Happy Birthday, Lee Anna Belle!

Our little princess turned 3 last week, and, thanks to a visiting Mimi and Papaw from from the states, it was a Little Mermaid Birthday Extravaganza! Here she is sampling her birthday cupcakes (or muffins, as she calls them) the night before her party. She's wearing one of her gifts from Mimi--new Little Mermaid pajamas. Lee Anna got to open her gifts from Mimi and Papaw a few days early because Mimi wanted to get to see her using them before they left (which was just a few hours after her party). Here's Sawyer showing how excited he is about Lee Anna's birthday. He learned to say "Happy Birthday" for the occasion. Well, really it was more like, "Happy Ba-ba," but we knew what he meant. His hair has started doing this fairly frequently, especially after naptime or pooltime. Daddy thinks it's cool.
And here's Lee Anna blowing out her candles (with a little help). She's very proud to be 3. Last week one day we were showing her how to hold up 3 fingers for her age, but she just couldn't get that third finger to come up. So that night, about an hour after we had put her to bed, she came into our bedroom saying, "Look what I can do! Look what I can do!" and proudly holding up her 3 fingers.
Daddy has already decided that "age 3 is better than 2." We're hoping that we're moving out of the "terrible" stage and on to the "terrific" part. Lee Anna is lots of fun and always keeps us entertained. She surprises us all the time with the things she says, does, and remembers. We are so grateful for the joy she's brought us the last 3 years, and are looking forward to lots more!