Casey says: "I'm Three!"

Our little girl turned three. I look at her no longer see a toddler but now a big girl. In the last year she's grown up in many different ways.

Her speech has improved tremendously. At 2 she was at 40 words and we were concerned. Our doctor told us to give it time and see where she is at by 3. He was right. At 2 1/2 it all clicked. Out came the 2-3 word sentences and so much more. Now we can understand 75% of what she's saying and she can repeat any word we ask her to and she's starting to sing alot more.

She's an excellent helper for both mommy and daddy (especially in the kitchen while Mommy is preparing meals).

She's potty trained..well mostly. We are still working on staying dry through the night. About 80% of the time she's dry when she wakes up.

She's fearless (opposite to her brother) and jumps into new situations or activities without hesitation.

She now only uses a pacifier during naptime and bedtime. Not sure yet when we'll be done with it completely?

She can recognize her name and loves seeing it too! Also If she sees the letter "C" in a book, on a sign, or anywhere, she'll tell me "Mommy C like Casey".

Her best friends are Samantha and Alison.

She loves stickers, glue and glitter for art projects.

She can pedal a tricycle and tries to keep up to her big brother the best she can.

She wants to hug every dog and cat she sees.

She's an excellent swimmer and loves being in the pool, lake and bathtub. She can also swim on her own with a life jacket.

She gives the best hugs and squeezes really tight to show how much she loves you.

She stays in bed until we get her. She calls out for "Mommmyyy!

At night time she needs to have Sunshine Care Bear with her (actually his name is Funshine Bear but he has a sun on his belly and Casey calls him Sunshine). We also know a loving dog named Sunshine so I think that is why she likes that name as well.

She insists on us singing Baa Baa Black Sheep to her every night.

Her nickname for Jake is: "Jakey"

At night time she likes to have her books read to her last. She insists that the books Jake picks out get read first.

When she wakes up she enjoys having a sippy cup of warm chocolate milk. Not cold milk.



We celebrated her birthday throughout the month of August. Her first celebration came while we visited family in Wisconsin in early August. Grandma Wes and Aunt Carli put together a swim party for Casey and Gavin (my nephew). Gavin and Casey share the same birthday (Gavin is 2 yrs older). That was an awesome day having lunch together, twinkies for dessert, opening presents, and playtime in the pool and waterpark with family and friends.

A week later we celebrated at Grandpa Stephen and Grandma Jan's house in northern Wisconsin. My Dad, my sister Carie, Casey and Gavin all celebrate birthdays in August. We hosted a surprise 60th party for my Dad. We cooked delicious bbq ribs and grilled vegetables for our dinner. We had cake and lemon meringue pie for dessert.





On August 31 (her actual birthday) she woke up in her normal cheerful mood and she knew it was her SPECIAL day (of course we pumped it up to the day leading up to it). She looked for her hidden presents in the living room. Jake helped hide them, it took all of his strength to not tell her where they were. Next she enjoyed a plate of chocolate chip pancakes with candles on top (a tradition of ours) and we sang Happy Birthday to her. That day we had plans to see the Michigan State Fair. Casey is an animal lover and what better place to go see animals than at the State Fair. We viewed many animal exhibits (goats, horses, cows, sheep, baby piglets, chicks, baby lambs, turtles etc...). Chris and I were filled with joy as we watched her feed carrots to the goats in the petting zoo area. She would place a carrot on the palm of her hand and stretch it out to her furry friend. A smile and giggle would appear on her face when the carrot was licked off. Next she would get up close to pet and hug each animal she fed. Another great adventure for the day was going on an elephant ride. We took a 2 min ride on top of Nona. She was a very gentle elephant and the kids were amazed as to how high up they were sitting. That was a special experience for us. At the end we watched Nona received a marshmallow as her treat. At the fair we also enjoyed the pig races, a circus show, a puppet show and a 30 minute activity called the Great Safety Adventure and participated in an event called Code Red Rover. This was great for the kids and if you happen to see it in your area I recommend you doing it. And of course enjoying all the fair food. To end the evening we had dinner at Applebee's.




Feeding the goats



Petting a baby lamb



Petting a piglet



Riding on Nona



My silly clowns at the circus show



Dinner at Applebees



Oreo sundae for dessert



Talking on the phone all day with Gmas, Gpas, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins to receive birthday wishes!!!


A week later we again celebrated (for the 4th time!) and this time with our friends. Casey chose to have a Little Mermaid party. Mommy decorated the house in an Under the Sea theme with seaweed and ocean creatures hanging ceiling, ocean creatures and the Little Mermaid taped to the walls, a Ariel cake (highlighted in this post), singing/dancing games, a touch and feel game (looking for coins in a bowl full of spaghetti seaweed), a balloon game and a painting craft. We invited 11 kids (and their parents) to join us in the festivities. It turned out to be a wonderful party.





Squishy, squishy, eeewwwww!



Popping balloons to reach a candy surprise inside



Casey and Alison (our neighbor friend)


We're lucky to have a beautiful, loving, caring little girl and we are excited to see all the new things she'll learn in the coming year.

PS. Thank you to our wonderful neighbors John and Michele and Kristin and Brian for letting us borrow your digital cameras. Ours decided not to function anymore on the morning of Casey's birthday (terrible timing). Luckily our great friends let us borrow theirs for the State Fair and for the mermaid party. Otherwise I would not have these amazing photos to preserve these memories. This weekend we're due for a trip to the mall to get either get our camera fixed or purchase a new one.