When Tiny Turned Three

Tiny Tot turned three in July. Originally she wanted a unicorn cake like Wren's, but then she said she wanted a Pippi Longstocking cake. I had no idea how to provide that. When I googled it, I found all these crazy fancy cakes with fondant Pippis. I have never worked with fondant and have no desire to change that. In the end, I made a funfetti cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and decorated it at the last second like this:

It was hilarious. So ghetto. But Tiny was very happy with it, so that was great. 

When I asked her how old she was turning, this was her answer:

Sunday, July 7, we had the Wilsons over to celebrate. Some of them were very tired. (Hence Cali sleeping on the couch in the background.)

As soon as the candles were out, Tiny was ready to attack the cake.

Gammy gave Tiny an alphabet thing, which Wren was as into as Tiny and which Jim threw away within a couple months because he got tired of finding the letters all over. (So sad.)

Before the Wilsons took off, Trisha tried to get a shot of all the kids. It proved impossible to get them all to stay still and look at the camera at the same time.

On Monday, her actual birthday, Boozehound opened presents first thing in the morning. Jim had already left for work, so I videotaped the whole thing for him. I'll just post a highlight - when she opened the Pippi movie.

We invited all of the Bunnell girls (Piper, Rosie, and Chloe) and Elle Oddou over at 2:30 P.M. I figured I could give them cake right off the bat, and then they'd still be hungry for dinner but I wouldn't have to feed them a meal. The plan was to watch Pippi and paint nails. (That was one of the reasons I got her the movie as a birthday present. If we watch it one or two more times, it'll pay for itself.)

I believe Tiny slept in that dress-up dance outfit, but by late morning, she had changed into her nightgown. I found her hanging out in Wren's chair looking as sweet as can be.

Next thing I knew, Ever was doing storytime with the littles.

Then Tiny was back in her ballerina outfit, trying on her new unicorn hat.

After lunch, the friends came over. I used the cake we'd hacked into the night before, cutting a slice and putting three candles in it for "Happy Birthday." (Sorry about my singing.)

Then we watched Pippi. I don't know that the other girls were as into it as mine, but mine sure were going through a period of obsession.

We didn't have time for nails. Also Jim had bought a unicorn piñata (Boozy's request) in advance and stuck it in the closet. I meant to use it with the friends but forgot about it until it was too late. Tiny didn't seem to remember she had asked for a piñata for this birthday. Afterward she asked a few times if she could have one at her next birthday, and Jim and I were happy to be able to say she definitely could.

Tiny is the most delightful little thing. She is so sweet and affectionate. She gives the best hugs; she squeezes really hard. She is completely infatuated with Jim, whom she all on her own nicknamed "Dadito," which is the cutest thing I've ever heard. (Apparently she's heard Rafi's family call him "Rafito.") When she comes into our room in the morning, she goes right by me to Jim. Sometimes if he's already downstairs, she walks in and just says, "Where's Daddy?" and then goes downstairs without another word to find him. She loves her sisters and asks at night if she can sleep in the "sisters' room."  She and Wren are constantly loving/wrestling/fighting. She is a super picky eater and boycotts dinner more often than not, but she passionately loves all treats. She also still loves her "watermilk" (milk). Although I potty trained her for waking hours long ago, I am concerned that she intends to sleep in a diaper at night for the rest of her life. Sometimes she keeps her diaper dry or even sleeps in undies for her naps, but she has no problem wearing diapers and relieving herself in them and does so most nights. She is hilarious and fearless and independent and tough. She likes to wander/run off, including through parking lots. Like Wrenzy, she has a tongue thrust and pronounces "car" like "cow." (So her name is "Owden.") She also says "from" more like "zhom" or something. She will chat your ear off, and I love her stories. She wants to wear only fancy dresses because she wants people to tell her she looks beautiful. (Concerning.) She loves books and likes to take tons of books off their shelves and look through them. Once while reading to her and Wrenzy, I must have turned two pages instead of one because after I finished, she told me I skipped a page, and she knew what was on it (as did Wrenzy). She always says, "I am a baby" in this odd, stilted cadence. Her favorite game is when she crouches down wrapped in her towel after her bath and I pretend she's a package that's been delivered and wonder what it is and then open it up and announce that it's a tiny baby. (Usually she doesn't want to be "Tiny" when we do that; she wants to be a baby. So usually I call her a "tiny baby.") Her cheeks are still absolutely incredible to pinch/squeeze/kiss, and I seem to do that for hours every day. I also tell her at least 100 times every single day, "You're so special," and I really feel that way. She is so very special, and we can't imagine life without her.