play with him and teach him how to do things. She holds his hand in the car so he's not scared, wants to be the first face he sees when he gets up from his nap, looks for him as soon as she wakes up and just really enjoys him.

- Loves playing with friends! This year I've really seen her go from playing along side of other children to playing WITH other children. What a fun transition! It's nice to see her care for her friends and want to have them over to play. The fighting over toys that she only uses when they come over gets a little old........but we're working on it. :)

- Her favorite restaurant is Chick-fil-a. She loves their new grilled nuggets but I think she really thinks we're paying for the ketchup and getting the nuggets as a condiment.

- Her favorite color is pink. Any shade.

- She loves ballet. She's always asking how many more days until her next class. She goes to bed quickly on Wednesday evenings because she just can't wait to wake up and get ready to go!

- She loves to help out around the house. She has pretty much taken over sorting all of our laundry and putting it into the washer. She needs help getting up to turn the washer or the dryer on, but she knows how to do both. She helps clear the table after meals, she makes her bed every morning, picks up toys to help me out and likes to take a dust rag to our dust bunnies.

- Her love language is words of encouragement/affirmation. She is so sweet about letting me know how beautiful rooms look after they're cleaned. I love to hear, "Oh, mommy! It looks d-eautiful in here!" Makes my heart happy. She also really loves to be affirmed. She gets a very accomplished look and seems incredibly satisfied when you've told her how well she's done or that you're proud of her.

- Has an ever expanding vocabulary that shocks people. She likes to use big words after she's heard them and about 80% of the time uses them correctly. The other day she said something and I looked at her quizzically and she responded, "I know you're amazed by me." Oh goodness.

- Can read some sight words-- "Logan" "Brody" and "Mommy" she has down really well. She recognizes "baby" and "Jesus" some, too.

- Can count to 30, you have to get her past 13 because she gets stuck and starts saying "thirteen, eleventeen, eleventeen, eleventeen" until you give her 14.

- Has an infectiously sweet laugh that has everyone smiling.

- Has a great sense of humor and loves to hear people laugh because of something she's done.

- Has a crazy temper! It flares up quite a bit. We're learning about controlling emotions and how our responses and reactions show people the condition of our hearts and it seems to be getting through to her.

- Has a sweet, sweet heart and hates it when she's done something to hurt someone. She'll apologize like there's no tomorrow and tear up if she knows she's hurt you (emotionally or physically). I'm so proud to be her momma!

Another year gone by just means another 365 wonderful days I got to spend with this sweet little girl. It's such a blessing to be home loving on her and teaching her how to love people the way Jesus does every single day. We love her so much and are excited to watch her continue to grow and develop. I just keep hoping time will slow down a little. Happy 3rd birthday, Logan!

Party!

The people:

We chose to have the party at the Tumble Gym because we don't have enough room in our apt., because we never know what the weather is going to be like on her birthday (her 1st birthday brought a snowstorm and her third brought high 60's), and because we just needed a fun place that we could go and leave the mess. It was fantastic!

The kids got an hour of free/structured play time in the gym.

Even Brody had a great time. He was all. over. the. place.

(yes, his shirt does say "princess protection agency" little brother definitely got in on the princess theme in a manly way)

We had so many good friends come to the party. We've been so blessed to have so many people who love our children so much!

Mike definitely was not having as much fun as I was with the planning process, but had so much fun at the actual party. Jumping on the big trampoline and running around with the kids. Such a great dad.

Brody was so excited about his sister's birthday!

All the kids: (love that B looks like he's following suit and lifting his hands, too)

Sweet, sweet birthday girl.

Silly faces!

Blowing out her candle:

And this is NOT a good picture, but it was the only one of the four of us that we got at the party, so here it is.

Logan really, really enjoyed her cupcakes.

It was so much fun to see Logan have so much fun with all of her friends, it made every minute of planning details so worth it.

The details:

Logan told me months ago that she wanted a Disney Princess birthday party. It was my task to come up with a party that wasn't a complete advertisement for Disney. I wanted something young, cute and not too commercial. So, when I found the graphics on this invitation, I knew I had to run with it!

We found the invitations here.

