My baby is 3!

We celebrated my daughter's 3rd birthday this last weekend. Since we don't have any family close by, it was just us. I struggled to think of what to do to make the day special, and then it hit me. We can still have a party if it's just us! And we can certainly spend the day together, doing things she enjoys.

So that's what we did. We went to Toys 'R Us to see if they had any dolls for her dollhouse (her family doesn't include a baby, but she wants one). They didn't have any, but she and my son had fun looking anyway.

Then we went to McDonalds. My husband and I were wishing we had picked a sit-down restaurant, but hey, it wasn't our birthday we were celebrating. The kids love McDonalds, so that's where we went. We considered getting them Happy Meals since we rarely do (as in, once in each of their lives so far) and they've asked a few times. My husband and I agreed, though, that the Happy Meal toys don't last very long - the attraction or the quality. So instead we gave the kids $2 each to get something at the dollar store. (We paid less than $7 for everything at McDonalds, including cookies, so we figured we could spare a few dollars.) They had a blast picking out identical Pooh Bear stamp sets and (different) puzzles.

Then we came home and I finished decorating her puppy cake. Both of the kids kept popping into the kitchen to see how it was going. Then they'd race off to stamp more with their stamp sets. Unfortunately, they ended up getting purple stamping ink all over their fingers - and, in my daughter's case, her whole hand. But at least it kept them out of my hair while I was finishing the cake! :)

And speaking of the cake, I was quite pleased with how it turned out. Here's a closeup:



I used the Wilton 101 Dalmations pan that I picked up at a thrift store one time for $2. I knew one of the kids would end up wanting a puppy party, so I grabbed it. Sure enough, that's what my daughter chose for her birthday.

All in all, we had a fun day and didn't have to spend a fortune. Better yet, I think we still made it a memorable birthday - with just the four of us! My daughter fell asleep singing "Happy Birthday" to herself. :)