Just like last year, we filled Hallie's room with balloons on her birthday eve. Unlike last year, this year we let Will pretend to go to bed until Hallie had fallen asleep but then get up to help us with our secret mission. Will had a blast, and Hallie loved waking up to festive reminder that the day ahead would be a special one.
We always eat donuts for breakfast on birthdays, but this year I bought a bag of little white powdered sugar donuts ahead of time rather than trying to sneak out of the house and to the donut shop at 6am. Both kids praised my decision to go with the "snoopy donuts" (did anyone else call them that growing up?) and these donuts turned out to a perfect birthday breakfast because I could put candles in them.
Hallie's birthday happened to fall on picture day, so she started out the day looking like this:
Once she and her classmates had finished their class, individual, and graduation pictures, Hallie changed into her "I Am Five" shirt that Grandma Brenda made for her. She took Rainbow Dash cookies (our birthday tradition has become cookies for school, cupcakes at home, and cake for the party) to school and to dance to share with her friends.
We spent Hallie's birthday afternoon running from Hallie's school to Will's school to dance to Tom's department's spring picnic to Tae Kwon Do to McDonald's, which she LOVED because it meant that she got to show off her outfit and receive birthday well-wishes from lots and lots of friends, acquaintances, and strangers.
After dinner Hallie opened presents and blew out another candle in her birthday cupcake.
Two days later we celebrated again, this time with a birthday party - complete with lots of friends, Grandpa Mike and Grandma Susie, a Pinky Pie pony cake, and multicolored My Little Pony cupcakes - at Thunder Elite, a local gymnastics facility.
For the first time we "let" Hallie accept presents from friends on her birthday, and she loved opening them later that evening. (We didn't open them at the party because that process can be tough on four- and five-year-olds.)
Happy birthday, sweet girl!
No comments:
Post a Comment