BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!

Dad said it's not just for me, but Mom and Jonathan don't like this kind of icing, so you do the math. 

Happy birthday to me (version 2, part 3)

Another year, another chance to worry about how small that big bear is getting because Mom and Dad never feed it any dessert or make sure it gets enough exercise.

Here I am with the fuzzy guy three years ago this week:

And here I am two years ago:

Last year: 

And this year? The bear and I look exactly the same as 12 months ago:

I do think we should get some better sneakers for him, though. I'm worried about how small he may look next year.

Making friends

They're both thinking "that one is soft and cuddly."

More and more and more swings

Seriously, this child would sleep in the swings if we let her.

Nature walk

We took a family stroll by the lake around the corner to explore. While Mom and Dad were looking for frogs, I found a four-foot tall heron relaxing on the lillypads.

We also found a whole mess of small turtles, and then this one that was the size of Emma. 

And Dad found a really tame butterfly on the back porch, which was awfully cool too. 

Reading together

Three's a difference between "reading together" and "reading, together."

Swinging takes no breaks

Seriously, Dad? We can rest when we're asleep. Not now.