3!

three years ago today, the one thing i wanted more than anything in this world, came to be. and that was to be a mother.

buxton is 3 today!

as hard as motherhood can be (especially with this fiesty fella), the rewards outweigh the hard stuff ten fold. i don't think i truly knew what love was until becoming a mother. buxton has shown me how to love in extraordinary ways and boosted ben and i's love for each other to places we didn't know existed.

here is our sweet boy showing what a big boy he is now:

elin adores her big brother and loves to lay on him when watching tv. their interaction (minus the fighting over toys) shoots darts through my heart every day. i am so thankful God brought elin to us earlier than we'd planned because their closeness in age is truly a gift, to us and them.

trying to show 3 fingers with his right hand (no he's not 8!):

love for daddy on a lazy sunday:

this morning we had cupcakes and opened presents after breakfast.

here is the very happy birthday boy:

focusing on the blow:

success! first time he blew out a candle on his own. high 5 from dad!

lil sis got some sweets too:

and to top off the weekend fun, we have paw paw howdy's and oma's "babies" staying with us for a week. they are sweet and the perfect size for the kids. this is penny. the other, buffy, is a shih tzu mix. elin was giving them kisses like crazy today.