Happy Birthday, Anne Parks!

My sweet girl is 3, and I can't believe it! She's grown into quite a little lady and is more fun every day.

Anne Parks on her "birth" day - all 9 lbs. ll oz. of her.

Here she is on her 1st birthday...
and at her 1st birthday party.

Helping me ice her cake before her 2nd birthday party.

Baking for her 3rd birthday

the finished product: cake pops for her friends at school

I took Anne Parks to school for swimming and lunch, so she could share her birthday with friends.

"God is great. God is good."

The cake pops were a hit!

Later, we put the finishing touches on a little birthday cake.

We started out with a few flower sprinkles...

Then, AP thought it'd look better with ALL the sprinkles we could find. She also added 3 candles.
She was very proud of her work.

Jason's parents, his Aunt Kay, Cousin Maggie, my parents, and Andrew came over for ice cream and cake in the afternoon.

Anne Parks got something she's been asking for every day for weeks (a Belle dress) and was very excited!

She was also surprised with a doll house that she'd been eyeing at the antique mall. (In this pic, you can also see a shot of my giant belly - check out the mirror.)

The doll house looks a lot like our house.

She's played with the house for hours, making up stories about the children who live there (She calls them Morgan Rita and Sausage - no clue where she got those names - quite an imagination!).

Another prized gift was a Lighting McQueen bike helmet.

Here are Anne Parks' 3 year-old stats and interview:

Height: 38 inches
Weight: 34.5 lbs.

Favorites
colors: pink and blue
food: chicken and cheese quesadillas
drink: pineapple-orange juice
activities: playing princess and cooking
outfits: "Big Sister" shirt, Belle dress, and Snow White dress
song: "Once Upon a Dream" from Sleeping Beauty
cereal: Yucky Charms (actually "Lucky")
vegetable: corn
toys: princess dolls
movie: Snow White
game: Hi Ho Cherrio
book: Forever Young
animal: giraffe

If you could have a new name, what would it be? "Laura or Lightning McQueen"
What do you love about Daddy? "He dances with me a lot. He's my prince."
What do you love about Mama? "I cook with my Mama."
Where would you like to take a trip? "To the zoo."

Art for Nora

Anne Parks has been working on some artwork for Baby Sister's room. She did a great job and took the work very seriously.


I'll post pics of the completed nursery soon.

A Party for a Princess

Anne Parks won't turn 3 until next Friday, but we had her birthday party Memorial Day Weekend to avoid Baby Nora's crashing it - not a good introduction to your new little sister. Anyway, the party was wonderful, and I (finally) have lots of pictures to share. These are from my sister's camera, and I'll get a lot more from Jason's dad soon. I'll post some of those once I get them.

The invitation:

The castle cake:


Decorations:
A treasure chest of party favors
The gifts:

The food:
Our family were all great sports about dressing up. I don't have a picture of Jason's dad, who looked great in his pirate garb, but maybe I'll get one from him soon.


My sister made a great Belle. Most of the kids thought she was the real thing. Reed's decided that he's going to hire her out on weekends. Here, she's with Andrew the pirate and Tizzie the good witch.
Pirates: my dad, Reed, Andrew, and Smith
Aaaarrrrggghh!
Ganne and Smith

The bouncy house:



Greeting the guests:

Jason's mom wore her Maleficent, the bad witch, costume but had to promise Anne Parks that she would "be good" at the party (No sleeping spells, please!).
Snow White and Ariel (Cousin Maggie)
Queen Laura and Princess Elizabeth

Captain Henry
Singing "Happy Birthday":



What a fun day! Thank you, family, for all of your help!

35 Weeks

Has it really been over two weeks since my last post? So much has happened since then. For one thing, school's out, which is partly why I've neglected the blog: I haven't been at my computer every day.
On Friday, I hit 35 weeks. Less than 5 to go! My doc is watching to make sure Nora doesn't get as big as her sister, so we'll have a sonogram next Wednesday to see how much she's grown. If my belly is any indication, she's HUGE!
I've been checking off my list, and it's getting shorter. My goal is to have everything done by the end of this week. Emily's coming tomorrow and is going to help me wrap up the last few "to dos."

To Do:
• Hang pictures in nursery.
• Get big sister gift for AP from baby.
• Help AP pick out a gift for baby. (She told me last night that her baby sister needed a "little tiny Snow White dress" to match her own. Know where I can find one?)
• Install car seat.
• Pack diaper bag.
• Pack hospital bag.
• Pick out announcements.
• Charge cameras.
• Plan for post-baby wardrobe.
• Pack AP’s bag.

Done:
• Make curtains for nursery. (Although these are made and hung, I screwed up and made them too short! Ugh! Once they're fixed, I'll show pics.)
• Clean and check travel system.
• Finish freezer cooking.
• Wash and organize baby’s clothes.
• Make plans for AP during and after birth.
• Set up cradle.
• Take AP to sibling class. (Anne Parks loved the class. I'll post pics soon.)
• Have AP's birthday party. (The party was so much fun! I'm waiting on pictures from Jason's dad and my sister because I was so busy that I never took any! I'll post those as soon as I get them.)

Check back. I hope I'll have pictures to share soon.