Was it only three years ago....

Back on December 21, before the rest of the mayhem of December unfolded, we celebrated M's THIRD birthday! Officially she's no longer a toddler, and in actuality has been a "little girl" for quite some time. Mature for her age, she keeps us entertained with her non-stop chatter and challenged with her ... passionate expressions :). I may have mentioned those before!

But, on Friday, December 19, we hosted her first "friends" birthday party! What fun we had :). As a result of time spent at Sea World, M wanted a DOLPHIN BIRTHDAY PARTY. A quick search of the internet reveals some pretty elaborate festivities! Since I lost my shopping list, since Dollarama was closed (thanks a BUNCH!), and since I didn't want to staple yards upon yards of blue fabric to my walls (yes, some people do that for a dolphin birthday party!!!), I had to be ... innovative. Creative. And quick about it, too!!

Here we are, getting ready for the par-tee! Baking buns (whoever said that many hands makes light work has not worked with kids in the kitchen!!), the mobile from our light fixture and the pretty blue table cloth that Daddy had to pick out (since Dollarama was closed and all!!)

And the cake. Oh the dolphin cake.

Everything has to have a story, right!? Well, it is Thursday night before the party. And time to decorate the cake. And time to finish the laundry and pack the bags to Las Vegas and get the kids in bed and get the house ready for the morning. When, in our balmy MB -40 climate - our furnace breaks. Yup. Stops pumping heat. Quits. Finished. So, whilst placing an emergency call to MB Hydro, I am decorating M's bday cake. Thankfully, I had crafted the sugar-cookie dolphins earlier in the day!! It was a flurry of icing sugar and food coloring, but I finally got it done.

Oh, and the furnace was repaired - but only the NEXT DAY! Thanks GOODNESS for space heaters!!

Right from the get-go, M has been a fire cracker! Wow. There's no wake-up call like that infant crying from the back seat on the way home from the hospital! Somehow, we found our way through those early months, and pretty soon new became manageable,manageable became normal, and normal became -

enjoyable ! She has brought so much joy (and a few tears!!) to our hearts! What a spunky little gal!

Little M - you are such a GOOF! Our lives are so much brighter because of your presence, our prayers so much deeper, our laughter so much more frequent! A bit belated, but then again this December has been a little wonky!

Happy Birthday, little one.
We love you!!