A and E’s birthdays are only 4 days apart. So we did an awesome combined celebration. The girls helped me design their party invitation and birthday cakes featuring Doc McStuffins for A and Sofia the First for E.
So on Saturday morning, the girls helped me finish their cakes. A's cake was made of chocolate and decorated with buttercream frosting, a small replica of Doc McStuffin's clinic and decorated with toy figurines. E's cake turned out to be more difficult but delicious. I used my Grandma's bunny bliss recipe (like a carrot cake but infinitely better), slathered it in cream cheese frosting but then to decorate, layered on purple fondant to look like Sofia's dress. The combination didn't work out very well as cream cheese frosting isn't stiff enough to hold form, but E loved the cake anyway. Especially since her cake also came with toy figurines.
We also surprised the girls with something special to wear to their party. A's outfit was a near duplicate of Doc McStuffin's attire (purple shirt, poka dot leggings, pink skirt and white lab coat) and E looked unbelievably cute in her new Sofia princess dress!
Because our yard isn't finished yet, the party was held at Grandma's house (which worked out unbelievably well). We set up the bounce house and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. The kids ran around, jumping in and out of the bounce house, racing around with cousins and friends while the adults mostly lounged around and ate for awhile. Then Grandpa began taking the kids for rides around the pasture on the horses and Husband rigged the climbing wall on the far side of their two story house. The kids had a blast! They were eager to take turns for each. L especially had a great time riding the horse, and much to her delight, Grandpa taught her some basic commands and let her practice guiding the horse. In fact, the kids were having so much fun it was getting late when I realized we needed to gather to have cake and ice cream and enjoy the pinata before it got too dark! We ended up doing the pinata with the garage flood lights and barely made it through all the kids when it burst open.
Guests began drifting away when suddenly the clouds opened up and it began raining in torrents! A fierce wind picked up immediately and we cleaned up in record time to get out of the storm. Eventually it was just our family and grandparents gathered to watch them open their presents, exclaiming over the cute outfits and new books. They especially loved the art projects, salon dolls and new barbies. They each got a "light pet" that promptly became a permanent member of their nightly entourages and loved their gifts from us. E got more Sofia dress up stuff, including a stuffed Clover doll, and A got a Doc McStuffins playhouse that she was thrilled to receive.
The festivities continued into the next week...
A got to be "special leader" at school and I joined her class to do a spotlight on her. We took a few of her favorite things to tell about her and played her favorite game (DocMcStuffins Operation... but only because I didn't think the Princess cupcake game was a good idea). She also got to take the snack that day and picked grapes and cookies.
E's preschool did something similar, we created a "All About Me" poster using pictures we cut out from magazines and she picked oreos and fruit snacks to take to school as her treat.
For A's "actual" birthday, she wanted to go to the drive in movies (one of her all time favorite activities). So we drove out to a friend's house and joined them for the evening. We started at a soccer game to cheer on one of my best friends as we picnicked and ate pizza with their kids. Then we settled it at the drive in, piling the back of our trucks with pillows and blankets and plenty of snacks to watch the new Disney movie, Rescue Planes. The girls enjoyed it and despite the late hour, were still wound up and begged to stay for the second feature, Malificent. We had already agreed it was probably too scary for them but decided to watch trailers for it on YouTube and at the kids excitement, decided to stay. It turned out to be a great movie and the girls had a great time. Then, rather than drive the 1.5 hours home, we spent the night at our friends' house and then played through the morning. The kids were in heaven, exploring and playing, as we lounged around for a few hours before finally returning home.
For E's "actual" birthday, Husband was out of town. So Grandma and I took the girls out for the evening. We went to Cookie Cutters to get haircuts, much to the girls' delight. They love the play equipment and computer games but especially love the cool chairs, personal tvs and the cute updo styles when their haircut is finished. L's beautiful curls still fall just past her shoulders but again with layers and better shape. For A, we got brave and cut her hair short, into a chin length bob with a slight a-line. It's fun and sassy and suits her perfectly. And E was most reluctant, but since she hates having me brush her hair and objects to any ponytail or styling, she loves her short curls that are so easy to wet and gel with minimal styling now. After haircuts, we went to dinner at the girls' favorite restaurant, Chili's. It's been their favorite for a long time, but now with the new table top computers, they're in heaven and we may never go to another restaurant ever again. They loved playing the games and as usual, were fun of fun energy and excitement. All up until our dinner actually came and E suddenly claimed an upset stomach. Within a few minutes she was sick and dinner ended abruptly. Fortunately, the manager gave us a gift card and encouraged to come back another night so she could still get her birthday dessert.
So now my sweet girls are 6.5, 5 ("almost six" she claims) and 3. Sweet little E, who has so proudly declared her age with 2 fingers, makes me melt. Even at the birthday party, she insisted with two fingers. But the morning of her "real" birthday, she slowly came awake as I whispered good mornings and happy birthdays. I asked how old she was and without speaking or raising her head off the pillow, she lifted three fingers and grinned.
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