HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!!!

Today my firstborn turned 3! She has been looking forward to her birthday for months. You see, in our family, there are four child birthdays between the end of June and the beginning of August. So, since June, Julia has been asking if it is her birthday yet. Since I'm not a big party planner/entertainer, I don't feel compelled to throw birthday parties for kids that are too young to get excited about them (hence my children have not had parties until this year), but with Julia's excitement, I was up to the challenge. We decide to have a 'paint party' because Julia loves painting right now. We painted suncatchers, 'painted' cupcakes, and had face painting. The kids seemed to have a blast and Julia's favorite part was standing in front of her cupcake, candle lit, listening to everyone singing 'happy birthday to you!' She just smiled ear to ear and soaked it all up. And I was so proud as she noticed people leaving, she stood at the top of the stairs and yelled, 'thank you! thank you!' Of course, she was so exhausted by that point that I'm pretty sure only about 2 people heard her, but it was still nice. She's growing so fast right now. I've always heard that the most rapid development happens between 1-2 yrs. I'm not sure I agree. Julia has undergone so many personality changes (no...not like Sybil) in the last 6 months. She is defiant, obedient, affectionate, independent, you name it, she's there. And she is becoming such a lady. She wants to wear dresses everyday...always wants her hair down, not in a pony...is obsessed with shoes...is already asking for makeup...and crosses her legs at least 50% of the time. I will post pictures at a later time, but didn't want the day to pass without shouting out a tribute to my favorite 3 year old. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!