Happy Birthday Amalie!

Wow! It's hard to believe that my little Amalie is three years old. In some ways it feels like we have had her forever. It is amazing how just three years ago, this tiny newborn came into our lives and we had no clue how our hearts would expand with love for her and our lives would never be the same . . . they would be much much better. I had no idea how much joy she would bring into our lives. And now she is three and we have another sweet little one on the way.

It is interesting how quickly the second child grows up. I never even considered having a "friend party" for Noah at the age of three, but Amalie has been talking about her party ever since Noah had his birthday party (way back in January). Her guest list was quite long, since she LOVES people and considers everyone her friend, so we had to trim it a little.

She came in the bathroom this morning just as I was about to take a shower and I said "Happy Birthday Amalie, you're three!" and her face just absolutely lit up.

"I'm three?" she asked in utter delight.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

She was so thrilled that THE day was FINALLY here! Later in the day she asked me, "Am I still three?" It was darling.

We spent the morning in preparation for her party. I frosted the cake, and had bought candies for her to decorate it with. Originally I had thought about making a really cool cake for her, since we have been looking at cakes online for several months, but since she wanted a different cake every time, and combined with the fact that she loves to help me do Everything in the kitchen, I decided to get supplies so she could decorate her own cake.

She was thrilled to do so and decorated her cake ever so carefully- it was so cute! Noah exclaimed how awesome the cake was, which made Amalie feel so good. She couldn't wait to dig right in. Noah was stoked that he could blow up the balloons and kept interrupting so I could tie them shut. He was thrilled at this new accomplishment and I was thrilled I didn't have to blow up twenty-five balloons!


Brad had a great idea to set up his trashed tent in the living room and fill it with balloons. It was an absolute hit! The kids considered it their jump house and they had so much fun! It filled up 80% of my living room, but it was worth it to see the kids have so much fun.
Amalie's candy covered cake! She carefully placed M&M's and swedish fish. I had to help with the sprinkles a bit, because the container we had was prone to "dumping". She absolutely wanted blue frosting just like Noah had at his birthday.

Blowing out the candles.

Mmmm. Finger licking good! I tasted the cake and with all the candy and frosting, it was a little bit sickening, which is saying a lot since I have had a major sweet tooth lately, so I was glad the kids enjoyed it!

It was so cute that Amalie loved all her presents. I was pleased that Noah decided to get her a present- he had earlier said that he didn't want to spend any money on her since he is saving for a Lego set, so I was glad that he gave her these 3-D glasses he had "bought" at the school store. (The kids earn plastic pennies and nickels for good behavior and doing homework and such.)

We played the famous Ishii Fishing game where you put up a sheet and use a stick to "fish" for a prize. The kids all loved it and wanted to do it again. Derek was especially happy with his prize.

Party people! All the kids seemed to have a good time. Amalie seemed slightly overwhelmed at times, but I think overall had a wonderful party and loved getting to celebrate with her friends! What a blessing she is to our lives. I'm so glad she was born three years ago!