We celebrated Annabella's THIRD birthday last week. This year she really understood how much fun she was going to get to have on her birthday, so it was extra fun watching the anticipation build as her big day arrived. Well, it was more like a big week. :)
On her actual birthday mom took the kids and me to lunch at the Mexican restaurant, per Annabella's request. They LOVE going to "Mexicans". The staff sang to her and let her wear this crazy sombrero, which she pretty much hated! But she loved the dessert and talked about it all day.
After spending the day with mom and decorating birthday cookies, I cooked a special dinner and we had dinner and gifts with daddy. Then we played outside until well past her bedtime. She had such a great day. It was so sweet seeing her soak up every bit of extra attention.
Since her birthday fell on a Thursday and Jonathan had to work, we planned a special Saturday outing for just the five of us. We woke them up and got on the road early to surprise them with a trip to the ZOO! Annabella and Noah have never been and Madelynn has only been once when she was really young. We enjoyed it so much. The kids behaved perfectly and the crowd was not overwhelming. The girls have really been into The Lion King lately, so it was really cute watching them see all of the animals in person that they watch in the movie.
On Sunday we had her birthday party. The location was a surprise to her, but as soon as we pulled into the Kroger parking lot, she put two and two together. She screamed "Night Owl!!" as loud as she could when she realized that's where we had planned her party. We did a Luau theme and had the whole party room to ourselves. She had so much fun playing with the other kids and visiting with her family. The party was excellent, sugar filled fun!
I did a mini photo shoot with her on the morning of her birthday. She has changed so much this past year. She's so, so smart, funny, LOUD, and silly. She and Madelynn are the best of friends AND enemies. ;) She and Noah have recently started playing together too and it's so sweet watching their bond grow. In fact, while we were getting ready on the morning of her birthday Noah walked right up to her and wrapped his chubby little arms around her and gave her the biggest sweetest hug. She usually doesn't let him touch her, but she hugged him back and they exchange "lovies" for a good 10 minutes. He was also giving her high-fives. It was like he knew it was her birthday.
I am so incredibly blessed to be her mommy. She is an amazingly special little girl and I can't imagine my life without her. Now that she's three, she's officially not a baby anymore. While I miss her being a baby, I love watching her grow and gain her independence and learn who she is. I love being able to have conversations with her and experience how she sees the world.
Happy birthday, Bella Boo. Mommy loves you.
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