Feliz Cumpleanos Anna!

Anna turned 3 today. Holy cow, time flies! We celebrated her birthday a week ago with a party at a beautiful local park by Lake Superior. She was very excited for her Winnie-the-Pooh party, as you can see from the picture above.

We had family and friends come which turned out to be a pretty good sized group. Anna reveled in it. The kids played at the park, see Anna above with her cousin Rebbecca, and my mom threw together one organized game for the little ones. The adults sat around chatting and snacking. It was nice and laid back, and the weather was gorgeous.

Anna kept sneaking cupcakes throughout the evening, so when it was time to sing to her and have her blow out the candles (see 3rd picture), we just couldn't let her eat one more. Poor girl. :) So it was just for show. The picture in the middle is with two of Anna's Great Grandmas...and another cupcake.

Present opening got a little intense, both with the amount of presents given, lucky girl, and also with Anna's possessiveness of them. She wasn't like that last year at all, but I guess she's getting older and....wiser? Or just more touchy. I had a little talk with her and then she was a little better at sharing.

Anna is the joy of our life. She is full of funny stories, sayings, and ideas. Anna loves pretending, and is so creative and random. She can be the sweetest, most caring girl ever, and is often concerned with others around her. Today Benjamin had to get shots, and she made sure to ask the nurse if she could hold his hand because, "Probably I can help feel him better and he will be brave." Sweetness! Anna is so smart, and I try to realize I'm probably just a biased mom, but I am just amazed at the connections she makes, and the things she is picking up everyday. I love so many things about her (her singing, her dancing, her laugh, her teasing). I should just cut myself off now. I am so blessed to have Anna as my daughter. Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!