Happy 3rd birthday, EV!

This year because of our renovations, we had a small get together with EV's closest friends at my sister's house. But regardless of the size of the party, I had to make the most out of the decorations. Once again, Pinterest came to the rescue and gave me some really great ideas. The decorations came out the way I envisioned (even though I didn't get to do everything I wanted) and EV had a blast. I had EV's friends make a book for EV and it came out so well. It's the best birthday gift ever!

Story station:

Decorations:

The birthday girl:

Blowing out her candles:

Crafting and jumping:

Gina eemo and EV are partied out:

Ballet Class

I swore when I found out that I was having a girl that I would not put EV in pink and expose her to the world of princesses and ballerinas.  But almost everything cute out there for baby girls is in pink and so many playthings for toddler girls all reference princesses and ballerinas.  So, here we are the week before EV's third birthday at her first ballet class.  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against ballet and she is the cutest little ballerina I have laid eyes on, but I just don't want it to become an obsession.

I have to say, I have never seen EV concentrate so hard and look so intense.  The ballet class is at a local community center, so it's a mix of beginners and girls who already have had a session or two.  I was surprised at how they jumped right into things, but EV kept up for the most part.  I was so proud of her, she would volunteer herself and when it was her turn, she would jump, skip, gallop, twirl her way across the classroom.  After class was over she said it was a lot of fun and she wanted to do it again.  Maybe we have a little ballerina on our hands.

Now you see it, now you don't

It's amazing how fast things can get torn down. This morning we had walls and a kitchen and in the afternoon it was all gone. I don't want to post too many pics and spoil the final reveal but I will post a few sneak peaks along the way. My prayer for this week is that the rain will stay away so that we can work on our foundation.

This is the view of our kitchen from our garage (before and after):

Book Exchange Party

I can't believe EV is turning 3 next month.  EV LOVES to read.  She can read the same book over and over again.  Currently, she loves any books that have to do with animals.  She's also been getting into classic stories like "Rumplestiltskin" and "Billy Goat Gruff."  So, we thought it would be appropriate to make her birthday party a "Book Exchange." I think Jimmy did an amazing job with the invitations. 

We decided to keep the party small and to ask guests not to bring gifts this year.  My sister is an awesome aunt to let us host it at her house since our home will be under renovation.  What makes this party so much fun is actually making decisions with EV.  She knows that she wants: pink cupcakes with ice cream :)

Sneak peak of EV and her dress:

First Haircut

We finally took EV in for her very first haircut--EVER!  I usually am not a very sentimental person but I have been attached to EV's hair so this was a very big deal for me.  EV has very beautiful hair--I am totally jealous of it--from the color to the texture to the thickness.  It's what I always wanted for myself. So, maybe that's why I'm so over-protective of it.  I have also vowed never to give her the type of haircuts my mother gave me (you know it's bad when Jimmy pretty much laughs every time he sees my childhood pics at my parent's house).  So, we made it a family event, momma, papa, eemo, and halmi were all there to witness EV's first haircut.  Her facial expression was priceless--she had a look of, "what are you doing, is this safe, should I freak out or am I okay?"

I loved how they gave you a certificate and clippings from her hair to save. They even put some jewels in her hair. How fun! It was definitely a moment we will always remember!

And so it begins...

After six months of planning, budgeting, appraising, applying, and preparing we are finally starting our home renovation!  Praise God! Now it's a matter of praying that nothing unexpected happens because no matter how much you plan you can't fully plan for the unforseen costs. 

As much as I am excited, I am very nervous.  It's going to be a long 3-4 months but I am also very grateful for friends who are letting us stay at their house during the renovation, friends who are helping to watch EV when we need to clean out our house, and friends who offer their time to help in any way that they can.  I am realizing how blessed we are that we can make such changes to the house and to have a community of friends and family who are offering their time and home.  Feeling super blessed.  We love you all!

EV, during this time, you are going through some anxiety.  I think it's a mixture of dealing with the renovation and partially developmental.  When we first moved some furniture, we did it while you and I were out, and that made you really nervous.  When we got home, you asked, "What happened to our table and chairs?"  Afterwards, I realized that I needed to explain to you what was happening so that you can better prepare yourself and not be surprised by all the changes.  The biggest uncertainty is staying at someone else's house.  You keep asking if mommy and daddy will be with you and what's going to happen to your room.  You are also preparing to turn 3 and as exciting as that is (you go around saying, "I'm 2 years old, but will be turning 3 on March 16th" Haha), it's also bringing more persistance, temper tantrums, and demands on your part.  I know that once this is all over, you will appreciate the space.  So, I pray that we can get through the next 4 months without any major hiccups with both the renovations and with EV.  Can't wait to share all the before and after pictures!! 

Obsessive Compulsive

My mom, sister and myself have varying degrees of being obsessive compulsive. My mom takes ridiculously long showers at least two times a day. She is as squeaky clean as a human can possibly get. My sister has to have everything in order. It drives her absolutely nuts to see things misplaced. And I like a routine--not just your typical day to day things but weird things like if I start a notebook in blue pen then the whole notebook has to be in blue pen. We all have a little bit of the other things but these are the things that set us off the quickest.

So, I have been noticing that EV has been displaying more and more obsessive compulsiveness. She always had moments--for example, when she eats, she doesn't like it when her food touches each other and she also doesn't like it when she has a food item she doesn't want on her plate. She can't just ignore it, it has to be removed. The other day, she got really upset with me because she was placing stickers on a piece of paper when I wanted to help. So, I asked if I could help and at the same time I placed a piece on the paper. She got so upset because I placed a yellow triangle on the paper but there were still a few pink ovals left. She said, "Mommy, no!!! You can't start the triangles until you finish the ovals! You messed it all up!" She was very upset and didn't want to play with the stickers anymore.

I think she inherited my weird obsessiveness of needing routine. Yes, it bothers her if her hands are sticky and yes she likes to sort and organize things but the thing that bothers her the most is when things are not done a certain way. Just like me. I think the greatest challenge is to teach her flexibility and that it's okay when deep inside its driving me crazy too. It's so humbling when you see your own flaws through your kids!