Aregash THREE!!!! Happy Birthday Sweets!!

 That's how she says it as she holds up her three fingers.

This is "normal" (dislike this word) for the typical toddler, but for a little gal who doesn't even understand what a Birthday is, 
it's pretty cool.

I prepared her a little bit right before she went to bed so she would have something special to look forward to (even though going bye-bye seems to do the trick nicely).  I reminded her about swimming in the wah (water) at cousin Karsyn's Birthday where she got a chance to blow Karsyn's candles out a couple of times.  She remembered this fun day.  I told her that this was called a Birthday, and it was time for Aregash's Birthday.  
I told her she was three. 
 Cole is 12, Zachie is 10, and Lukey is 7.  

She says, "Aregash three!"  

So we know she doesn't understand what it means...that she will be turning another year older, but she does get that it sounds like fun and there will be cake and presents. 

She talked about it all the next day...even told the check-out lady at the grocery store!

My sweet friend Lauren came over with her little Ethiopian boys to help me cook up a special cultural dinner to surprise the Birthday girl.  She LOVES her traditional food and her mom isn't soo great about supplying it for her.  
Sorry, babe. 
 So we made dorowat (doro means chicken).  It's a spicy dish which includes onions, ginger, garlic, berbere' spice (from Ethiopia), and cayenne pepper with chicken stock.  
It is eaten with a hard-boiled egg.  
You should have heard her squeal when we brought it to the table.  
We had to serve her last so we could get a blessing in before she dug in.  

She LOVED it and it was quite delicious!
 I didn't think the boys would care for it at all, but 2 of the 3 ate it just like it was mac 'n cheese.  
I didn't plan far enough ahead to order (or make) injura to go with it, so we ate it with rice. 
 VERY spicy, but the rice soaked up some of the zap.  
So now I know what to make when we want a another special meal.

I didn't realize that I hadn't taken her to the grocery store before and she went crazy about the selection!  
She got the big-fat BUZZ about the candy, but I let her grab a bag of dabo (bread) to go with her dinner. 
Quite possibly her favorite food---another carb-lover in the house.

We kept her Birthday party very small...just our family of six. 
 We decided that it would probably be more memorable for her if she didn't have swarms of people around watching her.  
I'm pretty sure it was a good call.

BUT I still wanted to make it very special and get some real cute pictures to put in her album, so I asked her if she'd like to put a pretty dress on. 
 She said, "Yes, deans (jeans)". 
 Go figure. :0) 
 I said no to the jeans and brought her to her closet.  
I held up her traditional Ethiopian dress that she had been given and worn at her Goodbye Ceremony in Ethiopia.  
She did the hand-wave thing and said, "No, Mommy.  No dis (this).  Dis no, Mommy."  
So I pleaded just a little.  
"But it's for your Birthday party and mommy wants photos.  Pleeeaaassseeee?" 
 I did NOT want to throw her into shut-down mode right before her party, so I put it down and held up another outfit. 
 She stood for a moment and looked up at me.
 "Dis....cake?" 
 I said, "Yes, you get to have your cake and blow your candles out".  
She grabbed the dress (the first one) and said "OHHHH! Dis cake, Mommy?" 
Me: "Yes, you could wear the dress while you eat cake."  

"Oh, soddy, Mommy" 

 Me:  "What?"   

Aregash:  "Soddy (sorry), Mommy.  Aregash dis dress"

MY CHILD APOLOGIZED FOR BEING DIFFICULT.

OMG!!!

I'm a little bit in love.

And then it was time for presents.

One thing that I love about this child is that as sensitive as she is, she gets my humor.....
or sarcasm,
 whatever you wanna call it.  

She pointed at her gift.

I told her it was mine.

She smiled the I-know-you're-full-of-it-smile.

I gave her the box full of new air purifier cleaners and said, "Here, THIS is yours."

I am laughing out loud as I write this.

She opened the box and started jumping up and down.

"YAY!!!" she yells.

this is where i tell her this is really mine.

look at the face.

like, "You suck mom, give me my dang present".

Strawberry Shortcake and her Berry Cafe'.

 I have been a fan since I was little and never had one. 
I have been planning the perfect Strawberry Shortcake Birthday since I learned we were having a girl.  

Good thing she doesn't know if she's really in to it, or not. :0)

I'm pretty sure the boys loved it as much as she did. :0)

*cutest thing.....watching cole (my 12-year-old) set up the tiny little food on the little tray on the table. 
 he was soo proud 
(too bad my camera died before I could catch the picture that would embarrass him in front of his first girlfriend)*.

I LOVE that my boys were soo excited for their little sister...

and not too good to play with her toys. :0)

The Best Birthday party ever.  

And I was right.......

JUST as noisy as having a crowd.

Aregash, patting herself on the chest, says: 
 "Mommy, Aregash baby?"

Me: "Nope, now you're a bigger girl!"

Aregash, smiling and head nodding:
 "Mommy's baby"

That you are, sweet baby girl.

 APPO BIR-DAY
 (HAPPY BIRTHDAY with her cute accent) 

~my little love~


Aregash 3.