Riann's Birthday

Our little girl has turned 3!!! We celebrated Riann's' birthday this year by doing a few fun little things. It was a hard year to plan for because I wanted to really try to do something age appropriate this year but also make it fun because she's really starting to get the idea of birthdays. We decided to keep things more low key than we've done in the past. On her actual birthday - the 10th - Riann, Colby and I ran out and got a few cupcakes and picked up a few presents for her to open that night. She was very excited to share her cupcakes with everyone. Paul was up on campus doing school stuff so we stopped by and dropped off a cupcake and lunch to him so he could wish Riann a happy birthday. After that we ran home and had a few cupcakes ourselves.

Riann enjoyed her's a lot. She really liked the blue frosting. We picked up two packages of cupcakes, one that had "How to Train Your Dragon" rings and a second with "Toy Story 3" rings on the top of each cup cake. After we had our treats everyone rested for a little bit. Thursdays are hard for us this semester because Paul has a very late class and I have to work. Both Paul and I have to be focused on our given tasks from 4pm - 10pm every Thursday. To help Riann celebrate her birthday, our good friends - and neighbors, Jake and Adele came by and took Riann out to play with their two girls at Arctic Circle. We sent off a few cupcakes with them and they had a great time. They met up with a few of our other neighbors for dinner and a chance to run around. We were surprised that night when Paul got out of classes early and got to come home and open one of Riann's presents with her. She got a few games for her birthday and the one she was the most excited about that night was Hungry Hungry Hippo's. She had seen me put it in the cart when we were buying them and was very excited when Paul made it home before she had to go to bed so she could play with him. It was really fun to watch them play together. She was so excited to have something she could do with us. She is really good at the game and beats me almost every time.

Later on both Friday and Saturday Riann got to open presents with her Grandparents on Skype (Friday with Grandma and Bradda Gomes and Saturday with Grandma and Papa Vreeken). We're really love being able to see them so often, even if it's just on the computer.

Saturday morning Paul, Riann and I got up and went outside to play in the snow while Colby was napping.

After playing in the snow Riann and I headed off to a hair appointment and Riann got her first REAL hair cut.

We went to Evan's Hairstyling College here in Rexburg. She seemed a little scared at the beginning but warmed up as soon as they offered her a sucker. Her stylist was great. She asked Riann lots of questions and had a flower at her station that Riann got to play with, that she absolutely loved. After her hair cut we shot off to The Craze Fun Zone in town. It's got a fun little play land on one end of the building that's perfect for the little kids.

We played there for an hour or two and then ran over to their dining area and had some cake. My favorite part of the whole day was when I lit the candles and Riann started signing to herself before anyone got a chance to think about starting the birthday song. I'm so bummed I didn't get it on tape.

This year tried fondant for the first time and made Riann's cake. It was a fun adventure which I will post about later. I'm really glad Riann was excited about it. After playing we all went home and went down for much needed naps.

It was a great weekend. I'm still amazed that Riann is already three. She teaches me so much every single day. She is such a smart little girl and keeps everyone on their toes. She can be a handful on her bad days but she is a blast on her good ones. Thankfully over the last little bit she's had many more good than bad. I've learned you have to have a camera handy when she's around because she's constantly doing silly stuff that always unique to her personality.

I'm so excited to see where the next years take her. She is such an amazing child and I'm so grateful for the blessing she is in our lives. Happy Birthday Babe!!! We love you!!!!