Opus 418 - Happy Birthday!

We started out small, but we're growing bigger every day, so shout hip hip hooray because it's our 3 year old birthday!*

This past Monday Lissa and Joshua celebrated their third birthday. I can't believe my little babies are three. They're growing up far too fast! We made a paper chain to count down the days until their birthday. When they woke up and saw that it was finally their birthday they were so excited. The spent the day singing "Happy Birthday" to each other. We decided to give them their big presents at their party (Saturday), so that evening we gave Lissa and Joshua gift bags with their little presents. They had so much fun pulling everything out (LOVE the $1 section at Toys-r-us and Target!) and have loved playing with their new toys this week.

After the kids opened their presents we headed out to Chuck-e-Cheese. This was Lissa and Joshua's first time. Needless to say, they loved it. They had so much fun playing the games and were thrilled every time they got a ticket, "We won!!!" We had a great coupon - we were able to feed the four of us and have plenty of game tokens for the kids - all for less then fast food! The kids had a blast. It was fun for Jason and I to watch their excitement as they ran around and played games.

After dinner, we came home and had cupcakes and ice cream. Overall, it was a great day. I love my little kiddos so much! Being a parent is the best thing in the world - especially when you have kids like Lissa and Joshua!

Some of my favorite things about Lissa and Joshua:

Lissa

This little girl has been a goofball since birth. She's still cracking us up and being silly all of the time. She is always amazing me with her knowledge. She loves the alphabet and his learned to spell "Lissa" and "Joshua." She has also started trying to write some letters. Lissa also loves to get everything she can find together in matching piles. Lissa's imagination has skyrocketed the last few months. She is always doing something creative. She loves to be with her best friend Joshua. Lissa is our little Princess. She loves all things Princess. Lissa is also our little drama girl. She can come up with the best faces - sad, happy, silly, mad, pouting, etc., and will milk a sickness/injury as much as possible. Lissa loves to read, color, and build with blocks. She also likes to built "tents" with her blankets. Lissa is now 3'2" tall and weighs 32 pounds (70th percentile).

Joshua

Joshua has the best "one liners" of any kid I know. The other day, he and Lissa didn't sleep during their nap time. When I got them I asked Joshua, "Did you sleep during your nap?" He replied, "No." I continued, "What did you do?" Joshua replied, "Poop." That's my Joshua. He is always making us laugh. Joshua loves everything to do with Cars. He can name every car in the movie and loves to play with them. He is all boy. That kid can run and run and run and never stop. His energy is endless. Joshua has also become quite interested in Thomas the Train. He amazes me with his knowledge. Joshua is very observant and always surprises me with what he has picked up on. Joshua is also a big fan of the alphabet. He is very protective of his sister. She is usually a little nervous to go into nursery on Sunday, but Joshua just takes her under his wing and helps her out. He's such a good brother. Joshua LOVES to sing. He's constantly breaking out in song. Joshua also loves to read, color, build with blocks, and throw balls. Joshua is now 3'3" tall and weighs 34 pounds (80th percentile).


*When the kids turned one month old the NICU nurses took their pictures and put the pictures on a poster with this saying (obviously saying one month birthday instead of 3 year old).