Happy Birthday Hadley....the big #3

I have been a mother for 3 years and they have been the best 3 years of my life!  What a joy, what a blessing, what a sweet gift God has given us!  We started off her actual birthday with blueberry pancakes (her favorite breakfast) and I made it in the shape of a kitty which she loved.

We played and watched movies and then for lunch we went to Chick-fil-a for some chicken nuggets (her favorite lunch) and an ice cream cone.  Then, of course, to play in the play land which is always a good time, and even better when it's your birthday and you are wearing a bright pink "Today's my birthday!" ribbon.

That night I had to go to a bible study (which I normally take the girls to) and Andy had to go to a worship team meeting with a big group from church where all Hadley's friends were so he took the girls and I made some cupcakes to send with them so even though I wasn't there I was still kind of there.  Hadley had a Tangled/Cars (her 2 all time favorite movies) birthday party (see below) so I made these with the same theme.  The suns are from Tangled....and they were a huge hit :)

After I got home from bible study (and Joni was in bed) we let Hadley open all the presents that had come in the mail....she is one loved little lady!  Thanks Grandma and Granddad, Oma and Opa, and GGP, Gramma Alice and Grandma Huber for the awesome presents and cards!!!

A Dora sticker book from Oma and Opa (with over 700 stickers)!

And from us.....a tool set compete with a power screwdriver!  I know she's a girl but this summer she was daddy's little helper always hammering and fixing stuff so we thought this appropriate and it was a big hit!

Getting ready for Nana and Papa to come visit...

And they made it!  These are from Uncle Ben who is currently working on a cruise ship in Hawaii.  They danced and twirled and looked darn cute doing it!

They got Hadley this tea set which she shared with Joni....who loved it.

And a Tangled doll that came with a little easel and pictures that you paint with water....

And here Hadley is "painting" Joni's foot with water.....

Then this past Monday we had a birthday party for her with her friends and Nana and Papa.  To get ready for the big day, we went and got hair cuts again.  This was Joni's first one so we had to document it.  

Opening a present from Jon and Heather before the party....a cutting board and food!  She played and played with one at their house when we visited and it was a great present!  She loves it (as does Joni) guys!  Thanks so so so much!

And the Tangled/Cars cake I made for the party.

I also made some cupcakes and some white-wall tires (store-bought chocolate doughnuts with a ring of white frosting).

Blowing out the candles.....for those of you who haven't seen the movie, the cast-iron skillet is the weapon of choice for many characters, hence the reason I made the cake IN the skillet.

The sweet birthday girl enjoying her cupcake.

The kids eating area....

I was nervous about inviting so many people to the party since our living room isn't exactly large but we all fit and had a wonderful time.

Hadley loved all her presents...

And opened all the cards too....

It was a wonderful 3rd birthday month.  Thanks to all our thoughtful friends and family for making Hadley's birthday so special!  It was a blessing having Nana and Papa here to celebrate with us and in a couple week the girls and I are going to TX (where Nana and Papa just moved) to visit some more.  While Nana was here (and something for you to look forward to) she made Hadley a Tangled (Rapunzel) dress for Halloween and Joni is going to be her chameleon, Pascal!  Can't wait to get them all dressed up! Love to you all!

.....ALL the time!

Well I am feeling old tonight.  Where does the time go and why are we always so surprised how fast it goes when really thats all it does?  Anyways, Hadley turns 3 tomorrow and I don't feel like it has been 3 YEARS since she was born.  She is getting so grown-up (finally above the 50th percentile for weight), has an awesome sense of humor, asks more questions that I can answer, figures things out after seeing them only once, and makes us laugh everyday.  What a blessing she has been!

In case you haven't noticed, I have tried not to post the same zoo pictures over and over although my girlies are pretty cute and if they are in them, they are usually here.  So zoo pictures that do make the blog now (ones minus cute girlies) are things even we don't see very much.  Like the giant tortoise (3 of them) you see below.  I kid you not, these guys are here maybe 4 months out of the year and since we are usually in WY for 3 of them, we don't EVER see them.

And the penguins are NEVER in the water.  But on this day, there was 1, a lone swimmer, so we had to document this occasion :)

I just thought this was cute.

