Ryn is 3! (and this post is so late, she's well on her way to 4!)

So Ryn's birthday was a totally fun EVENT. The actual day was a Sunday, so we just sang to her all day long, she opened fun presents from family, and I made gingerbread castles for the Snow Ball princess party Kev had dreamed up :). That day, December 21, was pretty emotional for me. Since Ryn's birth, no Christmas season has been or will ever be anything BUT emotional. The year I was expecting her was the most wonderful Christmas season I'd ever experienced. As I read the scriptures that prophesied of Christ's birth and then the accounts of the joy and rejoicing that went on in all creation--both in heaven and on earth--when that glorious day finally came, I could not help but identify in the smallest way. After all the years of waiting, (mine were only 8 compared to the hundreds and hundreds of years that anticipated His coming) I was singing 24/7 just like those angels. Of course, my baby was not foreordained to save all mankind, but she would definitely have a huge role in saving me. And my joy and deep gratitude for Ryn's coming was only magnified by the new and profound feelings I felt for that Christ child whose birth, life and atonement would make it possible to be with my babies forever. So now, every year, within a span of just 4 days, I thrill in the celebration of the most wonderful gifts I have been given--the chance to be a mother and to be redeemed. Our sacrament Christmas program was beautiful and I couldn't even sing the words to one of my most favorite hymns as we closed through my sobs :) :

O Come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!

O, come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, Born the King of angels;...

Sing, choirs of angels! Sing in exultation! Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to God, glory in the highest....

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to thee be all glory giv'n. Son of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

Oh, come let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.

The party was planned for Monday, but then moved to Tuesday (Dec 23) so we could have as many cousins (coming from Vegas and Provo) and friends there as possible. It turned out to be for the best, giving us a little more prep time. Kevin is one of the most creative people I know and it is completely adorable how excited and involved he gets about planning things for people he loves. My job is to help make all of his wonderful ideas a reality :). So the castles and the rest of the planning/preparations were a big job, but it was completely worth it. Ryn had so much fun and was overjoyed. Even though she wears a pretty stoic expression in front of a crowd, when she was upstairs alone with Kevin at one point, she exclaimed excitedly, "Mary and Adia and Aubrey and Taylor and Anna and Josh and Zach all came to see me on my birthday!!" We did sparkly manicures, raced with cotton snowballs on magic wands, decorated the gingerbread castles and had a hot chocolate tea party with the ice cube cakes. Since Kev and I were pretty tied up running the activities, it was a great blessing to have our professional photographer friend, Michelle, there with Mary to take pictures! Here is a link to her blog and a few of the 300+ pictures she took:

http://scenesfromthewild.blogspot.com/2009/01/birthday-season.html

And here are a few pictures and a video clip from Carma's camera and my cell phone.

We explained the snowball game and then watched each little princess come up with her own adaptation :). When you have friends there with ages ranging from 19 mos to 6 yrs, there's going to be a wide variety of snowball carrying methods. Ryn was skewering them on the end of her magic wand, Taylor was pulling the cotton through the star....

...and Elle thought it would be more fun to just stuff all the cotton balls in her dress.

The castle decorating was enjoyed by all--even the boys :). (Notice the different way the boys had of including the little people on their castle--hanging from the tower!)

Ryn was worried about her sparkly manicure being destroyed during the decorating...

As a little update on the angel Ryn is:

She gets so excited about things that she starts jumping up and down and giggling at the mention of anything new or fun. Her loves include singing (and she memorizes the words to a song she hears only once), dancing, coloring, puzzles, babies, animals, Little Einsteins, princesses, Disney and 'Nephi' movies, vegetables, chocolate, cottage cheese, snuggling with Daddy, making new friends, 'school'--our French time in the mornings, and her 'little buddy' (Elle). It has been so fun to watch Ryn and Elle playing together more and more. Her innate sweetness we've been witnesses to for the past 3 years just gets better every day. This morning when she did something right when I asked her, I said, "Thanks for being such a sweet girl, Ryn." And she simply replied, "You're welcome, Mommy." I will be thankful every day of my life for this wonderful girl. Happy Birthday, Ryn!