For Holly's birthday, we went to Gilroy Gardens and it was so much fun! The park is completely family oriented. All the rides are for kids, there's live entertainment, lots of shade, beautiful gardens everywhere with tons of plant variety, and I didn't feel bombarded by merchandise. The environment was much more laid back than other amusement parks I've been to. I'm so glad we went! I can't wait for our next trip there. 

Going mid-week was a huge plus as the park was quiet. We spent over 4.5 hours there, which is kind of a big deal because Greta still naps. Having Conor with me made the day so much better and easier to navigate. We had a hard time leaving because we wanted to keep riding and playing. I really think that Holly's birthday was a success. I think we made it special. 

I took lots and lots of photos on Holly's big day. We started the day off right with balloons, pancakes, fruit and juice (a rarity!). This was the first year that Holly was super excited for presents, and she wanted lots of them! I think she was satisfied. We gave her 3 cute books, a birthday dress made by me, and a toy camera. I felt a little weird about the toy camera because we had originally bought it for Greta's birthday, but Greta had so many gifts that we put it away in the closet and saved it for Holly's birthday. I feel like we made the right choice, but, it still feels weird! Holly's birthday dress was a surprise this year and she looooves it! Whew! 

Conor stayed home from work and we went to Gilory Gardens (pictures to follow in the next post). We played all day there, came home, ate a simple supper and then had cupcakes. Cupcakes was another thing Holly was super excited for! One of the best parts about birthdays, for me, is seeing how happy my children are (and taking the time to soak up my child myself). Birthdays are so happy! It was on Holly's second birthday in Yahk that she looked for the first time happy through to her bones. I feel like she was able to comprehend that it was a significant day for her and that we were celebrating her. I love seeing that look in my children's eyes. It's something special! 

Holly is now FOUR! I can hardly believe this has actually happened. We had a really fun day and now everyone's tired and grumpy and in denial about being tired and grumpy. Conor took the day off and just having him with us made the day extra, extra special! More blog posts to follow! For now, here's a couple of my favorite photos from the end of the day. Holly was so excited about cupcakes! (I was too!)

We have a little bathtime tradition around here that's been around forever (although it's evovled some as our family has grown and gotten bigger). We wrap our girls up and call them babies. It started with Holly and we'd ooh and ahh over her, carry her, and treat her like a baby even as she got older and she loved it. So cute. Greta obviously got caught up with our tradition. Both girls always want to be wrapped up and treated like babies. We don't carry them very often anymore, I usually send them out of the bathroom with a pat on the bottom and tell them to go get their panties on. But, the request to be wrapped up like a baby carries on.

Last week, we went to the beach with some friends. I'm going to be honest, going to the beach can sometimes be a bit tough. On this morning, I had our beach bag packed and ready to go before we went to the gym, which we left the house for around 8:15. It was a litlte bit of an intense morning. And then Greta pooped her panties halfway to Santa Cruz. Whew! But we made it and the girls had fun. We explored the tide pools and enjoyed the ocean view. The rock formation was so interesting to me. The ocean continues to amaze me with it's beauty! Holly seems to fit in to the beach scene so easily. She shines!