Well, my sweet pea is three. And what a wonderful day we had together! Nothing like starting the morning out with a birthday present (fresh bedhead and all). (It was this bathtub toy that didn’t work very well. I got it off Hautelook so I need to see if it’s returnable or not. At least I didn’t pay full price!)

Some paleo pumpkin pancakes topped with syrup, whipped cream, and mini chocolate chips was the perfect birthday breakfast for our girl. And let’s be honest, all she really cared about were the “chwocwate chwips”.

When the weather forecast called for 60+ degree day, I knew a little party at the park with her friends was the perfect way for her to spend her afternoon! Lots of playing, yelling, and mostly enjoying the sunshine.





Little brother and his baton (that he kept a death grip on for the first half hour we were there)

A little picnic with snacks and treats! Including these little beauties: Food Babe’s Almond Butter Brownies layered with fresh whipped cream and strawberries. It was slightly torturous putting these together!

Hollis LOVED her party at the park. It combined her favorite things: friends, playing outside, playing on “huge toys”, treats, her little brother, and the sunshine!

Back home for the next round of the party….Daddy had her “big” present ready and waiting. She had to follow the string all around the house and yard.


…which led her to her pink Strider bike! For whatever reason, she started whining and saying “Nooooo!” as soon as she saw it (?!?). She literally ran away from it and hid her head in my legs. Um…not the reaction we were going for? Within a few minutes she had settled down and put her helmet on. And was touching the bike! So that was progress. We’ll see how long it takes to make some progress on learning how to actually ride the bike.

We had some of her favorites for dinner: hamburgers (homemade patties, no buns) and fries (sweet potato fries fried in tallow). Really, anything that she can dip in ketchup is a favorite for her! Then it was blowing out some candles and then she finally let us sing her “happy birthday”. Also, right before bedtime she said “I love my birthday, mommy. And I love all the presents you got me.” It really was the perfect day!

Three Things I Love About Hollis
1) I love her imagination. She is so into creative play right now. She is constantly busy in her kitchen, making food, cooking, and trying to feed me and little brother. She loves to play library – she wants me to be “the lady” and check her books out for her. She also loves playing with her babies, and she is the best mommy to them. She’ll turn all the lights off and say “shhh, my baby is sleeping!” (Where did she get that from?!?) 😉 She is always feeding, rocking, and cuddling her baby and telling me what her baby needs. I just love watching her imagination grow and blossom!
2) I love watching her as a big sister. She is sooo incredibly affectionate and caring with Parks. She is always looking out for him, and telling me what he needs. If he is fussy or upset she gives me ideas on what I could do to make him happy. She (sometimes) loves to share with him. She loves to make him laugh and giggle. And she loves to be excited for him when he learns new things. I just love watching the two of them together. And I love the feeling of responsibility and pride that you can see growing in her as a big sister!
3) I love how sweet and affectionate she is. Her main love language is definitely physical touch, and she is constantly hugging, snuggling, and wanting to be in close physical proximity to me. She needs her little love tank filled up throughout the day. If she’s starting to lose it or get really whiny or difficult, I know that a quick snuggle session helps her feel connected and fills her back up, and gets her back on track. She loves to brush and play with me hair, she loves to let me hug and kiss her (right now she’s into “wiping” the kisses off, but then quickly asks for more 🙂 ).



(this was a pose she wanted to do):

Happy Birthday to my little Sweet Pea, my Punkin, my Tootie, my Precious Girl….my love and my heart.