After many, many long hours, she was in my arms. As I held her in those first seconds of her leaving my womb, she gazed at me as if she too had been waiting to see my face.

first moments

And now my beautiful little girl is three years old! She is such a gift and such a blessing to our family. I love seeing her sweet, gentle spirit and watching how her character is developing. And of course she never fails to amaze us with her humor and her quick mind!:)

Three Years Old!

When I asked her what she would like for her birthday day, Aneliese said that she wanted pink cake like Farmer Brown’s birthday  and ice cream.

Learning to play while I make birthday pancakes

We still wanted to get her a small gift and since she loves games, we bought her a handmade wooden memory game.

A few weeks ago Aneliese asked if she could pick out some material for a skirt for both her and Cecily so that they could match. I finally got it made just in time for her birthday so she was happy.

Pansy skirts which decided the last minute “theme” of Pansies! Including a pansy crown with Aneliese’s favorite letter “A”

We had some delightful friends over for a birthday supper of burgers, mung bean “buns”, balsamic orange beets, and grilled potatoes/carrots.

These kids have so much fun....and I just love those too boys laughing in the background!

Aneliese was super pleased with her Pink Cake (frosted with beet juice dyed, honey sweetened whip cream frosting) and Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream, although when she first realized that I was making the long awaited ice cream rather than buying it from the store, she burst into tears. One taste and seeing it in an old ice cream container brought the sunshine back again!

Blowing out the candles

a completely naturally sweetened birthday for a sweet girl!

After starting off her day with a daddy/daughter ducky dip at 6:30 am, Aneliese quickly succumbed to sleep after stories and songs; her daddy did too!

I love this sight. Such love and such an incredible father.

One of our birthday traditions is becoming to share a gift with someone else on our birthday. And so this year Aneliese invited (okay I did the inviting:) three of her little friends (& mommies) for a tea party at “Miss Karen’s”. They were all so very sweet and we had a delightful time.

So much fun!

And now after counting down the sleeps and talking about how she will be the same age as her little friend Levi, Aneliese Marie officially is a three year old. I loved making the day special for her while still trying not to go overboard with things. I don’t think that birthdays need to be about presents or big fancy parties (which is why I went back and forth on the tea party), and I don’t really want to send kids home with a sugar high, and yet I really want my kids to know that we celebrate them and that we are so blessed by their birth and life. And so my precious girl, Happy Birthday!