It was nice not to have to decorate an entire house for the party, but I also wanted to make sure that the theme was clear and that we got to have some fun with decorations. Here's our little spread:

My wonderful neighbor has a Cricut and so I went over there last night and cut out these fun fairy tale letters that went so perfectly with our theme. She also had the Cricut sketch out the two framed pictures that say "once upon a time" and "happily ever after" that sat on the table.

I love cupcakes! I love that they're small. I love that they're individual. I love that you don't need utensils to eat them. I love that you don't have to cut them up. They're basically perfect.

And I couldn't help but add a couple fun touches to the water bottles and the apple juice bottles!

All of the kiddos got to take home a princess (or toy story) cup and a wand (or a glow in the dark sword).

We got a small round cake to put Logan's candle on and added a little tiara to the top for a little bit of sparkle:

And as a parting gift, everyone went home with a big chocolate lollipop as a thank you from the birthday princess.

We had so, so, so much fun! This is such an exciting age and it was so fun to watch the magic in Logan's eyes as she took in all of the details. Can't wait for more parties! Ok, I can wait. I'm exhausted. But it was fun, none the less!

Gigi

Last weekend, Gigi Sue and Grandpa Bob came for a quick visit! Logan had fun showing them all of her things and reading to them.

Brody enjoyed that Logan was distracted enough to leave his McQueen alone so he could get some time on it!

Updates

I figured it was probably a good time to post some pictures and a few little updates. I've been busy working on a big birthday project for Logan over the last several days (which I'll post about soon). All of my free (read: blogging) time is taken up with it's time consuming nature. It'll be worth it when she sees it, though!

So, Brody is really all boy and likes to get into things and get dirty and seems to enjoy getting hurt--I mean, not in the moment, but it doesn't stop him from trying to do the SAME things over and over and over. So, I've had to put gates up into the entryways of all the rooms/bathrooms (I have to pick one more up for the kitchen as that seems to be his new place of liking). The one that we put up in their room was originally put there to keep Logan in at bedtime but is working great to contain the little monster when I need to get things done!

We re-did our porch yesterday. I loved the play area I had set up out there and then our water heater exploded in October of last year, and with all the men stomping around with their workboots to fix it the play area got destroyed. I had to, sadly, throw away all of our foam mats that made it so comfortable to sit out there and play. We had a little extra $ for Logan's birthday so I picked up a new set. It doesn't cover the porch like the last one did so I'm hoping to put a little more away so we can get two more sets, but this works for now! It's been warm enough some afternoons to sit out and enjoy our afternoon snacks...

The really, really look like siblings to me here:

Not to mention how big he looks!

I love getting time away with each kid. Yesterday, our neighbor held on to Logan for me while I went to Target to look at birthday supplies and I got to take this sweet guy with me. (I also love my iphone and the fact that I can snap pictures of either kid in public and not look like the paparazzi)

This girl is not allowed to turn 3 next week. I already told her, but have to make sure she knows I'm joking or it makes her really distraught. She's got a cute crush on a little boy in her MOPS classroom, so, I've found that saying his name right before I snap pictures of her gets me a natural smile. :) I'm sure she'll love that trick one day.

Brody loves his new toys...must mostly just loves to put them in his mouth. I guess he's compensating for not having his pacifier during the day. :)

So, the post was a little more all over the place than I had intended, but it gives you a glimpse into our lives right now.

Logan Reads

Here are the actual words to the story:

"Look at all the people on the road to Bethlehem. They were on their way to be counted, and they were very unhappy. They were mad at the king and they frowned as they walked, they were angry with the king, and they grumbled as they walked.

But not everyone was unhappy. Do you see the happy couple on the road? If they were mad at the king, their faces didn't show it. Do you have any idea why they were so happy?

Mary soon was going to have a baby! God had told Mary and Joseph that their baby was the one promised long ago. He would rescue God's people, give God's place back to them, and bless all the peoples of the earth.

But in this crowded city, where would this special baby be born? In a nice, big home? No, not in a nice big home. In a clean hotel? No, not in a clean hotel. All the nice, big homes and clean hotels were filled up with people. Can you guess where this special baby would be born?

