As promised, here are some pictures from Jenna’s birthday party.  She was more excited about her birthday than she was about Christmas.  Maybe exactly BECAUSE the memory of how fun it is to get gifts was still so fresh in her mind though – who knows?  She woke up in the morning and began asking about her “party.”  She wanted to know who was going to be there and she DEFINITELY wanted to make sure there would be cake.  Like 100 times throughout the day, she checked in to make sure there would be cake.  This from the girl who doesn’t eat anything, and ALWAYS spits out anything sweet.

Because we’re in the middle of cold and flu season, we decided to keep the gathering small and just had family here.  My mom and dad are visiting, and my sister came after she was done teaching.  We picked up a cake that we had decorated from the grocery, plus a bunch of balloons, and hung up a “Happy Birthday” banner that arrived from Jenna’s great grandpa.  When she woke up from her nap, she was so excited she could barely contain herself and couldn’t wait to open her presents.  She learned how to hold up three fingers and proudly showed off her new skill (although she wouldn’t do it for the camera for anything).  When asked how old she is now, she sometimes decides to skip ahead a bit and proclaims, “Fwee an a haff.”  (Little does she know that later in life she’ll be rounding down instead of up).  The evening was full of smiles and giggles, and we couldn’t be more thankful for our beautiful miracle girl and the three years of magic and wonder we’ve had with her.

Blowing out the candles

Tasting

“CAKE!!!!”

Happily diving in

She actually ate one or two small bites, which is a HUGE thing in Jenna World!

Opening the first present

A humorous aside:  That package is wrapped in the can from her powdered formula supplement.  Earlier in the week, I had placed her gift inside an empty can to wrap.  In my rush to wrap it up on her birthday, I accidentally grabbed a can full of powder instead of her gift.  When she opened it, she removed the lid, licked her lips with dramatic smacking and said, “MMMMmmmm!  My food!” with her voice full of cheer.  Bless her little heart for being thankful for the simple things.  I quickly got the CORRECT can and she was even happier to see what was inside that one.

The horse from Melissa & Doug’s “Royal Family” collection

Wish Bear!

Opening her Leapfrog TAG Reader

Reading

One happy birthday girl

P.S.  Thanks to Selfish Mom for the Leapfrog TAG Reader that I won through a giveaway at her site before Christmas!  As you can see, it was a huge hit.