Sophia is Three!

This past weekend was quite a whirlwind. I am still trying to recover from all of the activities. I have been playing Sophia's third birthday for months and it came and went so quick.

Friday Sophia had her very first dance recital. She did an amazing job and it was so fun to watch her perform on stage. I couldn't believe how at ease she was in front of all of those people with the lights. I am hoping that there will be many more to come.

Sophia with mommy in her costume


Sophia up on stage with her class during their performance


Sophia with her dance teacher Miss Mary and her dance teacher assistant Miss Erica

Saturday was Sophia's third birthday. I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like only yesterday she was learning how to walk. Now she is playing with Barbies and riding a big girl bike.
Here is a comparison for you:

Sophia 1 day old


Sophia at 3 years old


She had a wonderful Cinderella party with her friends. They were so cute! They were dressed up in full princess gear and made crowns, wands, and colored Cinderella pictures.

I was proud of how the cake turned out since I made it myself and had this far fetched idea in my head of what I wanted to do.

After cake and ice cream, Sophia opened her presents. She was so excited to play with her new toys. She also got a new big girl bike from my parents. It was so funny to watch her ride it in the garage due to the rain in her Cinderella dress.

The girls left and we cleaned up a bit. Then we all took a little nap before we went out for dinner to the Rainforest Cafe at the Mall of America. It was a pretty chaotic restaurant, but we all had a great time.

Sunday we had friends over to watch the Twins game and then went to my parents for a BBQ before my brother left on Monday.

This week the weather has been beautiful and we have already spent quite a bit of time outside and swimming in the pool. I am looking forward to another weekend full of fun and family!

Every girl's dream

Today Sophia and I spent the day with my friend Molly and her daughter Caroline and we celebrated Sophia's third birthday (which is coming up on Saturday). Molly thought it would be fun to take the girls to the American Girl Cafe at the Mall of America. I never imagined how much fun we would have! From the minute that we walked in they made a big deal about Sophia's birthday. She got a special card, a sticker to wear, and a special place card. All of the servers called the girls princesses. Of course they totally loved that.

The girls each got to begin by picking a doll out to bring along and sit at our table. The dolls got their own high chairs, menus, and meals. It was just adorable.

The girls with their dolls

Both girls loved feeding their dolls and giving the dolls some lemonade to drink (by the way everything was REAL!)

Sophia feeding her doll

The menu at the cafe was amazing. Molly and I were quite impressed by the selections. All adult meals include an appetizer and an entree. The children's menu includes an entree, drink, and treat. Sophia and Caroline both picked chicken fingers and ice cream for the treats. When they brought out the ice cream Sophia's had a candle in it and the severs gathered around so and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Sophia just adored this and loved even more that she got to blow out the candle in her ice cream.

During her birthday song

After we finished treats, we went to ride all of the rides the girls could go on. It was so fun to hear them giggle and have such a great day together.

We got home and Sophia was completely exhausted. I haven't had that much fun in a long time. I can hardly believe my little girl will be three on Saturday, but this was such a great way to spend time with her and create a wonderful memory. I can barely wait to go back for Caroline's birthday in August. If you are looking for something totally girly to do, this is it!

Cookie Monsters

Today Sophia had a playdate with her friend Peyton. They had a wonderful time making cookies and playing Barbies. What a great friend she is!

This week seems to be flying by. It is amazing how quickly the time goes now that I am a stay at home mommy. Sophia and I have such a great time together. I love being able to do such fun things for her, and the fact that they are free is even better.

Tomorrow we will go to Story Hour at the library in Woodbury. Sophia enjoys hearing the books and checking out new ones. We try to get to the library at least once a week. It is amazing how long she will sit and listen to books.

I can hardly believe that a week from Saturday my little girl will be 3! Oh the time goes by so quick.

Mother's Day

What a wonderful Mother's Day it has been! We started off the day by getting together with my mom and walking the Race for the Cure. It is our tradition to walk every year together. With met up with our group of friends and we were off.

It always amazes me at how much the walk/run grow each year. I can hardly believe that my mom has almost made it to her 10 year mark as a survivor! What a blessing and a tragedy that experience was. It sure does make you realize that you're very lucky.

I am so incredibly blessed to be a mother and have such a wonderful relationship with my mother. I couldn't ask for more!

Sophia was quite the trooper during the walk. My mom figured that we walked seven miles by the time all was said and done.

Our group

After getting home from the walk, we took Sophia to the park. We played for a while and tried to soak up the sun! It is so beautiful outside it was hard for me to come in. We played soccer and did some chalk on the driveway. Sophia went down for a nap and Hal and I enjoyed some quality time together outside in the lounge chairs reading the newspaper.

Tonight we are going to have a pizza picnic and watch a movie. Oh and how I could forget the stop from the ice cream man! What a wonderful day.

On another positive note, I have an interview tomorrow so wish me luck!

Happy Mother's Day!

Making cookies

Yesterday Sophia helped me make cookies. We both put our aprons on and had a great time. She is getting to be so grown up!

Mommy and Sophia in our aprons

Mixing the cookie dough