Kate's Third Birthday!

Kate turned 3 years old on May 3rd. Our little girl is so grown up! That weekend, we invited a few friends from our Bible study over to celebrate. It was a Princess Party! We had little princesses and princes (and even a Buzz Lightyear) running like banshees all over the yard. It was a great time. Kate's birthday falls at such a wonderful time of year for outdoor parties. The jasmine on our back porch always blooms the week of Kate's birthday and makes for a nice backdrop.

Kate's party also included the grand opening of the new and improved tree house playscape in our backyard. For the past couple of weekends, Josh had been working on building a new lower platform for the slide, so that it's at an appropriate angle instead of the crazy steep death drop that the previous owners had it. He did a great job, and I'm much more comfortable with letting kids play out there. Now it is a safe, fun place for Kate and her friends.

We had a treasure hunt for the kids, with clues hidden throughout the yard. The final clue lead them to a sandpit where they dug for buried treasure.

The princesses found the treasure! Rings, necklaces, and--best of all--ring pops. Kate was pretty excited about this candy that combined her love for bling with her love for sugar.

Even Jill got in on the princess action.

Kate received several princess dress up outfits as presents, which means her friends know her well. :) She was thrilled, and now her dress up trunk is full to the brim!

Uncle Casey gave Kate a mixer for her play kitchen, and she was very excited. Ever since seeing her friend Ella's mixer, Kate had been requesting one for herself. :)

Happy birthday, Kate! We love you!