I am finally getting around to having a few minutes to blog about all of the fun we had last weekend for Halloween.

On Thursday Hailey and I went with our MOPS group to a local nursing home to go trick or treating.  We had a great time and Hailey found some other princesses- a couple of Snow Whites and a Sleeping Beauty that she a great time with.

On Friday we went to a Halloween party at the library.  We had story time with singing and dancing and stories (of course).

Then the kids made a craft.

And went trick or treating around the library.

Later that night we carved Hailey’s pumpkin- she loved cleaning it out.

And she loved playing with the seeds.

Here is Hailey’s pumpkin- with the silly face she picked for it to have.

On Saturday we went to Trunk or Treating at the church we have been going to.  It was raining so it had to be moved inside.  There were games set up- Hailey is playing the ring toss game here.  And there was lots of candy being passed out too.

Then it was time for the actual Trick or Treating.  We started at Gramma and Pa’s house.

Hailey was good about saying “trick or treat” to get her candy.  And then instead of saying thank you after she got her candy she’d say “trick or treat” again.  She really loved trick or treating this year!

I swear- it was only for a minute, and look at what happened:

*sniff*

Here are just a few (ha!) pictures from Hailey’s birthday.

On Hailey’s actual birthday she started asking as soon as she got up when she could open her presents from me and Rich.  So, after breakfast we let her open her presents so she could play with them all day.

Opening one of her presents.

We were having Hailey’s birthday party on the weekend but I still wanted to do something for her on her actual birthday.  So she told me she wanted cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Little Miss Hailey!

Then on Saturday we had a party for Hailey with our family and friends at a children’s museum.  It was perfect and Hailey had a blast!

All ready to go to her party.

When we arrived Hailey got busy playing.

Hailey purchasing her groceries… lots of healthy choices.

Pa played the cashier.

Matthew needed to get some money from the ATM before he could start shopping.

Arianna returning some bottles.

Then they were busy checking out all of the other activities:

Hailey flew this airplane to the moon.

Grace

Arianna and Hailey

Grace and Matthew going fishing.

Rich and Brooke took a little bike ride.

Hailey inside a big bubble.

Joel

Then it was time for some food:

Eating some yummy pizza.

Arianna and her mommy, Michelle.

Grace and Matthew with their mommies, Patti and Shelly.

Hailey loves Cinderella- so we got her a Cinderella birthday cake.

Happy Birthday!!

Blowing out the candles

Time to open some presents!

Then it was time for more playing.

Hailey and her cousin Dayna going grocery shopping.

The 5 cousins in the fire truck- Joel, Brooke, Dayna, David and Hailey.

Hailey reading Dayna a story.

Dayna and Hailey back in the grocery store.

David helping Hailey at the register.

Hailey working on a piece of art.

Pretending to be at the dentist.

Asleep about 5 minutes after we left.

Thank you to all of our family and friends who helped to make Hailey’s birthday so special!!

Three years ago today my life was forever changed.  You made me a mommy and the way I thought about everything in life was completely rearranged.  No longer was my life about me, it was about you. Everything I do and every decision I make- it’s all about you.  The love I have for you is not something I can put into words- it’s a feeling I didn’t understand before I was a mom.  It is very overwhelming.

This last year has had its ups and downs.  Fortunately it’s had a lot more ups than downs.  Some of the downs have been you having pneumonia, which was very scary.  The headaches that you complained about for a while- which turned out to be nothing but made me do a lot of worrying.  You were also supposed to have surgery for your trigger thumb but right around the time you were supposed to have surgery the trigger thumb went away and we were able to cancel your surgery, which made us very happy!  We are so thankful that God has kept you safe and healthy!  The biggest thing that happened in this last year is that we moved.  We now live closer to your grandparents because being close to family is very important to us.  Instead of a 3 hour drive, we have a 10 minute drive to visit.

You are such a fun little person!  Your personality is great and you certainly have a mind of your own. You are beautiful, kind, funny, concerned about how others are feeling, silly, smart and very independent. You love to do art projects with me every day and reading books is still one of your favorite activities. You have such an active imagination- one day everyone has to call you Cinderella and the next day you’re Captain Hook.  You keep me smiling and laughing!

You’ve grown up so much in the last year!  When I look at pictures from a year ago you look like a little toddler. And now you seem so grown up at 3 years old.  You sleep in a big girl bed now, you are wearing underwear instead of pull-ups, you sit in a big chair at the table and you want to do everything by yourself.

I can’t wait to see what this year will bring for you.  I love watching you grow up and I love seeing the little girl you are becoming.  I love you my Little Miss… more than you will ever know.  Happy 3rd Birthday!

Love,
Mommy