She's three!

This little girl . . . she turned three last Monday and it was a fabulous, fabulous, fabulous day. I have to say that I love Madeline's birthday more than any other holiday in the world. I just love making her feel like a million bucks and doing everything possible to delight her. Seriously, it's so much fun. She was beaming from the moment we walked into her room singing happy birthday with three balloons in tow to the moment she went to sleep that night.

One of the best parts of the day was seeing her reaction to this beauty:

Oh my word. She walked right by and then did a double take and gasped. And then shrieked. And then gasped. And then examined all of the pieces. And then shrieked again. She absolutely loves this kitchen and has been cooking up a storm ever since.

When it came time for breakfast on her birthday morning I said, "Madeline, would you like some pancakes?" Pancakes have been her favorite, most-requested food for about 9 months now and I knew it was just the thing. But she said, "No thanks, Mommy. I'm busy cooking in my kitchen."

Another highlight of the day was going to the reptile show at the Bean Museum that night. Madeline got to touch a tortoise, a lizard, and a snake. She actually even let the snake wrap around her arm--way too much for me, but she thought it was really cool.

Really, it was a wonderful day altogether. And when Madeline woke up the day after her birthday she was delighted to realize that she's still three. So am I, baby girl. So am I. It doesn't seem possible that every age is the best age, but it really is.

And just because the world is better with one more picture of Violet in it . . .