Happy Birthday to Our Little Princess

I can't even believe that it has been 3 years since OK joined our family. I never imagined the love that I would feel for her. We have spent everyday enjoying the miracle that she is. So many things could have gone wrong but by the Grace of our Lord, she is here and thriving. Her favorite things are anything pink, the princesses, Dora, going to church, seeing her friends, and of course "Her" Cassie. I can't believe the things that she comes up with sometimes. The way she imagines things and dramatizes things blows my mind. She shows us daily the good and bad things that we teach her. She is amazing, so much a mix of CTW and I. She continues to act a lot like me and look more like her dad, but I see a little more of CTW in her everyday. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring.

We started the day by putting about 50 balloons in her room before she woke up. She was so excited when she saw them(this was CTW's idea, so I can't take credit). Then we sang Happy Birthday and got dressed and headed out to her party. We celebrated her birthday with family and friends at Pump-It-Up. It was a wonderful party and we had so much fun. I think the parents and grandparents enjoyed it just as much as the kids did. I can't believe the love that we felt from everyone there. Thanks to everyone that could come and we missed those that couldn't make it. Enjoy the pictures.

***If any of you that attended took pictures, will you pass them along. I would love to have copies. My pictures didn't come out as good I would have liked.

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Bye, Bye Paci

Okay, so I have been dreading this moment since we gave her a paci after two days after coming home from the hospital. We have been telling her for a while that 3 year olds can't have a paci, so when she turned 3 paci would go away. For the last couple of weeks she has been waking up two to three times every night looking for her paci. So we decided that was enough reason not to wait until her birthday. I started at naptime on Monday. I think she cried for 30 to 45 minutes. It was absolutely heartbreaking and I had to go out into the garage for a while. She was snuffing when she finally cried herself to sleep. Monday night there wasn't a ton of crying, just a lot of calling for us. She would try to reason with us why she should have her paci. She would say, "I'm still two", "I'm your baby, mommy", and "I don't want to be a big girl anymore." We stuck with although I didn't want to. Tuesday was a lot better. She kept asking for it all day, but no crying at naptime and bedtime went a lot smoother. Today has been great. She hasn't really even asked for it. Hopefully it will keep getting easier. I do have to admit that I hate it. It means she is growing up and becoming more independant. She still looked like a baby when she had her paci. I can't believe she will be 3 in a couple of days. It is so surreal that it has gone by so fast.

Car Conversations

So, anyone who knows my daughter knows she talks all the time. We have some of our best conversations in the car(probably because we are in it so much). Here are a few examples or recent conversations:
#1--We were coming home from my mom's
OK: Are we going home now?
Me: Yes, we will be there in a few minutes
OK: Where is my daddy?
Me: He should be at home when we get there.
OK: You are married to my daddy.
Me: Yes, I am.
OK: Who am I going to marry?
Me: I don't know, but I pray for him every day.
OK: I think I will marry daddy.
Me: You can't marry daddy.
OK: Well, what about Papa.
Me: You can't marry Papa either, he's married to Grandma.
(After a long pause, this was her response)
OK: Well, I guess I will marry God!!

#2--After Church on Sunday
Me: What did you learn today in your class?
OK: Well, there was this boy and he had lots of money. Then he lost his money and had to go sleep with the piggies. It was really muddy, and then he went home.

Can you guess the story?
Chad and I half-laughed and half-cried. We couldn't believe how much she had retained.

Snow/Ice Day

Oh how beautiful!! At least that is what OK said when she got up this morning. She has been so excited since we saw it snowing on TV last night. It wasn't doing anything before she went to bed last night. She even asked if she could pray for Jesus to make it snow. She closed her little eyes and said, "Jesus, please let it snow." Shortly after we laid her down it started to snow. We actually got her out of bed to let her see it(you never know if it will happen again around her). I even took her out on the back deck so it could fall on her for a few minutes. Her first words this morning was ,"Did it snow?" We took her over to the window and that is where she pretty much stayed most of the day. We had to open all the blinds so that she could keep looking out. After breakfast, we bundled up and took a walk outside. Although, it was mostly ice, we let her walk around in it and actually build an "ICEMAN" on the deck box. She was so elated and didn't stop smiling. She even asked if we could turn the porch light on tonight so she could still enjoy looking out.

Christmas with the Caskeys

Every year we have dinner to celebrate Christmas with the Caskeys. We have been friends for a long time and love their boys like they are ours. This year we had yummy taco salads and chocolate cake and then we exchanged gifts. WJC went to his santa shop and spent the money he earned to buys gifts for his family members. CTW, OK, and I were included in his list. It was so fun to see what he picked out for us. We loved our gifts and OK is still carrying around her Fancy Nancy doll. Here are a couple pictures. Also, I included a video of WJC reading to OK. I can't believe he is old enough to read.

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Cass's Birthday Celebration

My neice Cass(also OKW's best friend) turned 5 last Tuesday. She had a birthday party with her family and friends the Saturday before. On Tuesday we celebrated by going to lunch at Chick-Fil-A and then to see Princess and The Frog at the movie theater. It was OK's first trip and Cass's 2nd. I think my sister and I had as much fun as they did. It was a good movie and a wonderful time.

Decorating the Tree

The week of Thanksgiving we spent time decorating the house and putting up the much anticipated tree. I think OK will follow in her parents footsteps when it comes to loving Christmas. It was very exciting to watch her put the ornaments on with care and precision. She knew exactly where she wanted certain ones to go. We had fun looking at the one CTW and I made of her handprint and footprint for her 1st Christmas. Here are a couple of pictures.