Birthdays! Birthdays! Birthdays!

December 27 through January 21 is a crazy few weeks for me. I've got birthdays for me and my sisters, some inlaws, and my mother, plus Madelynn's birthday and my anniversary, not to mention New Years is in there somewhere. Talk about crazy!

I can't believe my baby girl is THREE! It's so cliche to say that but it's so true. I also can't believe I don't have another baby yet nor am I pregnant (that's a whole other story!) so it feels weird that my "baby" is not a baby anymore. She's as tall as a four year old (which explains why she doesn't fit her 3T clothes even though she just turned three!) and in Sunbeams at church, which is funny because she is the youngest there being three for only a few days before she was told she no longer gets to play and have snacks but instead has to sit quietly and sing songs and listen reverently with no snacks or toys. You can probably guess that didn't go over well and there were lots of tears before she finally decided she liked primary (although she does go through moments of weakness when we pass the nursery after sacrament meeting).

Of course, we started the celebrations at Red Robin. We had Celeste and her family there, Dave and Lindsay, and our family (Mom and Dad were in Utah helping Kory and Ana Lee move to Wisconsin, therefore missing Madelynn's birthday and my birthday. And this is after my mom missed Olivia's birthday in August. I sense a theme here, and I don't like it.... :) I'm sure the staff didn't love that we had two free burgers for Celeste and I and a free meal for Madelynn. Last year we also had a free burger for Jeremiah and Kelli too :)

Singing to Maddy! She was so excited, but was suddenly shy when it actually happened.

Not sure about it all, but Jacob (behind me) loved it!

All she wanted was her free ice cream, dang it!

For Madelynn's party she wanted a My Little Pony cake. I looove to bake and I don't mind decorating cakes, but I am not very good at the decorating part even if I like it. I'm humble enough to admit that decorating and frosting cakes is not my forte. Cupcakes, sure, since it's just a swirl with something cute on top. Cakes are a whole different ballgame. So I compromised with myself and made a rainbow layer cake (according to Olivia, My Little Ponies live in the clouds and run on rainbows, so I was in the general realm of Pony cakes).

I won a shop credit to A to Z Celebrations from Creative Juice, a friend's party blog, and used it to get the party hat and a banner I used at Jack's party.

Blowing out her candles. We sang Happy Birthday "Hjelm" style, where we try our hardest to sing loud and terribly. The worse it is, the better. And it usually makes Madelynn cry (I think it scares her?) but Nana held her this time. Although it made baby Jacob cry. A lot.

The awesomeness of rainbow cake!

Doesn't it look amazing?!

Madelynn got lots of great gifts from every one. Thank you so much!

We had the party at Celeste's house and celebrated Celeste's and my birthdays too (and we called Kelli to celebrate too since she's in New Mexico). Celeste's sister in law made a crepe cake, which is exactly what it sounds like. She made a bunch of crepes and layered them with chocolate pudding in between each crepe. It was soooo good. Like a cake and breakfast all together, but on steroids.

Mmmm... crepe cake. My mouth is watering!

Adam did a great job. He bought me a sweater and shirt from Old Navy that I had been wanting along with some earrings that match the sweater. So cute!

Here are some fun facts about Madelynn:

HATES:

*Naps and bedtime. She was my first child to stop napping daily before three. My others went until at least four!

*Being told no. I mean, what kids don't like it, but she seriously throws a serious temper tantrum if she's told no. Same with being told to wait. Ugh.

*Spaghetti. So sad, because it's such an easy thing to make. In fact, I have a hard time getting her to eat a whole meal. She's definitely a snacker or a grazer. But getting her to eat spaghetti is like pulling teeth.

*Dogs. She likes my mother's dog, Missy, but most dogs make her scream and she doesn't like when they rush at her or jump on her.

LOVES:

*Sugar. She is such a candy girl. Suckers, chocolate, cupcakes, licorice, etc. I can get the girl to do anything if I offer her a candy of some sort.

*Her baby and blanket. Yeah, I know, she needs to get rid of them, but they really do keep her calm. Usually her baby accompanies us on shopping trips and to church, mostly for me just in case she has a tantrum (see above "hates" list) because it calms her down.

*"Chicken nuggets with fries and ranch" is her go-to lunch. Don't worry, most days she doesn't get it. And seeing all the new fast food info in the news, she'll get it even less!

Her BFF: Aubrey (who she still talks about constantly and wants to know when she'll see her again!)

Favorite color: Pink (sometimes purple)

Favorite outfit: Jeans and a shirt (she's a tomboy at heart)

Favorite show: Dora, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, SuperWhy (lately she's loving Little Einsteins too)

Favorite activities: playing outside, playing with PlayDoh, dress up and pretend play with her dolls

Madelynn can tell you all her letters and what sound they make and tell you most of her numbers (up to 20). She knows all her colors and shapes too, mostly because of things like SuperWhy and some books she really likes that focus on that. She is super sad she can't go to school (although I think she thinks all they do is play outside at recess). She loves to play with Jack and Olivia and her cousins.

Madelynn is definitely my most spirited child. She has a strong will and wants things her way (probably a product of being the baby of the family, I just don't have the energy to argue with her or deal with a tantrum so I give in way too much). But she is so sweet and loves to tell me "Love you Mommy!" or "I miss Daddy!" while he's at work. She loves to give hugs and help out around the house.

Happy birthday Madelynn Rae! Love you!