Anna's 3rd Birthday

I really cannot believe that my baby is already 3! She is the funniest, cutest little (and I mean that literally) thing! She was the first to tell everyone that she is an April Fool's baby! We had her party on the Saturday before Easter at the Fun Factory (like a Pump It Up). I really didn't want to do it there (yes, my fear of germs was tested), but she loves bouncy houses so much that I just bit the bullet. Her Aunt Molli was the first one to take her down a bouncy slide at the ripe old age of 1 and she's loved them ever since! She (and her little friends) had so much fun and with it being mostly little ones they didn't have to worry about the "big" kids being too rough or hurting them. I think they went down the big slide 1 thousand times!



A few things about Anna at the age of 3:



-thinks she is as big as Mary Mac

-tries just about anything MeMac (what she calls Mary Mac) does

-loves to be girly, but also likes to dress like her sister (who is anything but girly)

-weighs only about 23 lbs on a good day

-height 3"

-is very mischievous but knows how to "play" everyone

-loves candy (suckers mostly) but is not a big fan of "real" food unless it's Daddy or Pop's steak (expensive taste already)

-is taking ballet (her first recital is coming up - pictures to come) and swimming lessons (not crazy about the water yet)

-loves PEOPLE! She would rather hang out with the adults than play

-has the sweetest little voice, but her "baby talk" is starting to fade and I am very sad - she is quick to correct me now if I try and get her to say some of her sayings in her baby talk

-oh and how could I leave this off? She talks non-stop! Literally! She was so late in saying her first words, but she is making up for it now! Sometimes we have to ask her for just 3 minutes of silence just to clear your head!

-loves her Sophie girl - getting that puppy has made a world of difference in our child that was terrified of anything of the non-human kind!

-she and Mary Mac have nicknamed each other and have continued to call each other by their nicknames for months now - I think it may stick! Anna is Strawberry Shortcake and MM is Lemon Meringue and they will tell anyone that if you just ask them what their name is!

-finally and most importantly, she had her cardiology checkup last month and she is doing amazingly FANTASTIC! He officially diagnosed her defect as mild and does not want to see her back for 2 years!!! Woohoo!

All her friends

Blowing out the candles

The cake - it was not only so cute, but very YUMMY!

Mary Mac sliding

The Birthday Girl

Sam's Actual Birth-Day

Birthday Dinner

Giving Daddy a Big Birthday Bear Hug - you don't think these are Daddy's Girls, do you?


The Cupcakes we made for Daddy - no I am not very crafty!



The girls insisted that Sam's cupcake needed a race car on it since that was his birthday present so this was my attempt at drawing a race car with icing - hehehe!

Birthdays and Makeovers

Anna's room BEFORE

Anna's Room AFTER

I found a precious hot pink chandelier thing that will be over the chair in the corner.MM's Room AFTER

Last week was a very busy and fun week for us. It all started on Sunday when we got to attend and celebrate our neice's baptism at their church in Fayette. I can't believe how old she is and so grown up. I remember her 1st birthday which was not long after Sam and I started dating. She is so good with our girls and it is so nice to be able to let her "watch" them both (mostly Anna) when we are all together. She always lets me know that she is going to babysit for us! It won't be long before she really can babysit, FOR REAL! That night, Anna started running a fever. She had had a runny nose and all week so I was not really surprised. Long story short, after being up all night trying to get her fever to break and listening to her cough (or bark - yep, croup!) and MM waking up with fever on Tuesday with fever, I took them to be tested for the flu. Thank goodness it was negative. Both girls ran fever off and on all week. I finally let them go back to school Friday - mainly so that I could get ready for MM's birthday party.

On Thursday, we scheduled to have Anna's new "big girl" furniture delivered. We have been prepping her for this day for a while because she really liked her baby bed and REALLY still loves to be rocked at night before being put down (she calls it Rock-Rock). We really built it up that she was getting her new princess bed and she was the first to tell anyone and everyone about her new "pwincess" bed that Daddy was building (or so she thought). I had spent the whole week before painting her room to get it ready for the furniture and it turned out perfect! I included a picture of MM's room too because I couldn't remember if I ever posted the completed room.

