Another 3rd Birthday Celebration

My family came over on Saturday evening to celebrate Lily's birthday. She has had a birthday celebation for the last 3 weekends so she may be confused next weekend when there is no party :) We just had dinner, dessert, and Lily opened her presents. Lily was excited about all her gifts......she got some art supplies, a puzzle book, a matching game, and a cool church purse with markers in it. She also got a basket and horn for her new bike; we had to tell her that the horn was only to be used outside and she has asked about a half a dozen times if she can go outside to use her bike horn. Here are some pictures.

Singing Happy Birthday

Another Pony cake, this time the pony is on a skateboard (Lily requested that)

Opening gifts

This picture was taken last week, it has nothing to do with the birthday party but I love it :)

For Vera

Happy 3rd Birthday Vera!

From your best friend, Lily

3 year check up

Lily reluctantly went in to get her 3 year check up today. She was very worried because she did not want the doctor to look in her mouth. She was also worried about shots but I told her that wouldn't be happening today. I was surprised how well she did because there were a lot of things that were new on this visit. She was asked to pee in a cup which was pretty funny to her. Then she was weighed and measured.......39 inches tall and 32 lbs. (They did not give me any percentiles this time.) The nurse attempted to give her an eye exam and she did well but her attention span was short and she was not able to finish the test but she didn't seem to have any concerns. When we finally saw the doctor, the first thing Lily said to her was, "I'm a little worried." The doctor soon put her at ease and she was able to get through the exam without any tears. We were told that Lily is a very sweet and very normal 3 year old.

Happy 3rd Birthday Lily!

Lily's birthday was full of fun this year. We started off the morning by going to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. It was our first visit and we had a wonderful time. Lily was not sure what to expect but once we got there she was excited about almost everything. She was very impressed with the kid-sized door they had leading into the museum.....she calls it the "big-girl door." She said her favorite part was the tree house. Sadie also had a great time. She loved running around after Lily and discovering new things. Sadie's favorite part was a covered bridge. The bubbles and mirrors were also a favorite. Here are some pictures from our morning.




In the afternoon, Matt and I hid Lily's gifts all over the house and she went on a scavenger hunt to find them. She loved the idea and had a great time finding each gift. The last gift she received was a big girl bike and helmet. We cleaned and rearranged our unfinished basement so she can start learning to ride during these winter months. She is having a hard time with pedaling because her tricycle did not have brakes and this bike does. It was so much fun to see her face as she opened each gift.....she really was so excited about each one.

We ended the night with cake, another pony cake, and singing Happy Birthday. Lily loved the cake because it was all vanilla and pink. Lily also enjoyed all the birthday phone calls she received today. I let her answer the phone when I thought the call was for her and she just loved every minute of it.

Happy Valentine's Day

Matt really came through for Valentine's day this year. He surprised me with 3 gift certificates for 30 minute massages and a night out for just the two of us last night. We went to Bil Mar in Grand Haven and then to a movie. It was a much needed night out for both of us. Matt also got a little something for the girls....fake fabric roses. He would have given them real flowers but he thought they would enjoy these more and they really loved them.

Say Cheese!

This is Sadie's new way to smile for the camera. She also says "Cheese" (her version which sounds more like eees) while she is doing it.

Lily's Birthday Party: Staal Family

Matt's family came over after church yesterday for pizza, presents, and cake. We made the pizza and it turned out tasting so good. Then we moved on to presents. Lily loved all her gifts but was a little overwhelmed by her cousins trying to help her. Lily requested a My Little Pony cake for this party and it was by far the hardest me to make. I'm not that great at drawing and it is much harder to do in frosting but Lily loved it and that is all that matters. Here are some pictures.

tearing into the gifts

loving her new toy

Reading her tinkerbell card from Grandma

Singing Happy Birthday

the cake

Outside

Saturday was such an unusually warm day so we headed outside for some much needed fresh air. We took a nice long walk and then shoveled a little at the end of the driveway. Lily helped with the shoveling but Sadie ran to the garage and pulled out her sled. I gave Sadie a sled ride and then Matt took her in. Lily was far from ready to go inside so we went to the backyard with our shovels and shoveled some of the snow off the deck for fun. Lily really took her job seriously and was hesitant to even take a break but once she did, she didn't want to go back to shoveling....I was quite relieved :)

We played peek-a-boo around the big tree in the yard, we broke sticks, we wrote in the snow, and we threw snowballs at the tree. Lily still didn't want to go in but she was pretty wet from the snow and getting a little cold so I was able to get her in. I took some great pictures of our time together........finally pictures of Lily where she is actually smiling and looking at the camera.

Stroller Racing and Diaper Box Rides

For a little change of pace and to get rid of a little pent up energy, we broke out the doll stollers and set up a "track" throughout the house. Matt and Lily went through and decided the path the track would take and then we just let the girls go.

Sadie needed a little more direction but she caught on pretty quickly. It was a good way to get Lily and Sadie playing together and both enjoying it.

Diaper boxes have become a permanent fixture in our house yet the girls, mostly Sadie, continue to be facinated by them. Sadie and Lily also love rides in laundry baskets so we changed things up a little bit and decided to give them rides in a diaper box. This was the highlight of the afternoon.