Nothing "2" About This Girl!

Our little Alaina turned three today . . . only she thought it was yesterday!

We celebrated a day early, since Jason wouldn't be home tonight.  This was actually not as easy as it sounds, because even though Alaina was only turning three, she'd known for quite some time that her birthday was September 6 . . . but we managed to get away with it :)

She started off yesterday morning with a very special gift: a "twin" for her favorite Cinderella baby that she'd been wanting every time we'd been to the store. 

(You might notice the huge bruise/goose egg on Laina's head in the pictures--she fell down a steep hill at Ben and Janae's school the day before and hit her head on a metal bike rack. . . .)

Alaina had a few other special requests for her birthday--she wanted to go to a nearby apple/pumpkin farm that has a petting zoo, hayride, and play area with slides, swings, a bouncy pillow, etc.

Our almost-three-year-old's favorite thing there was the bunny pen, where she could NOT stop breaking the rule about picking up bunnies :) 

Alaina also enjoyed leading us through a corn maze . . . with a little help from Daddy towards the end.

 

Another one of Alaina's birthday wishes was to have a "Dorothy cake" (meaning Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz).  This part of the celebration was also not as easy as it sounds. 

Although Alaina had been asking for a "Dorothy birthday" since last October (when one of her favorite cousins dressed up as Dorothy for Halloween and Alaina became obsessed with the character), I'd kept thinking she would probably change her mind before the party.  So when I'd seen Wizard of Oz stuff, I'd thought, "That would be fun for Alaina's party," then stopped myself from buying it.

Of course a few weeks ago when I realized that we actually would--in fact--be having a Dorothy party, I started looking and couldn't find anything with that theme.

I was lucky to come across some "good witch/bad witch" napkins at Hallmark, but what Alaina really wanted was DOROTHY.

So . . . after a few phone calls, a trip across the border, and a swipe of the Mastercard, we ended up with this strange-looking (but recognizably Dorothy) knick-knack that worked okay as a cake topper (well, it kind of sank down into the cake, but luckily it didn't have to stay on there too long!).

Alaina decided at the last minute that she wanted M&Ms on the cake, too, sprinkled on by none other than herself, the birthday girl!

I think everyone else liked it, too :)

Alaina got some more fun gifts that evening.  Grandma had found a little "Tin Man" doll and made a Dorothy dress for a little girl doll (so adorable!).

And Alaina's last wish came true with a mama "Penny the Pig" from Auntie Tina.

When Alaina went to sleep that night, I had to say I thought she still looked like my little two-year-old baby, but then again she still was!

I think she was dreaming about the bunnies :)

Today, though, she is ALL THREE!!!