mini me turns 3

wow. i have a three year old! that was a fast three years, but worth it in every way. she is the light of our life and the reason we exist. she is brave, fabulous, smart, courageous, loveable, hilarious, strong, imperfect, capable, graceful, and enough. she is loved more than words can say.

this year's birthday theme - because i'm all about the birthdays...and the themes...and the decorations...and really, let's be real, the pictures - this year's theme was vintage woodsy tea party since she loves tea parties, picnics, and birdhouses. i got it in my head to do a ton of DIY decor for the party this year {shame on you pinterest!}. i thought it'd save money while on maternity leave but i think i actually ended up spending more because i am the type of person who can never just pick a couple things to do, but want it all. and i'm a last minute person so to pull it all off i'm pretty sure it was about 4:30am on saturday morning when i went to bed....or i should say when liam woke up for a feeding and i had to stop and then fell asleep in the recliner with him until 8:30 when the decorating continued. lack of sleep is nothing a giant pot of coffee can't fix.

lexi was stoked and the party was a success! now onto the details and picture goodness:

a big thanks to my dad who always has the hookup on the best and freshest cheese. i have told him that every time he comes to my house he should pretty much just assume he should bring some cheese to get access into the door. wish i still had some gouda left {which was my main request}, i could sure go for some right now!

earlier in the week we ran errands for the party and spent some time browsing the toy aisles and riding bikes. i tried to distract her down another aisle as dad snuck the bike out to the car. it was safe to say she was not a happy little girl when we told her she couldn't have it and had to leave. while opening gifts, my husband managed to sneak the bike upstairs and down the hall out of sight until the last gift. as murphy's law would have it he got a phone call in the middle of gift opening and for some reason lexi ended up at that exact moment running across the room to where she had sight down the hall. i really don't even remember why she did that but all of a sudden i heard her squeal "MY BIKE!!!" so much for making her close her eyes to surprise her {she is on this massive "close your eyes, now open them, surprise!" kick so we were going to do it to her too but it didn't work}. at least she loved it and had to ride it around immediately.

this was right at the time when he started losing some of his hair as most babies do around a month old. my poor little man looked like a tiny old bald man for awhile. i called him my little benjamin button. luckily it's grown back in now. mommy is relieved because it was the first thing i noticed after he was delivered at birth and the first thing i fell in love with.

this is my good friend Melissa. she owns Bee in the Moment Photography {you should go check her out and like her page...tell her i sent you ;) }. we love her to pieces. xoxo

hugs,
em