LaMarche family : Vanessa's 3rd Birthday

Monday, June 03, 2013

Vanessa's 3rd Birthday

This is the first year we have been home to celebrate Vanessa's birthday. When she turned 1, we had a celebration at Mama Row's place in Albia. When she turned 2, Dave and I were off in Omaha waiting for Eli to be born. As her mom and having gone through such a tough birth with Vanessa, I am glad to be 3 years past the event. A lot of moms like to look back to their child's day of birth and reflect on the beauty of their child's actual birth, but I can't really do that with any of my kids. So I celebrate the child and how much they've grown to help me heal.

This year Vanessa really understood the fact that it was her birthday and she was going to be 3. Violet and Calvin really enjoyed getting her party ready too. They helped me shop for gifts and we got her some sunglasses, markers, a Dora coloring book, some M&Ms, and a bright pink cake. When she saw me making her birthday cake on Saturday, she thought THE CAKE was her birthday. She said, "Can I eat my birthday now!!?"

Sunday morning she had changed into pink sweatpants and a green shirt all by herself. She wasn't too happy I made her change clothes into a pretty dress - but she got over it and called it her "birthday dress".

During Sunday School opening for the kids, Vanessa was the only birthday that week and was too nervous to walk up front herself, so Violet held her hand and went with her. She picked out a bag of peanut M&Ms and stuck the bag in her mouth while everybody sang to her.

We planned a birthday lunch at 1:00 pm to celebrate on Sunday, June 2nd. Mama Row brought along mashed potatoes, veggies and iced tea. My mom and dad also came to help celebrate and brought a delicious mix of fresh fruit and berries, and Dave grilled the BBQ chicken.

Vanessa really enjoyed everybody singing happy birthday to her. She knew exactly after singing that she had to blow out the candles on the cake. She got the first pink piece and cut it in half with her fork.

Vanessa is not a ham for the camera. She avoids it and runs away. So capturing her looking at me when I took pictures was a challenge! She opened her presents after the cake. Mom and dad got her a magnetic gear puzzle creator and Mama Row contributed to her college fund. She put on the sunglasses and grabbed her Dora phone immediately - and Violet helped her work on some pages

We played some yard games outside - mom and dad brought their croquet set. Mama Row, Violet, Dave, dad and I played the first game. Violet enjoyed playing the most. Calvin just climbed on the sandbox. Vanessa wore her sunglasses and ran around. Eli tried taking his first step in the grass, but preferred to just sit in the fluffy soft grass instead and hold onto a croquet ball.