Charlotte's 3rd Birthday

This past Saturday we celebrated Charlotte's birthday. (She actually turned 3 on Monday, but she doesn't know that.) She had 3 of her friends over for lunch and birthday cake. Originally I thought I was going to be all ambitious and organize some kiddie games-- but it was pretty obvious that the kids were happy just to play together and so I didn't force any party games on them. See, I can be flexible! (Sometimes.)

Ella, baby Kate, Jack, baby Lucas, and Charlotte having some lasagna and snacky foods with some of the parents. (My first time making lasagna, it turned out to be not so bad.)

Charlotte wanted a "Princess Castle" cake. I did the best I could... although I realized as I was attaching the ice cream cone turrets, that I should have leveled the cake before icing it. She loved it though, so that's all that matters, right? (Charlotte's buddy Anton in the background-- they are practically joined at the hip lately and get into all sorts of mischief!)

Charlotte loved all of her gifts! She got this Cinderella Barbie from Anton though (that he picked out himself) and I didn't remember it then, but not long ago at church Charlotte kept losing her shoe while she and Anton were running down the hall. He would bring it back to her and say, "Cinderella, your shoe!" Way to go, Anton. ;)

At 3 years old, Charlotte is:

- Hilariously dramatic. She is always posing, and dancing, and making up songs and stories. She has recently started blurting out Spanish in the car. (If only there were a German version of Dora or Diego!)
- Super social. She loves playgroup and storytime at the Library and going to church and any opportunity to see her friends.
- An expert traveler. By car, bus, plane, whatever-- she is ready and willing to go.
- A non-stop talker. The first sound I hear in the morning is often Charlotte talking to her stuffed animals, and she also talks herself to sleep at night... with very few breaks throughout the day. She has an immense vocabulary.
- A reader. Okay, maybe not. But she has memorized several of her books now and "reads" them herself. When she forgets a part, she points to the page and says, "Talk about it Mommy."
- A sweet, tender-hearted, stubborn, head-strong girl. We love our sweet girl, but sometimes she is a pice of work! She has her own ideas about how things should be and she is not afraid to express them. She can be a handful, but she is also quick to forgive and forget and often acts as a mediator between other kids when there are conflicts.
- Too clever by half. And creative. And silly. And adorable.

Happy birthday to my girl. :)