Our Little Girl is 3 Years Old!

How is it possible that we are the parents of a 3 year old already? It seems like yesterday Kaelyn Elizabeth was a newborn. Time flies by too quickly! Kaelyn turned 3 on Friday, July 6th and is so grown up already. With our house being on the market, Robbie and I decided we would have Kaelyn's party away from home and Kaelyn made her pick, Pump It Up! The staff there makes it so nice and easy for everyone to enjoy themselves. On Saturday, June 30th, we celebrated with lots of friends and family with a Strawberry Shortcake themed party. We are so thankful for all our friends and family who joined us and helped make Kaelyn's day so special!

Kaelyn on Monday, July 6, 2009

Kaelyn at 3 years old! 

At 3 years old, Kaelyn:

• Is very animated with her talking and body language.
• Loves to dance all over the house.
• Is such a great big sister to Rylan (she occasionally annoys him with all of her sweet kisses).
• Has become much more social and often meets new kids at parks, etc.
• Still LOVES, LOVES her Piglet (our collection has expanded to include 5 different sizes of Piglets with the biggest one as a surprise birthday gift from her daddy)
• Is a VERY picky eater (she just prefers milk still).
• Enjoys watching Strawberry Shortcake, Wow Wow Wubzy, and many more movies.
• Loves Friday night pallet nights (with a movie and popcorn and all her babies).
• Doesn't always take an afternoon nap (this makes mommy sad for a variety of reasons).
• Loves the swimming pool and lake. She is a little fish!
• Can sometimes be a little bossy (which is usually cute at this stage) and opinionated.
• Enjoys joking with her daddy by saying something off the wall and then replies, "Just kidding."
• Started her first dance class this summer called "Delicate Dancers" from the FAC and is excelling at it.
• Loves to remind me that she's 3 now! (Whatever that entitles her to in any given situation)
• Favorite thing to do is playing baby dolls in her room.
• Sleeps with as many stuffed animals as possible including her 5 piglets.
• She easily opens up a straw and pokes it in the right spot on her juice boxes.
• Kaelyn is very independent and likes to dress herself and put on her shoes. Why is it that there is only a 50% chance of putting the wrong shoe on the wrong foot, but it happens almost every time?
• Loves her trampoline and has new tricks she can perform for any willing watchers.
• Enjoys swinging on her swingset; "higher and higher" each time.
• Can ride her Radio Flyer tricycle as far as we will let her go on a walk. She is really fast, but sometimes struggles with hills.
• Likes to color; we are working on learning to color within the lines.

Common phrases Kaelyn uses that make us laugh:

• We tell her "to stop talking back to us;" she replies with "mommy/daddy, don't talk to me behind my back." Completely missing the lesson.
• We will forever hold in our hearts her facial expression and "member that daddy/mommy, member that..."
• Recently with all the rainy weather, Kaelyn was a little scared of the thunder. I told her that when I was little her Pop and KK used to tell me that when you hear thunder it means that Jesus is bowling. Kaelyn loves the bowling at GattiTown so this really resonated with her. Now she walks around the house when it's thundering and yells "bowling ball, bowling ball."
• Still pronounces all l's like d's; for example, Rylan is "Rydan" to her. But ironically, phone is also a "done."

Party Pictures

Kaelyn and Avery (friend from school) jumping together.

Had to post this picture because it's a rarity to

have both grandmothers in one picture!

KK and Mimi

Cousin Kade sliding.

Kaelyn at the top of the slide with Daddy.

She must like it! 

Rylan enjoying himself...Mr. Independent. 

Friends and Family pic

Pop with Cousin Kooper and Daddy and Rylan

waiting in the background for their turn. 

Uncle Kylen with Rylan (look at that sweet face)

PawPaw ducking underneath one of the obstacles. 

Rylan flying SOLO on one of the slides!

Pop and KK enjoying the party. 

The Birthday Girl

Rylan loved Pump It Up!

Our littlest friend, Tate

(son of my best friend from HS, Brittany)

Aunt Kim and KK sliding with Kipton and Kooper

(our twin cousins, two months younger than Ry)

Kaelyn with her sweet friends from school, Lucy and Avery

(They weren't happy about being stopped to pose for the camera)

Our cake courtesy of my friend from school, Stephanie Portwood

Kaelyn loved hearing everyone sing to her and blowing out the candles.

The infamous Alligator that everyone searched for...

Kaelyn's 1st bike

Daddy's Surprise Gift

(The biggest Piglet ever made)

Kaelyn,
You make us so proud of you each and every day! You are truly a gift from the Lord and we are so blessed God chose us to be your Mommy and Daddy. We love your full body smiles and how you light up a room. We enjoy watching you grow, but often want to keep you smaller just for a little longer. You are a great big sister and bring so much fun to our lives. You make us all laugh with your little sayings and mannerisms. You are truly very special! We love you with all of our hearts!

-Mommy, Daddy and Rylan