Happy 4th Birthday to my Elle! She was so excited when she woke up. She kept asking, "am I really 4 years old now"? The morning started with lots of phone calls for her with singing grandparents and cousins and then she had to get ready for a surprise. Her favorite friend Brinley came by with balloons and took her to breakfast. Elle chose to go to the Bagel Shack and had her favorite, a blueberry bagel with cream cheese. Brinley and Christy then took her to the toy store where she got to choose anything she wanted. And staying true to her roots, she chose...a baby doll. Instead of a big party this year I tried something different. We made the whole day a special Elle Day. I got a babysitter for Gwen and just the two of us headed out. I didn't tell her where we were going. I made her close her eyes and when she opened them, she couldn't believe it. We were standing in front of Build-A-Bear. I can't tell you how many times we have passed that store at the mall and she always begs to go in. Today was her special day, so in we went. Elle chose the hot pink teddy bear (of course) and got to stuff him and and even made a wish on a heart that she put into him right before he was stiched-up. She washed him and fluffed him and if he wasn't pink enough, she chose a pink outfit to put on him. She named her bear Patty-Cakes. The two of us then headed to Ruby's for lunch. It was so nice to just sit and talk with her and not have any other distractions. I could have all of my attention on Elle. On our way home we stopped at our favorite flower stand and she got to choose flowers to have at our house for her birthday dinner. For dinner she was able to choose our menu. She wanted "basghetti", salad with dippies (dressing) and bread. There is just ONE thing that she asked for as a gift for her birthday. One thing. Not a toy or doll, just a round chocolate cake with purple frosting and a brown bunny on it. Random yes, but this is all she wanted. She even drew it for me to make sure I understood. Well, I unfortunately left this important detail to the last minute. Early yesterday morning I started calling bakeries asking for a cake and of course no one could do it with such short notice. I was stressed! The thought of myself making a cake with a brown bunny on top was not pretty and so I kept faithfully calling around. I finally found a bakery that would do it for me last minute. And let me say, they are my new favorite bakery. It was the cutest cake I have ever seen. Exactly like Ellers had invisioned. We had basghetti for dinner (Elle got to use the 'happy birthday' plate) and then sang to her and she blew out her candles. It was just the 4 of us and it was perfect. Elle said the prayer at dinner and said, "thank you that I can have the most special day in the whole world". Do they come any cuter? Jon had a surprise for her in the front room after we had cake. He gave her "The Littlest Pet Shop". She LOVES it and stayed up late playing it with her daddy. I would say it was a pretty great way to kick-off her year as a big 4 year old. Happy Birthday to my #1 girl. I love you forever.
Happy 4th Birthday to my Elle! She was so excited when she woke up. She kept asking, "am I really 4 years old now"? The morning started with lots of phone calls for her with singing grandparents and cousins and then she had to get ready for a surprise. Her favorite friend Brinley came by with balloons and took her to breakfast. Elle chose to go to the Bagel Shack and had her favorite, a blueberry bagel with cream cheese. Brinley and Christy then took her to the toy store where she got to choose anything she wanted. And staying true to her roots, she chose...a baby doll. Instead of a big party this year I tried something different. We made the whole day a special Elle Day. I got a babysitter for Gwen and just the two of us headed out. I didn't tell her where we were going. I made her close her eyes and when she opened them, she couldn't believe it. We were standing in front of Build-A-Bear. I can't tell you how many times we have passed that store at the mall and she always begs to go in. Today was her special day, so in we went. Elle chose the hot pink teddy bear (of course) and got to stuff him and and even made a wish on a heart that she put into him right before he was stiched-up. She washed him and fluffed him and if he wasn't pink enough, she chose a pink outfit to put on him. She named her bear Patty-Cakes. The two of us then headed to Ruby's for lunch. It was so nice to just sit and talk with her and not have any other distractions. I could have all of my attention on Elle. On our way home we stopped at our favorite flower stand and she got to choose flowers to have at our house for her birthday dinner. For dinner she was able to choose our menu. She wanted "basghetti", salad with dippies (dressing) and bread. There is just ONE thing that she asked for as a gift for her birthday. One thing. Not a toy or doll, just a round chocolate cake with purple frosting and a brown bunny on it. Random yes, but this is all she wanted. She even drew it for me to make sure I understood. Well, I unfortunately left this important detail to the last minute. Early yesterday morning I started calling bakeries asking for a cake and of course no one could do it with such short notice. I was stressed! The thought of myself making a cake with a brown bunny on top was not pretty and so I kept faithfully calling around. I finally found a bakery that would do it for me last minute. And let me say, they are my new favorite bakery. It was the cutest cake I have ever seen. Exactly like Ellers had invisioned. We had basghetti for dinner (Elle got to use the 'happy birthday' plate) and then sang to her and she blew out her candles. It was just the 4 of us and it was perfect. Elle said the prayer at dinner and said, "thank you that I can have the most special day in the whole world". Do they come any cuter? Jon had a surprise for her in the front room after we had cake. He gave her "The Littlest Pet Shop". She LOVES it and stayed up late playing it with her daddy. I would say it was a pretty great way to kick-off her year as a big 4 year old. Happy Birthday to my #1 girl. I love you forever.
