Addie turned 3!!!

With our Little Bear having a birthday 2 days after Christmas, we try very hard to make it special for her. So.....on December 26th, the tree and all the Christmas decorations come down and get boxed up until next year. It's kind of funny because Addie acts very sad to see "her" Christmas tree get dragged out the back door, but I don't think she fully realizes that we do that to prepare ourselves for another big celebration!

This year was a bit different than other birthdays for her because her birthday fell on a Sunday and that just so happened to be the day when ALL of my mom's family (who ALL live out of town, other than Grandma and Grandpa) were in town getting together for Christmas. So we had to be a little creative in how we made this day special for Addie....and I'm pretty sure she had a fabulous day!

We started the day by letting her go to the Donut Bank with Daddy to pick out her own donut. Rather than packing all of us up to go eat AT the DB with the Sunday morning (and holiday) crowd, we decided we would all enjoy our donuts at home. After eating her donuts at the "Princess Table" (which was just the kitchen table decorated with all sorts of "princess-y" stuff), she got to open her presents from us. "Princess" was definitely the theme this year, as she received Cinderella figurines, a Princess Glitter Glue set, and a few books, including "Fancy Nancy" and "Pinkalicious" (which are her new favorites!).


At church, we got to sit with our ENTIRE Downing family (which I might say, filled up the first 3 pews on both sides of the church!!!). After church, we let Addie choose what she would like for lunch so we made our stop at McDonald's to pick up her Happy Meal :) When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted me to make for her birthday this year, she said, "Chocolate with strawberry icing".....and so, that's what she got. Although the combination was a bit interesting to Chris and I, she LOVED it which is all that mattered! Here is our princess, blowing out her THREE candles.


We all enjoyed a good nap after lunch and then we headed over to my parents' house to gather with the Downing family for a Christmas celebration. It was amazing to have ALMOST everyone there...just about everyone traveled in blizzards and harsh conditions to make it so we were SO excited to have everyone there safe and sound. The whole family helped Addie celebrate her special day by singing "Happy Birthday" to her before digging in to her Disney Princess cake! She was more than thrilled about that!


Here she is tearing into her present from Grandma Jan, Papaw Jerry, and Uncle Jake...a Fancy Nancy DOLL and some Fancy Nancy books :)

I think she is already a few steps ahead of Fancy Nancy when it comes to fashion...this girl LOVES to put crazy, ahem, I mean "fancy" outfits together! Now she is just making sure we eat with our pinky's up and call each other "darling" at the dinner table ;)


I think I'll say this EVERY year, but it's SO hard to grasp that she's been in our family for THREE WHOLE YEARS....and then there are days when I feel like she's been around forever (and I mean that in a good way, I promise!). Addie certainly adds "life" to our family with her funny, quirky ways and we feel so blessed to be called her Mommy and Daddy. She is such a wonderful big sister to Lydia, which I know our little tiny girl will always appreciate! I am so glad they have each other and even more, I am so thankful Chris and I were chosen to raise them for the glory of God!