Susannah is 3!!

This post will be a sort of hodge-podge as I have pictures of Susannah's official birthday, as well as the first round of our holiday festivities that occurred last week.    I want to take a minute to record some of the funny and sweet things that we are currently loving about our little three year old.   She seems to get funnier everyday.   I think list form is probably easiest, so here goes......

1.   She has adapted to school like the courageous little trooper that I didn't know she was.   She loves to go and has even started picking out her clothes and boots so that we can get out the door faster.  
2.    She still loves to read and has at least 15-20 of her books completely memorized.   And if I miss a word while reading, she promptly corrects me.   
3.    She is still very affectionate and loves to give big hugs and kisses.   She wants me to hold her less and less though, so I try to soak up every single time she says, "Hold my, Mommy."
4.   She has started calling me "Mama" or "Mom" and Peter "Dad" and we are trying to get used to such "grown up" names.   ;)
5.    She was terrified of our Elf on the Shelf.   She wanted an escort to every room in the house, so Peter declared that he was flying back to the North Pole to help Santa.   We will try again next year.  She didn't even warm up to him after he left her this birthday card on the morning of her birthday.....

 

 

6.   She LOVES broccoli and cous-cous.   This is what we would have for dinner every night if it were up to her.   She is an over-all pretty good eater, but can be really stubborn if she thinks she won't like something.(ie. sweet potatoes)

7.    Her favorite toys right now are her doctor's kit and her grocery cart and kitchen.   She loves dressing up and pretending she is going to the store.   She especially loves playing restaurant and taking our orders on a little notepad.  

8.    She misses Meadow so much that she has turned one of her stuffed dogs into her pet.   She named him "dark purple" (I know, random, right??)  and she feeds him, gives him water, and bathes him on a regular basis.

9.    She loves to climb things.   Is this the case with all three year olds?   I am constantly telling her stop using the furniture at gymnastics equipment.  

10.   She has really started to become more adventurous since starting school.   She doesn't hesitate on any slide, no matter how big or scary, and she even rode a carrousel this weekend.

 

I could go on (and on), but I should probably stop there.   Susannah, you are Daddy and my most treasured gift.   Our hearts are absolutely brimming with love for and pride in you, our beautiful, smart, and sweet girl.   Happy Birthday!

 



I took rice crispy treats for her to share with her class on her birthday and they were a big hit.   The kids had never had them before.   I stayed for circle time and was so glad I did because they sang "happy birthday" in English for her.   And then she passed our her treats all by herself.   She got to pick a special treat from the birthday bag and of course, she chose a book that I have absolutely no idea of how to read.   Her babysitter read it to her this weekend, so at least she had that.   ;)

That night, we had a little birthday party with the three of us.   I cooked her favorite dinner and we had leftover cupcakes and opened her presents from us and from family packages.

She has become quite the little gift opening expert.   No longer timid. 

A new doctor's kit!!

Peter and I gave her a Candyland game and she loves it.  

 And now for the beginning Christmas 2013......

St. Nicholas came to her school last Friday!

He was beautiful and it was just like out of a movie, with all the bundled children chasing him around the courtyard.

Susannah was not chasing him......she was standing under my feet back here.  (not that adventurous just yet!)

But when he started handing out treats and noticed her standing in the back, she was too curious to not step forward and accept his offering.

I had to laugh when I saw what it was......An apple, a few peanuts, and 2 little pieces of chocolate.   I couldn't help but think how most American children would not be too impressed with this treat bag.   ;)

Before handing out treats, everybody sang a song about St. Nicholas.   Since we had no idea of the words or the tune, Susannah and I just listened.  ;)

And then everybody recited this poem to send him off and say good-bye.   It was such a neat little event.

In the Christmas spirit from St. Nick's visit, we headed out that evening to select our Christmas tree.   Conveniently, the church across the street from us has a little tree lot, so Peter didn't have to carry this thing far.

We had a little trouble figuring out the double-strand lights they have here.   We had to start over a few times before we got it right.

But it turned out really nice when it was all over.   (I'm planning to buy a new star to replace the elf hat.   I promise it is only temporary. )

This is Susannah's little advent area.   I know it isn't very impressive compared to all the beautiful pinterest postings, but it's what we've got this year.   Every day we put a new sticker on Jesus's birthday cake and we get to choose a chocolate from one of the calendars.   Luckily people gave us a few, so Peter and I get to have a daily chocolate too.  :)

No fireplace in our new apartment so the stockings are hanging on the bookshelf.

And of course, we have our Nativity Scene from Madagascar on display.  (I know this is probably super boring, but I like to have it for our family blog book so bear with me.)

Saturday night was Peter's Christmas party so we got all dressed up and had a very fancy and fun night.  

Sunday we had planned to head to the Christmas Markets so Susannah could ice-skate, but we were side-tracked by this little festival in our neighborhood.

Susannah rode this little carousel for the longest time. 

And we decorated gingerbread cookies.

We put lots of icing on ours of course.

How cute?

This was the overhead view of the little street fair.    Food and craft vendors made up the majority of the tents and it was all very family centric.    Goulasch soup, spicy bratwurst, and miniature pancakes were had by all!  We had a great afternoon here.

They even had a Christmas tree and mini-bonfires to keep us warm.  

Well, that was our week.   Hope all of you are having a happy and not-too-hectic start to the Christmas season.   We love you all!