Our computer broke last week, and even though I don't actually sit down at the computer on a daily basis, after about a week, sending emails or browsing the internet exclusively on my phone was starting to get on my nerves. We bought another computer on Friday and set it up last night, but at this point it's mostly worthless to me because it's completely empty of all my bookmarks, songs, pictures, etc. I was backing everything up on an external hard drive semi-regularly, so while most of those things are not lost for good, I don't really know how to get them from the external hard drive into useable form on this new computer.

Last Sunday Allie turned three years old. We had kind of a busy weekend with my parents in town and Steve and I having our first overnight alone together in seven and a half years. Suddenly it was Sunday afternoon and my parents had left and I realized I had no plans for a birthday cake for Allie. We asked her what kind of cake she wanted and she said a Dora cake. Since I'm really not a huge fan of my kids being into "characters", I kind of tried to talk her into something else, but she insisted. And, of course, since it was Allie's birthday, if she wanted a Dora cake, then a Dora cake it would be.

Steve acted like he thought I blew it, like how was I going to come up with a Dora cake at this late hour? Not to worry. During Allie's nap, Emma and I went to Michael's and bought a Dora cake pan. We came home and baked it together, ate dinner while it cooled, and then I decorated it right after we ate. It came together pretty quickly, and even though it is certainly no masterpiece, Allie seemed to love it, which is the most important thing.All week she has been telling random strangers that she is three, and even though I keep hearing it over and over, it's still hard for me to believe. It seems like she was just born. We were so surprised when we found out we were having another baby when Noah was only seven months old, but she has been such a wonderful surprise. Our family really is so much better because she is in it.
Happy birthday, big girl.