I can't remember if I have ever taken a picture of King Louie...the albino alligator.  He is very boring but I give him kudos for being not green.  On a side note, I have been to one other zoo in the last year or so and they ALSO had an albino alligator so King Louie is even less cool than before....but still kind of cool.

The bears, however, are ALWAYS cool . . . that is, if they are out.  Last year we had NO bears and now we have 6 (3 polar and 3 grizzley)!  Even though we have 6, it's hit and miss if you get to see any of them.  And the big polar is NEVER in the water.  In fact, we never even go down to where you see them in the water because lets face it, water is water.  But this day, we went, we SAW, and we GOT EXCITED!  

I know I'm using lots of capitol letters to show emphasis and excitement but for the amount of times we have been the zoo, have memorized the location of every animal, bathroom, and which route gives you the most excercise, we get pumped when things are even a little different.....change is good.  So case and point.....2 hippos and BOTH (yes there is only 1 here) HIPPOS OUT OF THE WATER!  I know, I couldn't believe it either.  :)

Hadley always wants to ride the Carousel every time we go and so this trip was the day.  They are watching and waiting.

Joni's first Carousel ride.....she LOVED it!

Now just some random pictures....at a BBQ, drinking some juice

Trying on masks in a classroom where I teach preschoolers one day a week...

And going to adult prom!!!  Our wonderful friend Ruth Vickers is in a group called Scarlet Hope here in Louisville.  Their main goal is to take hot meals to strippers in clubs in town, befriend them, and try to get them out of the industry and into a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is an amazing group!  They have a fundraiser once a year....a GALA and we were blessed to be able to attend.  These are the pastor's wives at our church and my dear friends!

Andy, me, Natalie, and Ben (our pastor).

The Baxter Avenue Church gang....(Ruth is in the green).

She is fantastic and also Hadley's teacher on Wednesday nights at church.  We had such a wonderful time and know God is doing amazing things through the organization!

The very next morning the girls and I got up and joined another good friend of ours, Kelly Logan, and 600 other people for the Kentuckiana Heart Walk. 

After the walk, they had a kid's zone set up with 9 different stations you had to go to where they taught kids how to be healthy.  Hadley did AWESOME at the excercise station....she was cracking everyone up who was watching with her mad skills. 

And then went on and hit the dancing station....

It was a super fun weekend (as you can tell).  So tomorrow is Hadley's birthday and then this weekend Nana and Papa are coming and so there will be more blogging soon!  Love to you all!

God is good!

We are back at the crazy schedules and fun goings on! We finally got all of our things unpacked and put away (below Jo is helping with that) and we are keeping busy with work, church, and weekly trips to the zoo and other outings!

The girls and I made a quick trip north to see Jon and Heather and sweet Nolan one weekend that Andy had a conference. This is the only picture I got before my battery died but it just so sweet.

And of course, we love the ZOO! There are 2 trips documented here but the same people are in them (Hadley's best little friends from church) so you may not even notice. The hippo (there was only 1, now there 2!) is ALWAYS hiding so you can never see him and this time it was right below us.

The giant turtles....who are also never visible and yet....here it is.

Posing in the props...

And finally.....THE BEARS! You know, the ones we have been to see 4 times but always seem to miss....we saw them, they do exist! Actually, they just got this baby polar bear and he was out and playing...so cute.

And they also have 3 grizzly bears (also have never seen) and they were awesome too. It was a good zoo day!

And last Friday was the annual Fall Festival the Seminary puts on every year as a welcome back to school party. This year's theme was Narnia (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and major motion pictures that have followed) and they went all out as usual. This sign says Kings Cross Railway Station (yes, also from Harry Potter as that was set in London as well).

Going through the wardrobe....

Through the coats....

To winter....

Mr. Tumnus!

So they had free Chick-fil-A (and fish and chips going with the London theme), 30 bouncy houses, as many sweets as you can think of (cotton candy, funnel cakes, Carmel apples, snow cones, you get the idea), and more.....this was Joni's first bouncy house experience.

The stone table....

And Turkish delight (which I have always wanted to try since I saw the movie and thought this version was "off" and now REALLY have a craving for the real thing).

Our little Queen of Narnia

And last but not least, Joni eating yogurt by herself. Not sure why I dressed her before I gave her the yogurt but she seemed to enjoy it!

Love to you all!