Young, Wild & Three

When we were in the thick of late night feedings, changing 20 diapers a day, and wearing eau de spit-up as our personal fragrance, I thought this day would never come.  And if it did, I knew that it would be the day that we would have truly "arrived" as parents.  Our oldest would be in kindergarten, half way through writing his dissertation, and, on the whole, entirely self sufficient.  And our littles would be potty trained, able to recite the U.S. presidents in order from memory, and three years old.  While some of the aforementioned is not true (ok, most of it), it is true that Wren and Judson turned three this weekend.
We had a huge bash to celebrate, complete with pet adoptions (stuffed animals), a house full or family and friends, and lots of yummy treats.

All the kids were able to pick out a "pet" to adopt and name.

Before any pet adoption could be finalized, all pets had to be checked out by the "vet."

And we of course had to have official adoption ceremonies once all the prerequisites were met (the lawyer side of me just couldn't resist).

For cakes, Wren insisted on a pink cake, and Judson got a number "3" race track (off of which he enjoyed picking and eating the M&Ms).

The rest of the party was spent opening gifts and enjoying hanging out with our guests.

It was a wonderful time, and we're so thankful for everyone who came out to make it so special!
As to having "arrived" as parents, I'm a seasoned enough parent at this point to know that never really happens.  If I've learned anything from my parenting battles over the past year or so (including Wren's potty refusal problems and Caleb's school bus saga), it's that once you surpass one obstacle, there's always another (often even more dauting) obstacle not too far ahead.  So you just pick yourself up, maybe share a few war stories and laughs with fellow parents, gird up your loins for what is to come, and, most importantly, revel in sweet moments and celebrations like these, storing them up for when things aren't so fun because you never know what's around the corner.  And because before you know it, those massive hurdles will be just bumps in the road in your rearview mirror - just like 3:00 a.m. feedings now seem like an eternity ago.
Though these parties are certainly a labor of love, I would have it no other way - for they represent all that we've overcome as a family, the wonderful milestones to look forward to, and God's goodness and provision to us throughout it all.