last month...

addi turned 3!!

we were flying home from oregon on the actual day of her birth, so we partied later. and oh, we partied greater.

we had a little soiree with some of our buddies at hau'ula elementary playground. i made dozens of cupcakes (3 dozens to be exact) and 3 cakes ... yes, 3!! because how old is she again? yes, 3!! and i made this delicious buttercream frosting ... mmm, mmm good. and then colored it: teal for the cupcakes and addi's STAR cake, and purple for the big-people cake. we also had rice krispie treats, and chips with my momma's famous cheese dip (recipe below, just for chad).

(and for some reason i can find ZERO pics of either the cakes or cupcakes... bummer.)

now, let's talk "presents from parents".

there were two things i wants to get addi.

1. a bike

2. a camera (you know, the kid kind that are virtually indestructable, waterproof, spit proof, drop proof, etc.)

so i did what any good (frugal, thrifty, stingy-with-money, penny pinching) parent would do and scoured craigslist day after day after day. i found the most blessed bike, but in the end it amounted to, well, no bike.

and the camera ... i was beginning to think i had made it up in my head that they ever existed.

then finally

a bike.

we snatched it up and did this all afternoon...

so here's the deal.

addi knows how to ride a bike, but as you can see, this bike is a tad large for one as small as addi. so pedalling is a bit of a mystery to her.

and balancing.

steering.

you know what i mean.

so we practice a lot, and now she's a pro on little bikes her size,

but she has yet to conquer her over-sized, california king bike.

it will come.

and gwen got in on the action too, of course.

so basically we partied hard for weeks on end because we just never knew when the celebrating should stop. so every weekend addi is still saying, "addi's birfday poddy!! YAY! addi's bwee!"

and we just bake a cake or something to keep the dream alive.