Happy Birthday Handley!

Today is Handley's 3rd birthday!  She was so excited about her real birthday that this morning I was awoken to sounds of her singing "Happy Birthday" to herself through her monitor.  When I offered her a cupcake at breakfast, she turned it down and said she wanted to save it for her party.  Too bad her party was a week and 1/2 ago!  

We had a fun filled day.  This morning we went up to Alpharetta to meet Gigi at Northpoint Mall.  We rode the train, checked out the indoor play area, and rode on the carousel.  Out of all of those fun things Handley's favorite activity of the day was going up and down the glass elevator and getting to see everyone down below.  

After lunch, including ice-cream with sprinkles, we headed home and both girls took naps on the ride to our side of town.

This evening we had a girls dinner (plus Dylan) with our friends Tiara, Avery, Dylan, and Jen.  All of our husbands were out of town or busy with other stuff so we headed to a local Mexican place for some fun.  The older girls had fun throwing pennies in the fountain. I thought it was a great distraction for them until I looked over and saw Handley's entire face in the fountain.  Ha! Harper hoped to join in their fun and Dylan stayed busy trying all sorts of new Mexican food.  After dinner a few of the waiters sang "Happy Birthday" to her, gave us a delicious birthday dessert and even had a big sombrero for her to wear.  It was the perfect way to end her birthday celebration.   

A few interesting facts about Handley.  At 3 years old she: 

• loves playing with her baby dolls and is very attentive to them.
• has an amazing imagination.  She is constantly packing her bags to go to someone's house, a party, the airport, park, or store.
• likes to boss Harper around (in a sweet way) and make her a part of the elaborate scenes she creates. 
• makes up all kinds of words and names for her imaginary friends and thinks it's hilarious."Shoo-sha, Amberger, and Gojuwa" were a few I heard today.
  
• enjoys playing with dress-up clothes and has a strong preference about what she wears each day, including shoes and accessories. 
• asks me each night before she goes to bed, "what are we going to do tomorrow?" and if I say something about being at home she'll ask, "but where are we going in our car?"  She loves to be on the go!
• loves her baby sister and is a little mommy to her
• can recognize all letters and can write the first 3 letters in her name.
• needs to be read at least 2 books, be told a story, sung a song and have her back rubbed (in that order) when we put her to bed.
• still loves her Be-Be(blankie) and Lambies, but will agree to leave them at home when we go places or just bring along 1 Lambie to stay in the car. 
• is very particular and loves routine. 
• is my little assistant and helps with chores around the house, likes to help me clean, and thinks it's fun when I give her "jobs" to do. 
• has an obsession with band-aides.
• loves her friends and generally plays very well with each of them. 
• has the kindest heart, genuinely cares for other people, and is eager to please.

Happy 3rd Birthday Handley!!!  We love you!!!