Emma's 3!

Our sweet Emma is now 3! In the last year, she's grown so much, but stayed very loving and cuddly. She's talking more now using full sentences, but she's still a pretty quiet girl. Sometimes she surprises me with the things she has to say. She has gotten much braver and is more willing to try new things. She can be very cautious, but other times she's gung ho about climbing, running and wrestling right along with the other kids. She loves to go outside and play with the older kids; climbing on the outdoor chairs, throwing balls, trying to pet the chickens (though they do scare her sometimes, still), riding scooters and bicycles, and making up stories and games. She hates the thought of being left behind and will freak out of she thinks someone's going somewhere without her. One big challenge we have with her is that she tends to revert back to the moaning and whining instead of using her words to communicate what she wants. We're hoping that reminding her to use her words will prevent that, but so far it's looking like 3 might be more trying than 2 was for us. 

 Mama got her a very cute outfit for this chilly winter birthday.

 As a gift, we took her to a free, introductory class at the little gym (hey, free is still a gift!) and she absolutely loved it! She jumped right in to explore. She let the teacher do things with her, like jumps, tumbles, bear-crawling on the bars, hanging and swinging on a bar, throwing ball through a hoop and ringing bells. She participated very well in the interactive songs where she had to stomp her feet, clap her hands, do a wheelbarrow and turn in circles. We're really thinking hard about signing her up for a class this spring. We think she'd really benefit physically from the activity.

 When she got home she found a "Winter Wonderland" in the dining room. The other kids and I decorated while she was out at class with Mama. 

 Olivia made her a crown and we dubbed her the "Birthday Queen"

The other kids made her this beautiful banner.

God luck trying to find winter themed balloons after the new year... apparently that's when winter ends, too. She was still very excited about her Olaf balloon, tho. :)

 We drew a winter scene on the windows and Olivia made the beautiful snowflakes.

 The inspiration for the winter theme actually came from these cupcakes from A Sweet Success Bakery (via Harris Teeter) that Emma went crazy over. She saw them, pointed, and screamed "SNOWMAN!" and "PENGUIN!", so we decided that would be a fun January birthday theme.

The Queen got first pick of cupcakes...

 and was not pleased with the wait. "Just one picture, baby!"

 Once the candles were lit, we got a smile.

She blew out 2 on her first try. She got the third candle on the second try. That other thing on the plate is an Ice Cream Snowball with silver and pearl sprinkles.

 The cupcakes were very good, but none of them could finish them. Irene certainly gave it a good try.

Yes, honey, even Birthday Queens have to use the potty. I tried to engage her in conversation to pass her time there and get her to tell me about her class at the Little Gym. She told me a couple of things and then denied some other things that Rebecca said she did. I asked, "Are you telling me tales?" and she pointed to her bottom and replied, "I don't have any tails, Daddy." She cracks me up. Happy Birthday, Little Love.