Kate Turned 3!

Kate turned 3! All the way back on January 8th! Even though we had barely been moved into our house, I wanted to give her a special party. She wanted a Dora theme since Dora is the best thing ever when you are a little youngster. And she wanted to invite all her friends. I asked her specific names and she listed her babysitters, Carston's friends, Avery's friends, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins....I think this year's goal should be to help her find friends that are under the age of 8 :) My mom took her in the morning so we could get everything ready. Everyone was waiting when she came to the door and we yelled "Surprise!" It was priceless. She was terrified! She blurted out, "Those are all my friends." and then clamped her mouth shut tight to stop herself from crying. It was so adorable. We opened presents after that to help her calm down and remember how exciting birthdays were. And then....we had a Dora Adventure! I wish I would have taken pictures. Swiper "stole" the treat bags and we had to find them. There was a big map that showed us the way. We went to Tico's Forest and helped her rebuild her trees that the wind blew down (Christmas Clearance items). We had to make our way through Star Valley and catch all the stars. We met the Grumpy Old Troll (aka John) and had to solve his riddle. We helped Diego find all the baby animals that got lost. We went through the spider web and across Crystal Lake. And then we finally found Swiper's hideout! Kate really thought swiper was hiding inside the big cardboard box. She happily accepted someone's offer to go in and get the treat bags. As soon as we had them, she said, "We did it!" and started singing the song. It was awesome. I love the power of birthday parties. A few hours of my time, and she was in heaven. She talks about her birthday EVERY SINGLE DAY. And it has been over 3 months. That made it all worth it.

She was so happy to get her bike. She CRUISES around on that thing at top speed. She also has the sweetest Grandpa Danny. He was going to be gone for her birthday, so he went out all on his own and bought her a Dora Doll. He brought it over the night before he left and she was in heaven. I love that my kids have so many people who love them to pieces and want the best for them. We love you Kate and we are so blessed to have your sweet spirit as part of our family!