Ode to My Baby!

Well, I'm not the poetic type, but I dedicate this here post #101 to my baby girl, Sydney, who yesterday turned 3 years old! It was 3 years ago yesterday that this little bundle of joy came into this world weighing a tiny 6 pounds 6 ounces, and measuring only 19 inches but with a full head of crazy dark hair (in that first picture to the right she was 1 hour old). Her mane was untameable for the first year or so of her life, LOL!

She was the quietest, sweetest little thing you had ever met for the first 2 years of her life. She never made a peep, was not fussy, hardly ever cried or complained at all. People always told me that she was the perfect child and that I was so lucky! Little did I know that her quiet & sweet demeanor was due to the fact that I made the mistake of giving her a pacifier when she was just days old and that thing became an extra appendage quicker than I could have anticipated. We were worried she was never going to speak because she only took the paci out of her mouth to eat and then it was back in there.

Then one day, right after her 2nd birthday, we threw the last of her pacis away, and her inner Tasmanian Devil was unleashed! That girl has not stopped talking, screaming, singing, complaining or laughing ever since! :) The calm, well-mannered baby we once had became a DIVA with the biggest attitude you will ever see... practically overnight.

Today, Sydney is a crazy, fun, opinionated, bossy and squeezably cute three-year old -- one that refuses to go "in the potty" because... in her own words, "I'm just a baby!"

We celebrated her birthday quietly at home yesterday because we have a big party planned for the 20th of this month, when all of our friends and family could be here.

I made a cake... well... attempted to, anyway. I am not a baker by any means, unlike my dear friend, Sandi. I made a chocolate cake from a Pillsbury mix and then tried my hand at making my own royal icing. Well, it was a ROYAL MESS, to say the least! LOL! Everything was going well until I poured the mixture on top of a warm cake... DUH! (Martha Stewart I am NOT!) The stuff melted almost immediately and became a gooey, sugary mess pooled at the bottom of my cake stand. I did manage to shoot a couple of pictures before it completely dripped off...

See... it almost looks good! I added fresh berries to the icing because Sydney LOVES berries! And I sprinkled some confectioners powdered sugar on top. In this second picture you can see how the icing is beginning to melt off and collect at the base...

But the girls loved it nevertheless! Sophie thought it looked like "snow and candy." And Sydney couldn't wait to dig in.

She blew the candles and we devoured the cake instantly! It was a great day for all!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!!!


Now, I leave you all with a funny video we shot earlier yesterday of Sydney playing with her new b-day present...