Tiny

Last week, we went to a farm where we got to rent this tiny horse and take it for a stroll while Inara was riding it. I spent most of our little walk trying to pull the horse along while it spent most of it eating grass. Inara seemed to have a good time though. 

Not pictured: Alba being terrified of bunnies. 

Muscle

Alba loves pushing Inara around in the cart. Working those leg muscles, I guess!

Foraging

After we discovered there are raspberries and currants growing in the forest patch behind our house, the whole family headed out to pick.

Andrew is on vacation for five weeks and we decided not to go anywhere off the island and to just plan things as they come (although Andrew would say I schedule too many things).

Home

Better late than never - here are some pictures of the house:

Our bedroom

Hallway with the office at the end. A lot of boxes in there still so no picture.

Inara's (and soon Alba's) room

Dining Area

Living room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Backyard

Front yard

Back yard dining area

Still a lot that we want to do, but it's beginning to feel like home. Also, this is our house when it's cleanish. It doesn't look like this every day. Trust me.

Forest Friends

We went blueberry picking yesterday and found these two little friends just sitting there in the path:

Three!

Finally, a post about Inara's third birthday! All parents say it, but it really is strange how three years have went by already. I remember her birth like it was just a little while ago and now she is this little person with her own thoughts, feelings and desires. Even though we sometimes fight, I'm very glad that she is exactly who she is and that she is our daughter.

We had her birthday party the day before her actual birthday since it was a weekend. Four of her friends and their parents were invited. We set everything up outside near the playground with decorations and food and just as everybody arrived the skies opened up and we had to rush to get inside. This resulted in seven kids and ten adults squeezed into our living room. Everyone was a good sport, but as soon as it stopped raining we all headed outside. 

Inara is extremely into dinosaurs at the moment (pterodactyl is her favorite) so naturally we went for a dinosaur themed birthday. 

Preparations:

Andrew and I managed to put this cake together the night before and I think it turned out pretty well considering we have no previous cake decorating experience:

 I cut some dinosaurs out and made gift bags filled with dinosaur stickers and other dino-related stuff. We skipped the candy:

 

Andrew drew dinosaur tracks from the parking lot to the playground using chalk, but unfortunately they were all washed away by the rain:

 

I had found some dinosaur masks that we handed out to the kids as they arrived. Here Inara is trying hers out in advance:

 

The Party:

Opening a gift from her best preschool friend:

 

 

There was even lava inside the volcano:

 

Pleased by her cake:

 

Respecting the privacy of the other guests, I'm not going to post a lot of photos, but here is one of Inara putting her arm around Alba - such a good big sister:

  

In summary, I think the party was a success and Inara seemed really happy with everything. Next up on the blog will be her actual birthday!

Play

Inara and Alba are playing more and more together. Inara frequently asks for her when she's sleeping and is sad when she has to wait to play with her until she wakes up (and sometimes wakes her up). Today, she demanded I leave Alba outside on the front steps with her when I went inside for a couple of minutes. They just sat there "writing letters" together.

Funny

In the background: Inara explaining how the dinosaurs went extinct after an asteroid hit the earth.