She's FREE!

If you ask Noel how old she is, she promptly replies "I'm FREE!!" And finally, on August 4th, that was true! My firstborn turned 3. I felt like it marked the first birthday where she actually understood what a birthday was because when I woke her up in the morning (at almost 9 a.m.) and told her it was her birthday, she immediately lit up and said "Today I get to eat CAKE!!" Yes, she must be my child.

This little lady almost never stops talking, almost never stops smiling, almost never stops negotiating, and (almost) never ever ceases to bring all of us incredible amounts of joy. She is smart and funny, delightfully energetic, but also loves to just sit and read for hours and hours - especially if she's being read to ;)

When we first started talking about having kids, I thought they would ruin my life. Turns out, I was actually completely incorrect and I don't know what my life would be like without them.