It's A Wonderful Life

Charlie Bear had his first haircut last night. As you can see, he's needed one for quite some time, but I haven't been ready. I was afraid he would look too grown up! But Matt put his foot down and said that the mullet had to go. Sigh. I guess it's for the best. :)

Olivia let him feel the clippers buzzing, and he thought it was hilarious.

He was wiggling all over the place, I don't know how Olivia kept up!

She gave him a comb to distract him, so that helped. :)

Don't worry, it was new. :)

Doesn't he look handsome?!

And then it was our gal pal's turn. Her hair is unbelievably thick, and the curls make it get so tangled. Combing it is a battle, several times a day. So....I decided to shorten it to see if it helps.

Surveying her new look. She said, "Mom! Remember earlier when my hair was longer?!"

Of course, she sat there with her always faithful companion, Bear Bear.

She did Bear Bear's hair while Olivia braided her hair.

She looks so grown up!

Best buds. :)

Our sweet gal turned 3 years old today. Where is the time going? She has been SO excited about her birthday, and she has been so patient while we went through the last 6 weeks of many, many birthday celebrations for other people, knowing hers was around the corner.

Everyone has warned me that 3 is "worse" than 2 in terms of tantrums, stubbornness, challenges, etc. I feel like Reese made the emotional transition to this new "3" behavior a few months ago, and I have to agree with the warnings. She has been giving us a run for our money lately in several ways.

However, along with the newfound intensity of her personality has come yet another amazing stage as well. Reese seems so grown up these days. She has opinions, she tells stories, she has the memory of an elephant (elephants supposedly have really good memories, right?), she is hilarious, she loves to shop (woohoo!), she rations and reasons, she is smart as they come...and she's beautiful. Let's be real. She is, right? Her eyes, her smile, her hair...all equal in beauty to her amazing heart and spirit. I just love this gal.

We had Reese's birthday party this past weekend. We invited her closest little friends, and she had a blast. The theme was The Lorax (by Dr. Seuss). If you haven't seen the movie, you need to. It's adorable, and has the best message about keeping our environment healthy. Reese loves it, and it was such a fun theme!

I decorated the kids' treat bags with the Lorax face, which was a hit. :)

The front sidewalk was lined with these signs as guests walked in. Reese was so excited when she saw them.

We surprised Reese with a bounce house that arrived the morning of her party. After having one for Charlie's party, I don't think we will ever get away with having a party without one again.

Reese loved having everyone sing Happy Birthday to her. She sang along with everyone, and then broke into a huge smile when everyone sang her name. :)

Unfortunately, she grabbed one of the candle wicks right after this picture. After a few minutes of running her finger under cold water and a princess bandaid, she was ready to re-join the party. It was so cute to see all of the little kids run into the house to check on her. :)