Lydia's 3rd Birthday

It's hard to believe that another year has passed, but it has indeed and Lydia is now 3. We ended up having our big family party on Sunday, and were lucky to have lots of family in attendance. Lydia once again chose a "Dora" theme- she is the "queen" of all things Dora (according to Paige's best friend). She's lucky to have a glut of Dora hand me downs from 2 sisters who also loved the little girl. My goal by the end of this year is to get her out of Dora pajamas (her choice attire) and more used to dressing in non-Dora clothes. And the guests at the party did not disappoint, she received Dora dolls, dress up crown kit, movie, soccer ball, hopscotch, bubble blower, dress, etc. Lets just say we are fully stocked on Dora gear!
To go with the gear I made her another Dora cake. I've definitely had my problems with the cake decorating in the past, so I was pretty happy with my first piped cake (if that's what you call it).

It definitely has room for improvement, but when Lydia saw it she said "Oh mom, I just love it!" So that was all that mattered and it made the 2 hr 15 min. decorating time worth it.

Here she is giving her sister a kiss. She was so sweet after opening gifts, she gave everyone hugs. I have to say with Lydia there was not a terrible two. She is such a good mild tempered little girl.

There were a few non Dora gifts. This coloring cardboard house was a hit for sure. The kids have had a lot of fun with it for sure. They managed to get a good deal of markers not just on the house, but also on our walls, floors, and all over their bodies. All I can say is thank goodness for washable markers. They are so easy to clean up.

It took a few puffs to get the candles out again, but I imagine by next year she'll have it figured out. It was a great birthday for my sweet little Lydi!