Now She Is Three! :) {Morning Edition}

If life would only slow down for a little while, I might have a chance at getting caught up--both in life and in blogging!  But no, special events as well as ordinary-but-wonderful days keep coming (imagine that!), one right after the other, forcing me to pick and choose what I focus on.

Well, tonight is her night.  :)

Moriah celebrated her third birthday last Thursday; and every time I have a child who turns three, I'm reminded what a HUGE birthday that is!   When a child turns two, he or she is probably vaguely mindful that something is special about that day and that the special thing has to do with himself or herself; but by three, children know that this is A BIG DEAL and are able to anticipate the event for days and weeks, as well as look back on the event and verbalize what they remember about it.  When a child turns three, he or she is aware!

Quite a long time ago, I had spotted this dress in a thrift store; and when I peeked inside to find the label, I discovered that it was handmade.  I snatched it up and brought it home, saving it for when my own little daughter turned three and could wear it.  About a week before Moriah's birthday, I got it out of the closet and hung it up in her room so she could see it and look forward to wearing it on her big day.  As if she needed any more anticipation!!  ;-)

Because I wanted Moriah's dress to stay clean all day so she could wear it for her birthday supper, I helped her put on her apron before we started our big project of the morning: making her cake--a strawberry one, like she had been requesting for weeks.  While I was getting things ready to begin, Moriah was doing one of her favorite things when I cook with her: reaching into the spice cabinet, grabbing the plastic bottles, and unscrewing the lid so she could smell what is inside.  :)

After we got the spices put back in their cabinet, our first step for the cake was mashing some fresh strawberries (or "straw-bay-bys," as Moriah calls them, although sometimes she adds extra syllables and calls them "straw-bay-bay-bay-bay-bys").  :)

These matching aprons were a sweet gift from Gail, a guest in our home back in February of 2014; and I think of her every time I wear mine.  :)

Moriah was quite happy to help me make the cake, and I was happy to do it with her.  I even neglected my regular homeschool activities that morning, just so I could take my time making the cake with her--because as you know, cooking with the "help" of a three-year-old is guaranteed to add extra time to the process!  ;-)

The kitchen helper always gets to lick the spoon, and Moriah was delighted to do so.  :)

I thought she was adorable and just couldn't get enough of the sight of her, busy at work.  :)

The boys and I got a good chuckle when we saw the April 9 page in our page-a-day Mary Engelbreit calendar (which I love!).  How appropriate that on Moriah's birthday, a queen bee would be pictured, because yes, our little girl does like to try to run the show sometimes!  ;-)

Moriah certainly takes after her big brothers in their love of climbing and jumping and other "risky" behaviors.

This is the kind of stuff that makes Jeff's hair turn gray.  ;-)

"I'm flying!"  :)

Ready to do it again?  Yes!!  :)

The boys had emptied all the dirty clothes out of our laundry chute and were having fun climbing up into it.  

Little Miss couldn't let the boys have all the fun, now could she?  ;-)

In case you can't tell from the pictures, this birthday morning with Moriah was pure joy.  I relaxed and focused on what was most important, the boys enjoyed the time off from school and played happily, and our love for Moriah caused us to delight in her and to relish each bit of her anticipation and excitement that her birthday was finally here.  It was the perfect birthday morning.

After lunch and a nap, the celebration continued, but that will have to wait for the Evening Edition birthday blog post!!  :)