Lane's fourth birthday started the way our family's birthdays usually start: with birthday pancakes. My brother traveled down from Norfolk to spend part of the week with us, so he was here that morning, too. Lane opened a few presents from her Alabama grandparents, and we took her to the movies to see Frozen for her main birthday present from us. (She also got a new jean jacket and a book, to which she replied, "I wanted a toy." Grateful child, this one.) It was the first time either of our girls have been to the movie theater, and I think they both liked it for the most part. They at least liked the experience of it, even if the snow monster in Frozen was a little scary for them. Later that evening my mom brought a small ice cream cake and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Lane and all had a small piece of cake before bed.
A birthday "4" for our oldest girlie!
Enjoying some popcorn and…the previews, I think. Noel sat in Shannon's lap during most of the actual movie…the seats were a little strange to her since they kept wanting to fold up on her.
Birthday cake #1 on her actual birthday, courtesy of Food Lion's frozen food section.
Lane's birthday fell on a Wednesday this year, and my niece Denali's birthday is three days after Lane's, so we had a joint birthday party for them on the Saturday following Lane's birthday. We just had pizza and cake, and everyone opened presents and played. It was very low-key, but I think the kids had a lot of fun. The girl cousins all dressed up and we called it a "princess party," even though the only thing that made it one was the fact that the girls were all wearing fancy dresses. Lane requested a butterfly cake, so I was more than happy to oblige: this cake only took me about two hours of labor to frost and decorate…I've spent much more time on her previous cakes!
Butterfly cake with sticker butterflies and sparkler candles!
Princess birthday girl!
Opening gifts…you can see Denali in her "princess' tutu on the right!
My oldest (younger) brother with all his nieces and nephews (nephew?…there's only one boy…).
Lane's big gifts were a couple of new princess dresses with matching shoes and jewelry from my sister and brother-in-law, and my dad and step-mom took her shopping for new shoes the day after the party. And my mom gave her a box of art supplies and tickets to the…circus! So, while Shannon was in Ohio my mom and I took the girls to the circus, and my brother-in-law and nephew came along, too. It was fun, although the girls cared way more about the animals than about any of the other cool stuff at the circus. In hindsight, the rinky-dink circus we took them to last summer was probably about as "fancy" a circus as we need to take them to until they're older. We were too far away for them to really get into it, but they did like the elephants and lions and kangaroos.
All dolled up and ready for the circus!
The one thing they still mention about the circus: the elephants "standing" on each other.
My mom and the birthday girl!
And finally, I actually conducted this birthday interview with Lane on her fourth birthday, so it was relevant two months ago. I'm not sure how much it is now, but then…it was current!
1. Your favorite color is purple.
2. Your favorite toy is dollies.
3. Your favorite fruit is strawberries.
4. Your favorite TV show is Care Bears.
5. Your favorite movie is Winnie the Pooh.
6. Your favorite thing to wear is dresses.
7. Your favorite animal is cats and dogs.
8. Your favorite song is "Bless the Lord."
9. Your favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham.
10. Your best friend is Mommy.
11. Your favorite snack is cheese and crackers.
12. Your favorite drink is lemonade.
13. Your favorite breakfast is yogurt.
14. Your favorite lunch is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
15. Your favorite dinner is spaghetti.
16. Your favorite game is Hiss.
17. Your favorite thing to play outside is kicking a ball.
18. Your favorite holiday is Valentine's Day.
19. At night you sleep with: blankie.
20. You want to be a mommy/chef when you grow up.
I love seeing how these answers have changed since last year! And I also love how about half of them are totally not her favorite things…she just can't think of what her real favorite things are at the time I'm asking the questions.
A birthday "4" for our oldest girlie!
Enjoying some popcorn and…the previews, I think. Noel sat in Shannon's lap during most of the actual movie…the seats were a little strange to her since they kept wanting to fold up on her.
Birthday cake #1 on her actual birthday, courtesy of Food Lion's frozen food section.
Lane's birthday fell on a Wednesday this year, and my niece Denali's birthday is three days after Lane's, so we had a joint birthday party for them on the Saturday following Lane's birthday. We just had pizza and cake, and everyone opened presents and played. It was very low-key, but I think the kids had a lot of fun. The girl cousins all dressed up and we called it a "princess party," even though the only thing that made it one was the fact that the girls were all wearing fancy dresses. Lane requested a butterfly cake, so I was more than happy to oblige: this cake only took me about two hours of labor to frost and decorate…I've spent much more time on her previous cakes!
Butterfly cake with sticker butterflies and sparkler candles!
Princess birthday girl!
Opening gifts…you can see Denali in her "princess' tutu on the right!
My oldest (younger) brother with all his nieces and nephews (nephew?…there's only one boy…).
Lane's big gifts were a couple of new princess dresses with matching shoes and jewelry from my sister and brother-in-law, and my dad and step-mom took her shopping for new shoes the day after the party. And my mom gave her a box of art supplies and tickets to the…circus! So, while Shannon was in Ohio my mom and I took the girls to the circus, and my brother-in-law and nephew came along, too. It was fun, although the girls cared way more about the animals than about any of the other cool stuff at the circus. In hindsight, the rinky-dink circus we took them to last summer was probably about as "fancy" a circus as we need to take them to until they're older. We were too far away for them to really get into it, but they did like the elephants and lions and kangaroos.
All dolled up and ready for the circus!
The one thing they still mention about the circus: the elephants "standing" on each other.
My mom and the birthday girl!
And finally, I actually conducted this birthday interview with Lane on her fourth birthday, so it was relevant two months ago. I'm not sure how much it is now, but then…it was current!
1. Your favorite color is purple.
2. Your favorite toy is dollies.
3. Your favorite fruit is strawberries.
4. Your favorite TV show is Care Bears.
5. Your favorite movie is Winnie the Pooh.
6. Your favorite thing to wear is dresses.
7. Your favorite animal is cats and dogs.
8. Your favorite song is "Bless the Lord."
9. Your favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham.
10. Your best friend is Mommy.
11. Your favorite snack is cheese and crackers.
12. Your favorite drink is lemonade.
13. Your favorite breakfast is yogurt.
14. Your favorite lunch is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
15. Your favorite dinner is spaghetti.
16. Your favorite game is Hiss.
17. Your favorite thing to play outside is kicking a ball.
18. Your favorite holiday is Valentine's Day.
19. At night you sleep with: blankie.
20. You want to be a mommy/chef when you grow up.
I love seeing how these answers have changed since last year! And I also love how about half of them are totally not her favorite things…she just can't think of what her real favorite things are at the time I'm asking the questions.
What great birthday celebrations! It's crazy how fast time goes by! And four just seems so old. They are like mini-adults! ;)
ReplyDeleteThat cake was beautiful! You did a really good job!
ReplyDeletesuch pretty lady. I love her style :)
ReplyDelete