Dragon Boat Featival

Our day today included a little Asian experience...

Birthday Girl

Our little Mae is THREE years old now!!!  

Friday was her birthday and we had a BIG day celebrating her. 

She is trying to show me 3 with her fingers... she does a pretty good job but its a hard one to do. (:

Cody took the day off from work.  We went to IHOP for a delicious pancake breakfast.  mmmmm... Mae wishes everyday started off with a pancake breakfast with her daddy.  

After breakfast we went to the Children's Museum in Atlanta and it was fantastic!  Definitely take your kiddos if you live in the Atlanta area... it was better than I had hoped for.  Mae loved every activity and there is soooo much to see and do there.  Mae would have stayed glued to the first thing she did if we'd let her... we kept her going to the next fun thing; each new area was just as fun & exciting as the last.  

These pictures are a miniscule glimpse of all the fun activities: 

Moon sand to sculpt.

 Fishing in a pond and rain jackets are provided so that your sweeties don't get soaked.

Giant building blocks

[ Mae's birthday present this year from us was a baby bed that my sister and I played with when we were little... I painted it blue to match her big girl bed and I made a small quilt that matches her bedding.  So Cody and I wanted to find her a special baby doll that looked like her... and we decided on the popular American Doll Bitty Baby. ] So when we left the museum and headed for the mall...  to go experience the American Girl Store.  We witnessed the crazed girls pulling their mothers and fathers everywhere to show them all the babies and the loads of accessories.  Mae enjoyed watching the girls more than noticing what was in the store.  We showed her the baby and she was happy with her.  She loved her all the way home, hugging her and singing to her very sweetly.  

 It was past nap time here, you can see how tired she is.

 Later, we had a small family dinner with balloons, cake and presents.  I love my family!!!

 We talked about Mae's birthday coming up for weeks before and all she really took from it was that she was going to get "happy cake" -- ALL DAY all she kept asking for her "happy cake"... finally she got it and it made her the happiest of all. (:

Mae was showered with presents... you can see her bed for her baby and a new baby stroller here.  

So the fun could and maybe should have ended there... really my mom said that having parties can only lead to Mae wanting a big wedding one day (;  We were so delighted about a small and perfect party place for Mae's little playmates.  It was at Tuck-n-Tumble gym and it was more than perfect.  

Mae was so happy to run free, jumping and hanging and seeing her friends. 

 But all the fun didn't compare to you guessed it... "HAPPY CAKE!"

 

My heart is so torn... loving the big girl that Mae is becoming but saddend to say goodbye to my sweet baby.  I love the conversations that we can have now and her helpful heart but still missing the little round faced, lovable little one Mae was only yesterday.  I am smitten with this girl and am blown away every day that God chose us to have her.  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

When I saw your face...

It was two years ago now that we first saw our daughter's picture and got her profile... the first glimpse of our daughter.  She was a million miles away and we knew so little about her.  We knew that she had an amazing smile and prayed and prayed for her little heart.  Today I am amazed at how much I know about this child, every little detail... I can read her mind and study her every toe and freckle.  I know without any question that she is made to be ours.  I can't even begin to tell you how perfect she is for us... there are no words.

Sometimes when we are with friends and their children, I find myself immediately thinking to myself how much they look like their mom and dad, or have characteristics like them.  Sometimes it saddens me to not know who my daughter looks like, what is just her, what is us or what could be her birth parents...  but you know what I realized a few days ago?  What I knew but hadn't let fully sink in... She is created in the image of our Father.  Mae has the individual imprint of our Creator's hand.  God made our precious one and knows all that we don't.  I just relax in this thought.  I hope that in the day that Mae struggles with her questions, that she would look to the One that made her and find rest.

Our Big Girl

So a lot can happen in just a few short weeks... Mae grew up A LOT.  We tackled potty training.  It wasn't easy, let me just tell you.  Mae would have prefered the diapers and told me so.  We pressed on and I was thoroughly worn out from cleaning up accidents or talking constantly about pee-pee.  A wise friend said it takes 3 weeks to have it down... and well she was right.  At a week and a half I could have cried and by week two we really had it down.  And week three we could finally leave the house and not fear embarrassment.  (:  

 We spent a lot of time at home during July...

 So now that potty training is done, we moved to the next issue.  Our baby is really gone and grown up... and seeing her in her crib at night made that apparent.

 She loved her crib and we really hoped she would love her big girl bed.  We talked about it for a week and she even helped her daddy sand it and watched as it got painted.  Finally the day came when we took down her beautiful pink crib and moved her bed into her room.

 And now all of a sudden she looks small again... She is still my baby right? 

 It looks snuggly doesn't it?

  She does love her bed and has lots of room now too,

but can somehow find her way to the bottom every night.  

You are my sunshine...

 Here's just a beautiful snapshot of a little girl filled with so much joy.  Mae is almost always smiling,  or making some kind of joke to make us all laugh.

her beauty takes my breath away...

I had to share these pictures... I think they show her sweet spirit and radiance.  

Washing Cars

 Mae saw her daddy outside washing his truck... so she pulled her little car up too.  

 She and her daddy washed their cars together, which completely melted her daddy's heart.  She loves to help,

And she loves her daddy.

Hilton Head Vacation

I am very behind on the blog... again.  I wanted to past-post our summer fun and share some of the pictures of our sweet girl.

In June, our little family packed up and headed for the beach.  My mom and dad came too (Mae's Nonna and Boppy).  Last year we came here in November, so this was Mae's first "real" beach experience.  She LOVED every little thing about our time in Hilton Head.  It is definitely a family vacation spot and Cody and I enjoyed it in a whole new way; seeing it through her eyes.

Sand castles and the ocean... 

bike rides every day...

 and a boat ride on Boppy's boat. 

 Mae was the happiest she could be.

 We just soaked in this awesome family time... that came and went so quickly.  That's why I love these pictures.