God's forever king was born in a stable, a place for animals. His parents named him Jesus. They wrapped him up warmly and laid him in a manger. What a strangle place for the Promised one! Who would have imagined it? While Caesar, the king of the Roman world, was showing everyone how great he was by counting all of his people, God the king of the universe was showing the world how great he was by sending his Son into the world as one of his people.

What a very big day! What God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David had arrived in the birth of Jesus! And news of his great arrival was about to spread!" --Taken from The Big Picture Story Bible (It's our very favorite kids Bible, highly, highly recommend it. We've gone through the whole thing several times and, as you can see, it sticks and she truly enjoys the stories.)

10 Months Old!

Brody is 10 months old!

This month Brody:

- Is 20lbs even! He's still looking like a peanut when compared to other babies his age and even some a little younger than he is.

- Is wearing 6-9 month clothes. Occasionally we slip him into something 9-12 months but those are still a little big for him.

- Is wearing a size 3 or 4 diaper when he's not in cloth. Though, he STILL fits his small cloth diapers if we're in a pinch and run out of the one size before wash is done.

- Cut his two top teeth.

- Learned how to sign "all done," "milk," and "please."

- Started eating more table foods. No more puree here! His favorites are: avocado, peas, broccoli, zucchini, lasagna, and cheese.

- We started weaning the paci this month. He only uses it for naps/bedtime and when he's with a sitter/in the nursery or if we'll be in the car for long periods of time. I wanted to start the weaning early so we're not traumatized later. He knows to "drop the paci" into the crib as soon as he gets up. He's got quite an arm and can throw it pretty hard!

- Started pulling up.

- Is showing more and more of an interest in all things boy. He loves to crawl around in the dirt outside and loves all of his new, masculine toys that he got for Christmas. He could spend hours revving up his Lighting McQueen and Mater and loves to bang around with his tool set.

I wish we could make time slow down just a tiny bit! I'm not ready to kiss the baby stage goodbye, yet. Though, I do love this part of it. The interaction and personality development is just so much fun for us. Mike loves this age because you get to come up with the "inner monologue" for the baby since you really have a grasp on their little personalities. We love him so much more every day that passes. He adds such a joy to our lives!

Catch Up!

When I looked at the last blog post I made and realized that it was my Christmas post, I cringed! I wish I could say we've just been so busy having fun that I haven't had time to post. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I got sick before Christmas, Brody came down with it Christmas day and ended up with pink eye and an ear infection, Logan showed symptoms a few days after and Mike held out until a couple of days ago but it finally got to him too.

Let me tell you mommas, having one child that is sick is hard...more than one sick kid is no joke. Especially if you're sick, too. I was keeping a running tally and from Christmas Eve until a couple of days ago (11 days) I got a total of about 8 hours of sleep. It. was. miserable. Since then I've been averaging a glorious 5 hours a night running back and forth between a coughing Logan and a teething Brody. I'm ready for some health in this family!

We've had one notable change since my last post, can you guess what it is??

Logan got a big girl bed! Long story short, we found some unwanted stuff on the bottom of her toddler mattress due to her allowing her nightly water cup to slowly leak. Instead of shelling out money for another mattress when we knew we'd be transitioning her in the next year to a twin, we bit the bullet and got her the bigger bed. We had to flip the room around to get it all to fit!

It's nice that it happened so close to her birthday because she got the bedding as a birthday gift! The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of our very favorite books so this bedding was, naturally, a perfect fit for us! AND it has a coordinating comforter for a boy so we've got that shelved away for when B gets big enough.

She loves it, can you tell? It's also given us a nice amount of space to play in the room, which is nice, because we spend a good portion of our time in there right now.

Can someone please tell her she's not allowed to turn three? I keep trying to but she doesn't believe me.

I'll do a big Brody update in a few days when he turns 10 months old, but right now he's loving that he can eat big people food! Yesterday we introduced him to graham crackers:

And, since I know there's really no stopping her from turning 3...

This is our countdown to Mimi and to Logan's birthday! Every day Logan wakes up and asks, "How many sleeps until Mimi?" So, we made a countdown tearpad. It's exciting.

And I'll leave you with this video...you know, in case anyone has any doubts as to whether we're ready for Beauty and the Beast 3D to come out in a few days: