Celebrating Three with Daddy

We continued to celebrate Cate's birthday this weekend with a trip to the zoo and a pink pizza party. Cate was not totally in love with the zoo because she was worried about the animals getting out. She didn't want to get out of the stroller at first, but eventually warmed up. We packed a lunch and ate at the zoo and then came home for a quick rest. Well...the boys took a rest, but the girls went to pick up the cake, balloons and a few miscellaneous items.

Cate loved her Pinkalicious cake and was one exhausted three year old by the time bedtime rolled around.

Our big gift for the birthday girl was a new dollhouse. She has one that someone gave us and that she really loves to play with, but I thought she might like something a little bit bigger and newer. We didn't give it to her until after church on Sunday because by the time we were done eating on Saturday, she needed to get to bed. Luckily, at three, she is not yet aware that this is not how birthdays are usually done.

So here they are ready for church, both donning the best of the Old Navy clearance rack, Cate in her new pink headband from Uncle Rusty.

After church and lunch, Timmy went down for a nap and Cate got to open her dollhouse. In a sign of things to come from her 16 year old self, Cate took one good look at the dollhouse and said, "Mommy, this is so much cooler than my other dollhouse."

Cate's Third Birthday Date

Our little Cate is three years old today. She is such a big girl. We decided that this year, in the midst of the insanity that is our lives, we would do a few fun activities with Cate, things that we could do as a family that we knew she would enjoy. Tim will not be home until late tonight, so we are spreading her birthday fun out over today and tomorrow.

This morning Auntie Jenn came over to hang out with Timmy so that Cate and I could go on a date and paint some pottery. She love love loves to paint and fuss with projects, so I thought that I would just let her decide what to paint and which colors to use. Luckily she was easily guided away from the intricate horse that first caught her eye and was happy to paint a plaque and put her handprint on it.

She chose all light pinks and purples for the base and painted her hand a dark pink for the handprint. After we finished, we walked over to the fountain in downtown Arlington Heights, ran around and played on a new playground.

I finally coaxed her into leaving with the promise of a swing through Panera for her favorite bagel (asiago cheese) and lunch for Jenn, TT and Mimi. Tomorrow we are planning to go to the zoo and have pizza, gifts, and a very special cake for our pink loving girl!

Expressions

There are a few expressions that I do not care for.

1. It is what it is. (i.e. there is nothing you can do about it)

2. We have a lot going on right now. (I have been saying this for two years...I am sick of it.)

3. The New Normal

These expressions come up frequently and the new normal is my least favorite. I mean, who really wants a new normal, right? The new normal means that your old comfortable, worn in way of doing things is coming to an end and it is time to learn a new way, adjust and change. This move is reminding me of how much I like to be comfortable, to be familiar in my surroundings and to be safe. It's too bad that being comfortable isn't really a main goal of life.

We decided that Cate, Timmy and I would join Tim in Phoenix for 10 days so that we could all be together and so that I could get another look at this city that will eventually be home. It was not an easy two weeks. The kids and I were all sick (2 trips to urgent care), they were jet lagged and not sure of their new surroundings.

The good news is that we have great friends in Phoenix. Dan and Jamie opened up their house and, more importantly, their toys to us showed us around town, watched our kids so that we could look at neighborhoods, and answered a million questions about the city. I really can not imagine moving to a new city and not knowing a soul. This is a hard move for us but having old friends there is making it manageable. We were supposed to meet up with Sari and her little Elliot, but C&T were just too sick, so we'll have to catch up with them next time.

The Scottsdale train museum. Cate and Timmy love trains so they had a great time, although it was quite toasty that morning.

Norah's backyard pool. It is amazing that Cate actually got in the pool. She is very unsure of the water but it was a pretty small pool so I think she felt safe. Timmy waited to get the girls out of the pool so that he could get in on his own and stretch his long legs out.

Cate at our apartment pool. Did she get in the water in the 105 degree heat? Nope. But she did kick and splash on the side which is something. I see some major boot camp swimming lessons coming our way. I hope that Tim will be in charge of taking them to those.