Anna is 3!

It is becoming increasingly apparent that my baby girl is no longer a baby, and I'm not handling it well. 

How'd we get from this:

and this (oh, those thighs!):

to this?:

Sigh.

Of course, we've still made no progress on potty-training, so I do have one last bit of babyhood hanging around.  One last stinky little bit. :-)

We celebrated Anna's birthday on Saturday.  Nana, Papa, Grandma, Cindy, Shawn, and Leah all came for the party.

I tried something new with this cake--homemade marshmallow fondant.  It was surprisingly easy!  (I did buy some red fondant for the bow--I was afraid the homemade fondant wouldn't harden up enough to hold the bow shape.)

Putting Papa to work:

Kids' table:

Ooh!  A new scooter:

And lots of cute clothes:

Anna looooves Dora:

Opening Aunt Laurie's gift:

Adorable jumper, blingy glasses, and hair feather from Aunt Cindy:

Time for cake!

(John asked why I made the cake so big.  I said, "because that's the size pans I have!"  But yeah, that was a whole lot of cake.)

Anna snuck a little frosting from the side:

"Happy birthday to you...cha cha cha..."

Making a wish:

Trying out the new scooter:

Sticking your tongue out helps you keep your balance.  Really.

We had such a fun time and were so glad everyone could make the trip!

Anna got to have a second party today at school with her classmates.  I brought in some Chick-fil-A take out and cupcakes:

Wearing the birthday crown:

Anna, at 3 years old:

• Weighs almost 30 pounds and is about 38.5 inches tall.  That puts her a little under the 50th percentile for weight and a little over the 75th percentile for height.  I'm excited about her height, but it does make buying or sewing clothes difficult; most of the clothes that fit her waist are too short.
• Is constantly talking.  I understand everything she says when she is speaking purposefully, but I don't pick up everything when she is chattering to herself or her toys.  She generally uses her manners well, and spontaneously uses "please" and "thank you", which I appreciate.
• Can hit a ball off a tee and enjoys her balance bike and new scooter.  She's actually pretty good at using Will's two-wheeled Razor scooter, too, but she can't pedal the tricycle yet.
• Is going to school 2-3 days per week and really loves her teacher and her classmates.  She is always excited when I tell her it's a school day.
• Enjoys play-acting with her dollhouse and the Legos.  She is pretty funny--I often hear her reenacting scenes from movies (a favorite is the dumpster scene from Toy Story 3).
• Can count to 20 (skipping 13-16), say her "ABC's", and knows most of her colors.  She also enjoys her "Pride and Prejudice" counting book from Aunt Missy; she knows Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, most of the Bennett sisters (she gets Lydia and Kitty confused, but who doesn't?), and knows the outcome of each proposal.  You really can't start teaching important literature too early, right? :-)
• Absolutely, thoroughly loves Dora.  She begs and begs and begs to watch Dora on the iPad, and frequently malingers: "My tummy hurts.  I need watch Dora."  
• Says "I caaaaan't!!" anytime she doesn't want to do anything.  Put her shoes in her room?  "I caaaan't!"  Put her cup in the sink?  "I caaaan't!"  Sit on the potty?  "I caaaan't.  Dat too hard."
• Has made absolute zero inroads toward using the potty, other than about 4 urine voids before her bath over the past 3-4 months.  I really didn't think she was ready until the 2 months or so; she didn't seem to know what she was supposed to do until recently, but now I'm pretty sure she knows and just prefers her diapers.  I've backed off because we're going on vacation in a few weeks and it will actually be easier to have her in diapers for that trip; but I think the Easter bunny may remove all her diapers while we are gone and we'll just see what happens.  (Probably I'll be cleaning a lot of carpet...)
• Loves to play with Will and wants to do everything he does.  She is also the instigator in many of their fights--she definitely knows how to aggravate her big brother.
• Gives fantastic hugs and kisses and still likes to curl up in my lap and rock.  I hope that doesn't stop anytime soon!

Happy Birthday, Anna-girl!!

(Purple pants in the first few pics are from this pattern, Mickey sundress and a matching doll dress--that I forgot to take a picture of--are from this pattern, and that last beautiful picture is by Leah.)