You're Invited

to Emma's 3rd Birthday Party! Get ready for a long post and lots of fun! If you are looking for the finished product of the rainbow cake, you are in the right place.

We started with Aunt Lindy's dessert on Friday night. She had a birthday in August, so this was her birthday dessert. With her new initials of course!
Emma opened a few gifts before her party. I made her a book called, "Mommy's Having a Baby." She got a big sister shirt from me too.
Aunt Lindy made Emma this dollhouse. Incredible. Don't you want to be three?
How does our little girl go from looking like this to...
looking like this? It all happened in just three short and very fun years :)
Jumping away with Mama C.
Her party was a tribute to Tigger.
I made homemade play dough for party favors.
They got the recipe and a cookie cutter to take home too.
Aunt Ashley did sidewalk art for us.
And a hopscotch too.
Aren't her pj's cute?
She had so much fun jumping!
Grand-dad and Nana came to the party too. All three of these guys JUMPED!
Emma with her Daddy.
Just Emma and me.
We tried to get a family photo.
That task takes lots of effort.
Emma with her Mama C.
This one made me laugh.
Roughhousing with her Daddy. This is what they do best. Trust me.
Her cake!
Aunt Lindy getting some pineapple orange banana punch.
The TIGGER bounce house...so fun!
I made the banner for her party.
Hopscotching away...
Uncle Dill helped with all of the food. I am sure that others of you did too....thanks to everybody!
Baby Quinn...oh so sweet!
Some of the party gang. To get them ALL in a photo...impossible!
Just before we attempted to light the candles...
Emma was not impressed with everyone's singing. Nor did she want to blow out her candles.
The first slice of the cake! The cake was twice as tall as a regular cake...I couldn't even finish my piece. It was SO sweet!
A sneak peak inside...
Now, that is what I call a cake. I was SO glad that it didn't flop :)
There wasn't much left.
The kiddos continued to chalk it up.
Emma ate her sour licorice. So did all of the pregnant ladies at the party, which was 90% of us :) Thanks Aunt Marg!
Papa C. came too. They were watching Caillou.
And, Aunt Lindy played with Emma upstairs.
All in all, it was a super weekend. I can't believe our little girl is three! Thanks to everybody who came. We were so glad that you were there. I am gone for now...this is one exhausted pregnant girl!

can you taste the rainbow?

I started with my gel colors. All six of them. You can find these at Hobby Lobby, but I already had most of mine.

My ammo was two cake mixes, water, oil, and 6 eggs. I LOVE this cake mix. I used it for my petit fours too.
Divide the cake mix into six different bowls. Mine were about 1.5 cups each. Then, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of coloring get to each bowl. Stir and the magic begins.
By this point, I was feeling like Rainbow Bright.
Pour the batter into 9 inch round cake pans. I used Baker's Joy to grease and flour. You don't have to use that, but you better use something or you will be cussing me.
Even my dishes were happy.
Yours can be too.
Excuse the gym shorts. I couldn't keep my maternity jeans up. Unless I wanted rainbow pants, I had to change.
I made the frosting too. Put a layer of frosting in between each layer and stack it up rainbow style.
You can check back for Emma's 3rd Birthday post to see the cake...by the slice of course!

Looks Like Chocolate

But, it's not. It's rubber mulch. Just as delightful in my opinion though.

Emma had corn, but it had to go. I won't tell you why. So, Rob put down "no weed" fabric, covered it with rubber mulch (my new favorite thing), and filled her lady bug with sand.
We spent the weekend outside. She was in the pool, in the sand, and on the playset. Popsicles and lemonade included.

We Didn't Shed a Tear

Neither of us. It was Emma's first day of school. I just can't believe it! I packed her bag and her lunch. She had brand new white keds :) I just can't get into nikes on two year olds.

Here she is. We were fresh out of apple attire for the first day of school, so I went with cherries.
She looked as cute as a cherry.
I wasn't sure how she would do. She kept telling me, "Mommy, not leave."
Daddy got to come along for the ride. He's a keeper.
She got to "plant" her flower in the garden, just before we said our goodbyes.
She quickly got busy with the play dough.
Rob and I left and had a day to ourselves! Our goal was to have some "uninterrupted adult conversation." In case you didn't know, Emma talks a lot. When we picked her up, I read her daily "report card." She was described by her teacher as "chatty" and "happy." Like I said...she likes to talk... A LOT!

I keep getting the question...

And, I don't have an answer, but I am trying to figure this one out. What size is Emma wearing? Would you believe that she has size 24 months to 5T in her closet and it ALL fits? Nuts...makes it difficult to shop! Here is what I found out today:

If it is a "T" size, you can go down in a regular size to make them comparable. Example, a 5T is about the same as a 4 and a 4T is about the same as a 3.

Her shoe size is a 9.

We don't buy pants for Emma. She is tall and skinny....making her very difficult to fit. She is probably a 2T in the waist and a 4T in length. So, we mainly buy dresses. If we need pants, we stick to leggings (winter) and cropped pants (summer). Dresses are easier for the potty anyway :) She prefers dresses too...she goes to her closet everyday, and says, "Momma, I want to wear a "fress."

I bought Emma clothes on clearance today for next summer. Aren't they cute? I think that the most expensive thing was $7.99. Most of them are from Gymboree.

For NEXT summer, I mainly bought size 5 and 5T, dresses of course.

For THIS winter, I am guessing she is about a 5T or 4 in dresses. Leggings, I would guess a 3T.

Pj's, I would guess a 5T. Those along with coats and swimsuits tend to run small.

I did some shopping for our new little guy today too. This stuff was on clearance with an additional 30% off at Carter's. Some of it was like 2 and 3 dollars :)
I LOVE the birthday truck and the big ROAR! The other stuff is okay, but too good of a deal to pass up. I am not too into all of the sports, rocket ships, etc. on little babies. I am on the hunt for sweet little baby boy clothes. You know the super light blue or white with sail boats and such? I think I have my work cut out for me!