Saturday was the MM's big Horsey Gymnastics party. Yes, I was not sure how to incorporate horses into a gymnastics party, but we had the decorations, cake, etc. with horses. It was just what she dreamed of (that's what she said). We had a huge turnout for the party. We invited both 4 year old classes at her school and then a few extra friends that don't go to school with her. A total of 29 kids showed up and ran around having a ball at the gym.

Saturday night (after opening presents, napping, and watching the Bama game, we had planned a surprise birthday party for Sam's dad's 60th birthday. We had it at the lake house and it ended up not really being much of a surprise, especially after PawPaw called him to ask what time they were supposed to be there for the party -OOPPS! All of Sam's siblings and children and spouses were all able to come as well as several friends and extended family. He is not much of "party" kind of person, but he told us later that night that this was the best birthday ever!

This week has been a little more low key, but we may go to a Pumpkin Patch in MS this weekend so I will be sure to post pictures if we make it.

Horse Shows and Parties

And the excitement continues with the birthday celebrations! We are having Anna's official party Saturday night at our house. It is just family though. Shouls I feel guilty that I'm not having a big party like we did for MMC's 2nd birthday? I just really did not feel like planning anything big and she doesn't know the difference - YET! MMC keeps asking when Anna's "BIG" party is going to be. I just don't have the heart to tell her that it's just a family cook-out. We were going to have it at Sam's parents lake house and enjoy the boat, the weather, the company. Unfortunately, Sam's grandmother was in the hospital all this week and is now in a rehab facility until she can get back on her feet to go home so we decided we would take a little stress off of his mom's plate and not make her feel like she HAD to host the party. It will be great anyway and Aunt Kate (or "Pancake" as the girls call her) is making Anna's cake. She has been taking cake decorating classes and we are all anxious to taste her creations! Judging by the taste of one of her first cakes, this one will be fabulous - she's a little more practice since then!

On another note. . . MMC has her first horse show this weekend. I just pray that she doesn't flip out with all of the people watching her and that she actually gets Jimmy to trot over all the poles like he's supposed to do! We will be taking an "extra" ribbon in our pockets, just in case (if you get my drift). This is a big 2 day show with people coming from all over to compete and MMC is getting so excited she can hardly sleep at night thinking about it! Today, I will be busy running all over town collecting the "stuff" and getting it all ready to compete:
1) show jacket
2) white show blouse
3) ribbons for her hair
4) Show Sheen - to make Jimmy look "pretty" (he is a boy, you know)
5) clean her boots (it has been really muddy here lately)
6) jodphur pants (i.e. riding pants)
7) boot straps
8) clean her saddle and put her nameplate on it
9) clean her saddle pad
10) polish her pin for her shirt
11) punch holes in her belt so it fits
12) wash Jimmy, comb his mane
13) make sure her new show helmet fits
14) write check after check after check!

Whew! Well, as you can see, I've got a lot to do before 8 in the morning AND none of this includes anything that I need to do to get ready for Anna's party. That's a whole separate list in itself! HELP!!!! I don't know how you all do this with more than 2 kids! I hope I remember everything and get it all done! Stay tuned . . . I'll post pictures/videos or whatever I can get from the show! Wish us luck! I have a feeling this is only the beginning!

Blogger Issues and Birthdays!

I've been trying to upload the video of me and Mary Mac taking a horse back riding lesson, but I'm having issues. As soon as I can get it to work, I will post it. Meanwhile, I'd like to wish Sam, the most wonderful husband and dad a very Happy Birthday! His birthday was Wednesday and we have been celebrating since last weekend when we baked a big cookie cake for him. He got his birthday present on Tuesday because Mary Mac couldn't wait - I actually really surprised him for the first time EVER! It was a pair of boots that he has been wanting forever and would not buy for himself. We also had a little family cookout on his birthday and had a wonderful time! The weather has been awesome here so we have taken full advantage of it and played outside every afternoon and night. Literally, from the time we either come home or after Anna naps, we have been outside playing, coming in only long enough to eat dinner, and then out again until bath time. I love this time of year (aside from the pollen) because it is warm but not smoldering hot! Poor Mary Mac is paying for it though - her allergies are going crazy! She even told me yesterday morning that she needed to do a "fish face" which is our term for a breathing treatment (the mask looks like a fish) because her breath was stuck! Bless her little heart - at only 4 she already knows when she needs a breathing treatment! Can you tell we've been doing this for while? She has never been so happy to have a breathing treatment!