Zizah Turns 3!!

Finally, it was Zizah's birthday! Jacob had his last certification scuba dive during the day, so I ran to the store early to get last minute items for her cake and dinner and balloons (of course). This day was also the first day of summer vacation so it was a little crazy because the kids were needing to re-adjust to being around each other all the time. Jacob made it home in enough time to put the finishing touches on Zizah's present (sandbox!) while I made dinner and decorated Zizah's cake.

Her request this year was a little difficult to get. Every time I asked what she wanted on her cake, her response was, "Cake? Okay!" And since I wasn't sure how to do a cake cake, I ended up giving her 3 choices: Mickey Mouse, Strawberry Shortcake, and Bo on the Go. She chose the last one and while I didn't love the finished product (maybe Bo has a sunburn??), she could happily identify who was on her cake and that's my only real goal.

We had the other Wall family over for dinner and swimming before the birthday festivities. I was worried we'd have a hard time getting Zizah to leave the pool for presents and cake but I underestimated how excited she was that it was her birthday. :-)

Overall, she got a sandbox, Snoopy movie, and book from her parents, a Frozen camping chair and jammies and a card game from her aunt and uncle, Disney figurines from Oma and Opa, and a variety of candy, books, swim suit and clothes from Grandma and Grandpa. You can see in the video how excited and talkative she was when she opened her presents. I think it's less obvious in the video, but she was shivering the entire time. Apparently it was a little cool out of the pool but she was happy to just plow through. 

The sandbox was extra special because it was a really time consuming project. That whole planter next to the pool fence has never grown anything well - not even weeds. So as we discussed where to put the sandbox, Jacob had the brilliant idea that instead of building anything new (exactly), we should just dig out that area and put the sandbox in-ground there. So the sandbox goes from the patio all the way along the pool fence and then about 2 and a half feet after the bend in the planter. The fake grass back there is supposed to have sand in it to help the fibers stand up, so it works great right next to the fake grass. Also, since he was so busy with his scuba certification that same week, I contributed about 5 wheelbarrows full of dirt and rocks. Let me tell you: digging is a great workout. Killer on the back though, so I'll stick to my regular weights thankyousoverymuch. 

The cake - Wizard, Bo, and "dragin", aka Desi the dragon

Jacob finishing up the sandbox - we still need to get a few more bags of sand still

Looks like a hit

Thor was...confused

Everyone got in on the sandbox fun

The men having manly conversation

"Open it! Preh-sent!"

Me and my birthday girl

Waiting patiently

The haul

She carries her chair around now to watch TV and sticks her Mickey Mouse figures in the cup holder

:-)

Zizah is such a funny girl. She loves to laugh and to make people laugh. She's also...what's a good word...volatile. She has so much love in her and she loves to play. Her favorite movie is still "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" even though it's June now, though "Finding Nemo", "The Lego Movie", "Snoopy Reunion", and "Wall-E" are all in rotation as well. She never seems to lose her liking for certain characters like my other kids did. When they picked a new favorite something, they would leave their old favorite behind. Zizah just keeps accumulating things she loves. 

She has been the latest talker of all our kids so far but her communication has hugely improved lately. She's still more likely to parrot your words back to you then she is to answer a question but even that is an improvement. Potty training is stalled but sometimes...life happens and you have to roll with it. 

I was certainly impressed with how patiently Zizah waited for it to be her birthday. She never seemed upset when the cake and presents that paraded through the house earlier in the month weren't for her (the balloons may be have been a different story but: balloons). Zizah can be very, very patient when she wants to be. She's incredibly independent and when she's in the mood, can spend hours playing by herself. 

For someone who doesn't say much, Zizah is very opinionated (I wonder where she gets that from...). She's never gotten in the habit of saying "no" though so if she doesn't want to do something or doesn't like something, she'll just give you this crusty stare that certainly says "no" along with several other choice things. It's hilarious and cute...most of the time.

Another funny thing Zizah does is that she calls lots of people and things "Kathy". She has an aunt Kathy on Jacob's side and she'll even call her other aunts Kathy. But she also calls trees, cars, and the occasional bird Kathy, so I really wonder what the name Kathy means in her mind. She does call her aunt Kathy "Kathy" so that connection is there at least. :-)

I also have to mention Zizah and amiibo. Zizah LOVES amiibo. We got our first set back in the fall and she just fell in love. Then we had a big group of amiibo show up on Christmas morning and she just carry them around asking us to "open. it." instead of her own presents. Even now, they are one of her favorite toys. She will carry them around, rearrangement on the piano in our room (where our amiibo live every night), do make-believe stories with them, and watch the Nintendo movies about them on the WiiU shop channel.

Zizah is hilarious and stubborn and loving and strong and sweet and spicy and so many wonderful, wonderful things. She's a little bundle of fun and crazy and I'm so, so glad she's part of our family.