Bella Turns 3!

On June 2, Bella had her big third birthday! Her day began by Mommy, Daddy, and Gracie singing happy birthday to her and carrying balloons into her room. I had wanted to put balloons in her room while she was sleeping so she could wake up to them, but Derek thought she would be freaked out- and after some thought, I agreed. :) 

She got to open a present first thing in the morning- princess puzzles! Note she already has princess attire on for the day. :)

We decided to spend her actual birthday doing special things with both Mommy and Daddy alone. So when Gracie took her morning nap, Bella went with Mommy to a very special activity- getting her fingers and toes painted at the nail salon! Pink with sparkles. :) She was a big fan of the sparkles!

We went to the bakery to get a cookie, which we ate in the park.

Bella even let me take a few pictures. Granted I used a present as bribery... :)

Opening a special gift from Mommy...

A happy little smile on her face...

Because it was a beautiful Cinderella dress! Of course, it had to be worn right away. We then went to eat lunch together at Applebees, one of her favorite restaurants!

We relaxed at home for awhile, and Bella opened a little present "from" Gracie- books and some nail polish. She adored the nail polish, and everybody has gotten their fingers and toes painted pretty colors- even Daddy. ;)
Daddy then took her to the park for their special outing in the afternoon when Gracie slept again- but he of course isn't picture crazed like Mommy.

That evening, we all went to go eat a picnic supper at a different park!

Bella did actually enjoy it, despite how this picture may look. :) She got to have a Happy Meal, her favorite meal of choice! Then off to play.

An adorable picture I got of the little missy. :)

And the two crazy sisters!

Bella's birthday party was the day after her birthday- which was Derek and my anniversary. Our poor anniversary usually gets pretty left out. :) Oh well! Little girls birthdays are pretty important. Mommy spent the night before the party decorating for a kitty extravaganza!

Pink and purple- every little girls favorite colors. :)

My Pinterest creation of tissue paper balls- I was pretty proud of my crafty skills!

Kitty cupcakes- which turned out MUCH better than the Dora cupcakes of last year. I wasn't making a kitty cake in the middle of the night this time! The cupcakes were very cute.

A big kitty apparently visited our driveway and left paw prints all over.

And some little kitties were found prancing around the table! I also scattered Grace and Bella's stuffed kitties all around the kitchen and living room- and let's just say we have quite a few cats in this household.

Once the party began, Bella was very excited to open all her presents!

She received some special handmade gifts from her girl cousins. :)

A Rapunzel playset from Uncle Jer!

Some more stuffed kitties to add to her collection from Mommy and Daddy- not sure what I was thinking, but she didn't actually have any white cats yet. And each stuffed cat is very loved.

An activity table and sticker books from Mommy and Daddy- after opening this, Bella lost interest in opening presents as she wanted to play with her art stuff.

So we took a little break. :) Gracie and Grandma Sheri peeking at Mommy!

She is definitely not a child who tears into every present as fast as she can go! She likes to open and play with each one as they come.

We eventually got her to resume opening. She received a Rapunzel dress from Grandpa Zeke and Grandma Carla, so naturally that had to be put on! And here she is opening a Cinderella carriage and horse- a favorite gift!

And her other favorite from Grandpa Doug and Grandma Sheri-

A Rapunzel tower! Obviously, she didn't have any Rapunzel princess stuff yet. :) She wasn't too into her when her princess love began, but she really likes her now! The tower has had lots of play.

Daddy brought out her final gift....

Her first tricycle! She is now pedaling around the driveway with ease. Still working on the speed, but she has the pedaling concept down. :)

The kitty cupcakes before being consumed. :) And my other craft project- the cupcake tower!

Bella was very shy when we sang happy birthday to her. :)

But I know she secretly enjoyed it. :)

She had a great time at her party- especially since she got to spend so much time playing with her cousins! My birthday is just a few days after Bella, and she was kinda disappointed that I wasn't having a party too so her cousins could come play with her. :)

May Girls

Here are some pictures of the sweet girls together from the past month. :) 

They love each other so much- well, Bella usually loves Grace. :) More so if she stays out of her toys! Grace always adores Bella though. She would love to just jump on top of her if Bella would let her. 

So sweet. :) 

We took a picture of all the Huyser grandchildren as part of a Mother's Day gift for my mom this year. It took some work, particularly in getting the two little babies to stop looking at each other. 

But we eventually had a very successful photo! 

My girls and I after church on Mother's Day! So very blessed to be the mommy of such special little girls. 

And here we are with my mama later on Mother's Day! I think this is the first picture we have taken of all of us- only 8 months late, right? 

When I was taking pictures of Gracie by this pond, Bella actually decided to join in- quite the surprise!

Of course, I think she kept "nudging" her over to fall down.

Another fun activity we did this month was go to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines! Not exactly the best idea to go to this zoo after going to the St. Louis Zoo, but I had bought a Groupon that needed to be used. So we went with Grandma Sheri a day- and Bella still had fun.

Gracie too. :)

Checking out the fish.

Sitting in the giant egg is always a favorite!

Pretending to be a baby joey!

Riding the train is a zoo highlight for Bella! She loves to make the choo choo noises.

She is getting very brave with her animal feeding skills; I'm very proud of her! She actually fed the starving goats all by herself, and they are a little freaky since they practically eat the cup right out of your hand.

Feeding the fish with Grandma.

Gracie chilled and chewed on a plastic spoon- a love for these spoons were discovered in St. Louis! Who knew?

Riding on the giant sea lion! We did get to see the new sea lion exhibit at the zoo, which was pretty cool. Bella enjoyed watching the sea lion do its various tricks.

Waiting in line....

To get Bella's face painted again! One of her favorite activities.

Grandma and Gracie!

Putting on the finishing touches! 

And there is a pink jaguar. I think this was the best painting Bella has had yet! It was also slightly messy by the end of the day since her face was completely covered in paint. But she loved it!

Sitting on the big caterpillar.

And posing for a picture with Grandma at the end of the day- well kinda posing. :) I couldn't get either girl to look at me!