My sweet Callia

It was my intention to write this on the 29th, but since it is after midnight, it's no longer Callia's birthday. I still can't believe she's 3!! Amazing!

She had a nice day today. Since Corey took the day out of work, he got up with Kiefer and let Callia and me sleep. That was very nice of him, except we had an appointment to get her pictures taken at 10 and we didn't get up until 10 of nine. I still had to paint her toes and figure out what I was going to do with her mop. C insisted I didn't put it half up and there was no way I was putting it in a ponytail. Don't get me wrong, they look cute on her, but not for her pictures. Now, you should keep in mind my daughter has head of wild curls, especially in the summer when it's humid. As we had no time for a bath, I sprayed it down with water, brushed and parted it on the side and pulled it back with a barrette. I have to say, it actually looked pretty decent.

As we walked through Target, toward the portrait studio, I SWEAR at least four people commented on how pretty she was. She was wearing an outfit she received for her birthday LAST YEAR, sized 24 months, and it was still a little big on her. I had actually forgotten about it and even had another outfit picked out for her until I remembered I still had some summer clothes with tags still on them hanging in the closet. I spotted this light purple Carter's outfit and knew right away she had to wear that instead. Here's a pic of when we got home (like her new Dora bike she waited months for?).

So, anyway, I was little nervous about how she was going to do with the whole smiling thing. Lately every picture of her consists of a big, fake, cheesy grin, her eyes scrunched up and she's looking toward the ceiling. I guess I've taken too many pictures of her over the last THREE YEARS (my God, help me).

Can I just tell you, she did so well? I was so impressed! She did get a little uneasy when the girl had he lay on her back with her hands behind her head and her feet up in the air (sounds weird, I know). I could see she was about to cry and I couldn't have that, so I nixed that idea pretty quickly and suggested we try something else. Other than that, she gave us some great shots with that gorgeous smile, a few serious faces sprinkled in.

After we left there, she and daddy went to the store and then my sister stopped by for a short visit. A bit later, We took her out to eat for dinner and her face lit up when the servers came over and sang to her (I kicked myself afterward for not snapping a few pics). I swear, she even seemed older to me today. She even has a new attitude to go with new her 3-year-old self. Usually when she wants something she whines if we tell her no. TWICE today the little stinker shot right back at us and demanded whatever it was she wanted.

Funny. The intent behind this post was originally to talk about Callia in general, not her birthday. I wanted to share some of my own feelings about my little lady and tell a few stories about her, but now I am REALLY tired and quite ready for bed. I just want her to stay a little girl forever, not turn "free" (as she says three). But, for the record, if you ask Callia, she still says she 2. That's my girl...