She's THREE!

It DOES go by fast- just as everyone says. Our sweet Bella is 3! Her birthday was on Saturday. She got to go to Build A Bear, where she made "Kina" the purple and blue hippopotamus with a blue fairy (Cinderella, according to Bella) costume and Hello Kitty underwear (it's amazing what all they have to dress up these stuffed animals)! Kina is a favorite name for Bella for some reason- it is usually assigned to one of her dolls, but that is always changing. Then, after a big family Halloween party, we came back and had cake and ice cream and opened her gifts. She kept saying that she wanted "Fire Rangers" and "Dinos Dinos" for her birthday. What are those? Well, those 4 year old boy cousins of hers have sparked her interest in their Power Rangers, which she calls Fire Rangers. So, we found a pink one and got it for her. I'm really curious to see if it ends up sitting next to her dolls when she plays class, or what she does with it. We don't know where Dinos Dinos came from, but she did say that it was a movie. So, I found a movie about Dinosaurs, and that did the trick. When she opened it, she was happy to see her "Dinos, Dinos."

Building her bear (actually a hippo):
Bella and I with Kina, the fairy hippopotamus:

Loving her "Fire Ranger" and "Dinos, Dinos":
Enjoying her cake and ice cream:
Stealing some frosting for her birthday party cupcakes:

What Bella says and does at 3:
"I can do it by myself." (many times a day)
"I wof you too." (her automatic response to the many times we tell her "I love you, Bella" a day)
"Lucy, I hope you like me."
"Don't worry 'bout my shoes." (for instance, if I haven't put her shoes on yet...but she means don't forget about my shoes, so don't worry about them kind of sounds sarcastic)
"I love daddy a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck." (she sang this the other day when we were all in the car together)
"No, I don't want YOU." (no, believe it or not, she's not always sweet)
"Do you know the muffin dog, the muffin dog, the muffin dog..." (another song, slightly altered by Bella)
"Hi baby,hi baby, hi baby Luuuucy....your sister looooves you" (over and over in cheesy baby talk to Lucy)
"In a minute I will." (meaning, when I'm good and ready!)
"Daddy has to go to work so he can get money for his piggy bank." (true, actually, but still funny coming from a 3 year old)
"I'm all out of kisses. They are in my tummy. Maybe they will come out in the morning."
"Are we going to get ice cream (for example), or no?" (lots of things end in "or no?")
"When I get older, I want to be a big girl like Taylor." (her cousin)
"I don't want Lucy to ever, ever go away." (Bella, we don't want you or Lucy to ever go away!)

Cool Chicks Wear Orange

Yes they do! I never, ever expected to refer to my sweet daughters as "chicks." But Bella needed one of these shirts (Lucy has one coming too)- it's just an OSU thing.

Cousin Jack celebrated his birthday by tailgating before the OSU homecoming game. He even dressed up in full Pistol Pete gear! Somehow I didn't get any good pictures of that or even of the birthday boy himself...maybe those will eventually show up here. I see the last post there was from another OSU tailgate, where Jack got a picture with Big Country- oh, yet another OSU thing!

This was Lucy's first (of many, many, many to come) trip to OSU. We're getting her started off right! :)

Tiny, silly dancer

Look at that ornery little smile! I was able to take some pictures of Bella last week at ballet. Usually parents can just watch through a window, but we were able to go inside the room this time. She was a little distracted with me being in there. She kept playing with her tutu- up to her armpits, down below her knees, off, then on...but she danced very well when she decided to pay attention!

The Fair

We went to the Fair last Friday evening. Bella enjoyed the rides, feeding the animals at the petting zoo, and of course eating the Fair food. Lucy was in a great mood the whole time too- as you can see in the picture above! :)

Disney on Ice

Bella and I went to see Disney on Ice, and we got to sit in the front row. She really liked it, but I think her favorite part was getting the $3 million dollar snow cone (well, not that much, but almost)!
She didn't want to look at me for a picture (apparently the dancing, flipping, and skating characters were much more entertaining). So here she is watching the show, and with her Disney Princess snow cone.

Lucy's Baptism

Lucy was baptized on Sunday, September 23rd. At our church, infant baptism means that we (our family and the church family) promise to nurture Lucy in Christ's Holy church that by our teaching and example she may be guided to accept God's grace for herself, to profess her faith openly and to lead a Christian life. She will later have the opportunity confirm her faith.
Bella got to come to "big church" with us for the first time so that she could see the baptism. We were so glad to have both sets of grandparents, one great-grandmother and her husband, my brother and sister-in-law and Brian's sister and brother-in-law. Her cousins Taylor and Noah also came. Two other babies were baptized that Sunday, but we had the biggest group of supporters! :) Lucy, you are loved!
I didn't think Lucy's dress would do so well in the carseat, so I waited to get her dressed once we got to church. I changed her in the bride's room- the very room where I got dressed for our wedding! I had to take some pictures there, because maybe someday Lucy will be putting on her wedding dress in that room too! Some older ladies helped balance her on the little "tuffet" she is lying on while I took her picture.
Since our church in televised, we DVRed the service and were able to watch her baptism once we got home. I took pictures of the TV, and they actually turned out pretty well!

I love this picture because you can see her reflection in the mirror behind her:


I had to include Miss Bella all dressed and ready to go: