Happy Birthday, Stella!

Could it have been three whole years since I held her for the first time? I'm already crying, and I've only typed that one line. Sheesh.

Her birthday spirit is dampened this year, a little, by a cold that started about three hours before her party yesterday. Needless to say, the pool portion of her party was cancelled, but we still had a little picnic with four of her friends, complete with Happy Meals and cupcakes. The kids were happy to be outside in this beautiful fall weather, and Stella seemed to enjoy herself too, despite the raucous amounts of snot pouring from her nose at all times, like this:



Here are a few other photos from her party too. Look at this little cutie:



And the whole gang eating cupcakes:



Today we opened a few presents just as a family. You can tell by her watery eyes and overall expression she doesn't feel so good, but we had to record this birthday like the others!



And one of her favorite presents, play makeup:



There are so many things I love about Stella. She is curious, interested, entertaining, and entertained by most anything. She is adventurous without being too reckless, compassionate and empathetic, and really, she's just fun. I couldn't have asked for a better child to break me in to this parenting thing. I can't wait to see what she becomes in this next year and more years to come.

I love you, Stella.