The next week, Anna’s actual birthday was on Monday. To celebrate, we went to the zoo (Anna’s absolute favorite place to go) with my friend Amy and her daughters Brynn and Nora. Brynn and Anna have really bonded over the past year or so over playdates and are just two peas in a pod and so fun to watch. We had a great morning at the zoo. We came home and rested up to head out to Happy Joe’s for dinner to celebrate Anna’s and her cousin Izzy’s birthday as well. They girls enjoyed playing games, eating pizza, and their birthday sundaes before opening a few gifts and heading home. (On a side note, we had to head to S&L in Pulaski after as we had purchased a new vehicle over the weekend and had to take care of a few things. The engine in Bob’s jeep blew out on the highway the week before. We freaked out for about a day and then remembered we were going to have a buy a new vehicle sooner than later anyway so it probably isn’t too big of a deal. We ended up purchasing a 2013 Ford Explorer Limited and I absolutely LOVE it! It’s a lot bigger than the Murano – I just love that it has a third seat - we certainly felt like we needed some more room, especially when we went on vacations. We were so excited we are able to snag this one up so quickly over the weekend!)
Then, the following weekend we had a “Minnie mouse” birthday party for Anna with some of her friends and our friends at the house. We had such an awesome day. The weather was absolutely perfect and the kids played…and played…and played. The party started around noon and our lasts guests left around 8:00 – a very successful party in my book . We are so lucky to be surrounded with some awesome friends and love that Anna has some pretty great kiddos to play with as well.
Every parent says it and I have said it many times before, but I absolutely cannot comprehend that Anna is 3 years old already! I give her a lot of credit, her world has changed A LOT in the past year. When I think of all she has done from starting preschool/daycare, transitioning to a big girl bed, giving up a pacifier, becoming an AWESOME big sister, and potty training, surgery on her thumb, we could not be prouder of our crazy, on the go, little girl!
At three years old Anna –
Is still a good sleeper. The transition from crib to big girl bed went great with really no issues. Her bedtime is typically 8:00 pm, but certainly goes to bed closer to 9:00 this summer it seems. She also is starting to show signs of dropping her afternoon nap. Some days she still takes it, other days she does fine without it. I love that when she wakes up in the morning she comes and crawls into our bed. You never know which stuffed animals or how many blankets are going to make the journey with her across the house. Always fun to see what she brings in every morning.
Is potty trained during the day. When she does nap, I would say she wakes up with a dry diaper 50% of the time or so. We could not be more excited or proud of how well she did with potty training. One day it seemed to click and she hasn’t had an accident in weeks. WAY TO GO ANNAS!!!
Her loves – being outside, going to the park, bubbles, chalk, glitter, coloring with markers, stamps, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Doc Mc Stuffins, princesses, dress up, playing with her cousins and friends, waking up baby sister, playing games on the ipad, juice, cottage cheese, yogurt sticks, mac and cheese, any fruit especially watermelon, strawberries and grapes, mushrooms (favorite meal is beef stroganoff – I am always impressed with how much she eats when I make that meal), going to the grocery store, and the zoo.
Is extremely independent…no exaggeration there, she loves to do everything and anything BY HERSELF…from dressing herself, putting shoes on, brushing her teeth, buckling herself in, etc.
Is so very helpful. She talks a lot…like all the time. And it really is funny some of the random statements that come out of her mouth. And often follows each statement with, “Right?” The other days she told me, “Umbrellas keep people safe and healthy, right?” Not sure where she gets it from…
Is loving, helpful, happy, sweet, busy, smart, kind, gentle, silly, wild, and playful every single waking moment of each day. Love this little girl to pieces!!!
