We spent most of our time and energy planning
Julia's birthday party, so her birthday itself was pretty low-key. Julia had a great day with my parents while we were at work. When Aaron and I got off work, we told her we would take her anywhere her heart desired for dinner. She was very excited to choose. She didn't have to think too long before deciding on CiCi's pizza. We had a fun dinner together!
(Side note to Aaron's college friends: I find this hilarious, don't you? Whenever it came up, Aaron was always scoffing about the poor quality of pizza at CiCi's and his very flesh and blood chooses it above all over restaurants for her birthday dinner!)
 |
| Mom... leave me alone... I'm trying to eat! |
Afterward, we took her to the toy store to pick out a birthday present! We told her she could pick out whatever she wanted (within reason, of course) as a gift from her daddy and me. She was so excited and weighed all her options carefully. She saw so many different options that were so very enticing. I felt bad that amidst the party planning that we hadn't bought her a present ahead of time, but I actually really liked doing it this way and think we may make it a tradition. It was so much fun! She had the fun of opening gifts from other family members at her party, and the fun of spending time with mommy and daddy toy shopping on her birthday.
She finally settled on getting her very own camera! There were both pink and blue options, and as her favorite color had always been blue, we asked her if she wanted the blue one. She quickly pointed out the boy on the blue camera packaging and the girl on the pink camera packaging and passionately exclaimed that the blue camera was for boys and the pink camera was for girls. We assured her that she could have either one, but these sorts of things are pretty black-and-white for three-year-olds, so pink it was ;-)
 |
| Proud new photographer. |
Julia wasted no time in starting to take blurry photos of us with our heads out of the frame ;-) Haha! I'll have to feature some of her photography on here sometime! Her camera also has video capabilities, a voice recorder, and some little mini games. She's really enjoyed it.
 |
| Love the two viewfinders for her eyes! |
 |
| Such a big girl! This photo makes my heart hurt in a good way. I'm so proud. |
 |
| Happy birthday, Julia! We love you so much! |
Julia's birthdays always make me so nostalgic. I really can't believe how big she has gotten as each year passes. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time, but it's also such a blessing to see how she is growing and changing. We couldn't be prouder to be Julia's parents! She is the crown jewel of our marriage and she fills our lives with such joy and light. I am grateful every year for the special opportunity that her birthday gives us to reflect on the gift that is our beautiful daughter. We love you so much, Julia!
