B is Three!

Well, almost.  Her birthday is right around the corner, but we decided to celebrate a little early when Grandma and Grandpa were visiting over the weekend. We also decided to keep it simple and just do a family celebration this year. 

A couple weeks ago, I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, and she said, "Purple!  With purple frosting!  And strawberries!"  I checked in with her a couple times in the days leading up to the celebration, and she gave the same answer every time.  So, a purple cake with purple frosting and strawberries on top it was!  Fortunately from all of my experiments in making a rainbow cake with natural food dyes, I knew exactly how to make a purple cake:  blackberries. 

Interestingly, though, the blackberry juice which turned the cake a nice shade of purple, turned the frosting more of a pink.  I guess I need to do some frosting experiments!  I added some blueberry juice, which turned it a bit more purple.  In the end, it wasn't quite as purple as I had hoped, but the birthday girl loved it, so that's all that matters.  Well, that and the fact that it tasted good.  That matters, too!

The one and only present she asked for was a purple stuffy.  She hadn't ever really showed preference for one color over another until just recently - now she clearly loves purple!  Which makes me want to redecorate her room, but I have to keep reminding myself:  one project at a time.  Of course, that didn't stop me from going ahead and picking up purple paint chips at the hardware store.  (Ok, so I may have a teensy bit of a paint-chip-collecting problem!)  In any case, here she is with some of her presents: a purple puppy, which she loved, maracas, which were a big hit, and glitter paint - we go through a lot of  paint in this house and were well overdue for a restocking.  Big sis gave her the little dolly tucked under her other arm.  So cute!

It's hard to believe she's (almost) three already.  She's definitely not a baby anymore, which is a bit bittersweet.  On the one hand, you kind of wish they could stay little forever, but on the other, watching your children grow up is such an amazing thing, and growing up she certainly is!  Seriously, look at this big girl!!  Next thing I know she'll be asking to borrow the car.  Sigh.