Madelyn's 3rd Birthday

This was our first year being alone on Madelyn's birthday. It has always worked out that we were with family. I definitely think I needed family those first couple years, but this year I felt ready for it to just be us.

The hardest day for me was not actually her birthday, but the day before, the 12th. The day I was in labor with her. I don't know if it was just suddenly hitting me that her birthday was coming or what, but I woke up just feeling raw. And I definitely cried. A lot. Haha. After a morning of being way too emotional, I decided to load Sadie into the car and drive up into the canyon to just get out and enjoy the sunshine and Sadie. She's a really good distraction.

It was just what we needed. During Sadie's nap I went through our box of Madelyn stuff and had another good cry. It was a therapeutic day.

The next day I was definitely still emotional, but not as weepy. Sadie and I got out to the park, then decided to get donuts. I craved donuts like nothing else when pregnant with Madelyn. So I felt like it was perfect. We brought some to Nathan too.

The day went on and the wind picked up and the clouds moved in and I suddenly knew we would not be having the calm, relaxing night in the park that I had hoped for, haha. I accepted it, but was still a little sad. Still, I got Sadie all dressed up in her sister outfit.

Her outfit KILLS me. Kelsey convinced me to buy it for Maddie's birthday last summer, and I am so glad I did. Nathan got home and we headed right out to try and beat the rain the best we could. We did beat most of the rain, but it was definitely windy and cold. We did the best we could, haha. Sadie loved having the balloons, and was a little confused about why we let them go, but she was still so cute. She kept saying, "bye boon" basically the entire night. I loved having us 3 together, wishing Maddie a happy birthday, and sending our balloons to heaven.

After the release, the rain REALLY started coming down, and we headed to dinner at Zupas. Another Madelyn pregnancy craving. We ended the night with frozen yogurt, and relaxing at home as a family. It was a perfect birthday. Kelsey took her kiddies for a balloon release, and so did Amanda. It always means so much when our sweet family participates in her birthday celebrations. Katie sent us some beautiful flowers, and Amanda and Brad gave us this beautiful, hand-painted picture! It makes me want to cry when I look at it. We have the best people in our lives. And we love our sweet little Maddie.