Em's 3rd Birthday

Wow, was it a fun, crazy day today.  I'm still shaking my head to think it's been three years since I gave birth to that little girl.  Two seemed to be such a long year, but in hindsight it flew by.  In the past month or so, she has seemed to grow up by leaps and bounds and has cracked us up with things she has said and done.  A few examples:

* She's obsessed with telling stories at bedtime, and she now has 3-character narratives going.  So funny, and she always starts her stories with, "Once upon a time, there was a beauuuuutiful princess named Emerson..." Also, if we tell her a story, she requests specific characters to be included, and usually it's a princess, queen, king, prince, crocodile, and paints. 

* I was explaining to her what it means to be bossy a few weeks ago.  She thought for a minute and said, "Mommy, you're a bossy little queen."

* Her new favorite expression: "Don't spray it... say it!"  Thank you, Uncle Trav. 

Anyway, back to today.  We went to church this morning, ate a quick lunch and then put the kids straight to bed.  Jason and I caught a 45-minute nap, too.  Glorious!  I ran to Reasor's to pick up the cake and balloons, then the family arrived.  All Emerson could talk about was eating cake, but somehow she managed to get a little Olive Garden down.  She was blessed beyond measure with toys galore, and tonight she has already gotten out of bed twice.  The second time, I caught her in her room with her new princess dress-up dress on.  The sugar and the excitement were too much! 

Some pics of today: