Three Years Old

Yesterday was Daphne's 3rd birthday!!! It's so hard to believe that my first baby, my tiny 5 1/2 lb little peanut, is now 3 years old. I remember her birth like yesterday. And her constant puking as a baby. And her first smile and laugh. I remember her first word "Acat" at only 6 months old, and then at a year, how she could already say over 50 words. But how she was so late on all her physical milestones like sitting up, rolling over, crawling, and walking. Oh, and her teeth that didn't show up until she was 16 months old! I remember Daphne swaddled up like a papoose until she was over a year old; she couldn't sleep unless she was tightly swaddled. I remember how Daphne loved people. She would go to anyone (except me). She would hold her arms out to strangers at the store and smile, and they would melt. I remember her being able to sit in front of a full length movie w/o moving a muscle at only age 14 months. And she's never looked back on that one. It's crazy to think how she's grown. And how now she's this busy little 3 year old--talking up a storm, eating next to nothing, very sure of what she wants and does't want, in love with her daddy, in love with her binkies, in love with Dora and Diego, in love with paints and markers, in love with anything and everything animal. She is daring and bright and sweet and loving and fun. She's my little 3 year old Daphne!

On Saturday we did a Luau birthday party for Daphne. It was a blast. I thought everything went surprisingly smoothly considering that there were 8 three year olds in one room. Below are some pics...

There were balloons and fish and leis (and a crabby little brother)...

And goody bags...

And more balloons, and a palm tree wall decoration...

And a delicious STORE BOUGHT cake. I'm really a snob for homemade baked goods, but I was not about to take on a cake of this magnitude on my own. Fortunately, Albertsons's cake is actually really good. Cute, too, don't you think?


And the guests...

BRYNN

OLIVIA AND TIBURON (One of them looks more excited about the party than the other)

GRAEME

SUSANNAH

LILLIE (AND A MOUTHFUL OF DAPHNE'S HALF-CHEWED GOLDFISH CRACKERS)

KETERA (DISGUISED AS A GIRAFFE)

AND KEIRA (DISGUISED AS A COW)


Which brings me to the games we played...

Animal Charades, above

Limbo


Fishing Pond (with little prizes on the "hook")


And the pièce de résistance, the piñata. Keira definitely gets first prize for the best whacks at the pinata. That little tiny girl wound up for the hit like a major league baseball player and let fly on that poor clown fish. It was awesome!


As you can see, the kids were a little unsure of what to do when the piñata finally broke open.

But .08 seconds later, they realized there was candy on the floor, and no one had to tell them what to do!


Then there was the opening of the presents.


This should have gone off without a hitch, but Daphne got obsessed with a piece of Tootsie Roll in her teeth for a good minute and a half.

Finally, though, the little princess had opened all her wonderful presents.


And it was time for the cake, yeah!!!




All in all, I'd say it was a great party. I wasn't sure if 3 was old enough for a party, but I think everyone had fun. Thank you to all the friends that came, all the moms that stayed to chat and help, and for the books and gifts you gave to Daphne. Happy Birthday, Little Girl!