Happy Birthday Dear Alyssa

Can you believe it? Alyssa is 3 years old! And she is sooooo excited to be a big 3-year old. And I can't even begin to tell you how excited she was for her birthday. Since Lauren's birthday in June, she's been waiting for hers. She had memorized everyone who had birthdays before hers and would tell you on a regular basis that she was "going to be 3 on her next birthday coming up in November." I think this is the first birthday that she really truly understood what it was all about, and it was so much fun. She picked out the plates, cups, and cake - all with the princess theme - weeks before the party, and was just waiting for the day to come.

Nana, PapPap, Uncle Wally, Aunt Dena, Baby Drew, and Scooter all came out for the weekend to help her celebrate. Even though her birthday was on Monday, we celebrated her birthday on Sunday. After she got up from her nap, we got ready for the party...she put on her Snow White dress (again!), and we put out all the princess decorations, balloons, and presents. We asked her what she wanted to do first, and the first thing she wanted to do was sing "Happy Birthday to Alyssa". She sang it just as if she were singing it to someone else - smiling and laughing the whole time.



From there, it was out to check the mailbox to see if the mailman had brought her any cards. (Yes, it was Sunday, but we had saved those that had come in the mail and then added ours to it. You see, she loves to check the mail, and she was super excited about getting cards. Every time we walked past cards in the store over the past few months, she wanted to pick out her own birthday card.) So needless to say, she was super excited that she got birthday cards in the mail.



And then it was finally time to open presents. There was her first 'puter,




a new pair of tennis shoes that light up, an easel,



and a guitar and microphone.




She also got a Justin Bieber magazine and Christmas CD (which we've already listened and danced to), Cooties (her first game), new undies, and a few other random little things. It's hard to say what she liked the best.

After a dinner of tacos, it was time to dig into the beautiful princess cake she picked out, complete with three princesses and three candles.







After singing again, she blew out her candles and we all indulged in the sweet treat. A little more playing with toys and then it was off to bed. The next morning we sang yet again and she enjoyed 3 little pancakes with chocolate chips that make "3".



She took cookies to day care to celebrate with her friends there and then she chose to go out to dinner at the Chinese restaurant to top it all off. All in all, I think she had a pretty good birthday. We all very much enjoyed celebrating her - our fun, curious, loving, sweet little girl. Who knew birthdays could be so much fun?!