My Missy Moo, my Stinky Monkey, my Lovey, my Missy Love, my Squiddo:

You’re 3-years old today and I cannot help but wonder where on earth the time has gone. Every day you amaze me with how smart you are, you make me laugh with your silly antics, and you show me what it truly means to love someone with every inch of your heart. You make my heart smile so big, and I’m proud to say you’re my daughter.

You’re getting so big and are becoming quite the individual. You love to do things all by yourself but I cherish the moments when you need me or Daddy to help you. I know it won’t last forever, but know that we’ll both be there for you no matter what, regardless of how old you are.

Just six days ago you became a big sister, and you are shining. Your little sister has an amazing role model in you and I know she’ll look up to you as you both grow up. 

We shot this little video of you to remember some of your favourite things in life when you turned three. Enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XVT0gj6WkE

Happy 3rd Birthday, Isla! We love you so, so much!

– Mommy, Daddy, and Norah

One great thing about toddlers is that they still have a bit of a goldfish-like memory. While Isla’s birthday isn’t until the 29th, Kyle and I figured we should probably have a little party for her before her baby sister arrives (or doesn’t arrive). Basically, I’ll either be extremely pregnant and cranky or we’d have a newborn and be delusional from a lack of sleep, so an early birthday celebration on Saturday with family seemed like the right thing to do instead of ignoring Isla’s birthday completely!

On Friday I baked Isla’s cake (she helped, haha) and that night I decorated it. I dare say it turned out pretty great, considering I’m no whiz when it comes to cake decorating. Chocolate cake was what Isla wanted, and that’s what she got! (Also – SO hard to ice a chocolate cake with vanilla icing!)

On the morning of her UnBirthday party I tossed some balloons and the Happy Birthday banner up and we were pretty much ready to party! Isla didn’t seem to know (or care) that it wasn’t her actual birthday, but what (almost) 3-year old wouldn’t be excited about balloons and cake? Kyle made her a special breakfast of homemade pancakes (her request) and they were SO good! She even got some chocolate milk to wash them down with ;)

Party time wasn’t until the early afternoon, so we ended up making a trip to Costco (Isla’s favourite place, haha), and Canadian Tire (she loves the “money” there), and came home for a quick lunch and I did some prepping of snacks and drinks. Homemade cucumber salsa and passion tea lemonade were both on the “menu” and they turned out to be huge hits.

Everyone showed up right on time and Isla had a lot of fun with her family! She’s so lucky to have so many people in her life who love her, and she was spoiled rotten with clothes, a movie, puzzles, colouring books and more! Her “big” present from Kyle and I was a “big girl” bike – complete with training wheels! We gave her the helmet first and she obviously didn’t clue in why she was getting a helmet (toddler logic, FTW!), but when we told her at the end of all the other presents that there was one more surprise, she exclaimed, “Oh, it’s going to be SO special!!” Then when Kyle brought the bike up she just shouted, “OH MY GOSSHHH!” Priceless!

Needless to say, she loves it!

After presents was of course, cake and ice cream, and we all mingled for a little bit before everyone departed.

Overall, it was an awesome day! Like I said before, Isla’s so lucky to have such amazing people in her life and I’m glad that they were able to come and make her “UnBirthday” a special day. I’m not sure how Kyle and I will mark her actual birthday in a couple weeks, but I’m sure we’ll do something special for her. (Maybe she’ll get a baby sister for her birthday!)

I do have a special post planned for Isla’s actual birthday, it’s just a matter of getting it done. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this photo of Isla riding her new bike with Kyle. My heart just melts when I look at it.

To my sweet little girl, Isla:

You’re 2-years-old today! How fast does time fly, as it seems like just yesterday Daddy and I were carefully (and nervously) bundling you up into your carseat for the first time every to take you home from the hospital. I remember the day clearly – it was wet and raining, but you didn’t make a single peep on the way home. You loved your first car ride and still love them to this day. 

Of course, you’re a lot more vocal now – pointing out all the things you see out the window (“COW! CAR! BIRD!”), and singing, how you love to sing! You’re a little camera shy, so it’s hard to get it on video, but you love singing along to your favourite songs on the radio. You seem to know most of the words to a few songs right now, so I thought I’d make note of them here so you can look them up when you’re old enough to read this:

1) American Authors: Best Day of My Life
2) Pharrell Williams: Happy
3) Avicii: Hey Brother
4) Lorde: Royals
5) Ed Sheeran: Sing

Those are all pretty popular songs right now, and I’m sure you’ll groan and think those songs are SOOO 2014, but you really do like singing to them!

You’re getting smarter and braver every day too. You refuse help more and more often and Daddy and I just have to let you do things your way. Your newest accomplishment is walking down the stairs by yourself; you go a little slow and Daddy or I have to watch and make sure you don’t take a stumble, but you’re getting better every day. You’ve learned to count to 10, although sometimes you leave the number 6 out, but every now and then you even count to 14! By the way things are going, you’re going to be better at math than me. 

You have mastered feeding yourself and your favourite foods would definitely be pasta and rice. You love all kinds of fruit too and even eat your vegetables. Your favourite TV show is Sesame Street and when it’s on, the world stands still. Your favourite characters are Elmo and Cookie Monster – you love to pretend to eat cookies like Cookie Monster and sing along to “Elmo’s World.” 

Of course, nothing makes me happier than seeing you hang out and spend time with Daddy. You have an amazing little bond together – watching baseball together and playing “Scare Me” – where Daddy pretends to sleep and you “scare” him awake. You give him the best bedtime hugs and kisses and I just know you’re the #1 gal in his life.

You’re the best kid ever, Missy Love, and I wouldn’t change anything about you. We’re so lucky to have you in our lives and you bring so much happiness everywhere you go. 

Happy Birthday, Isla! Mommy loves you!