Sara turns 4!

Yesterday was Sara's birthday. Woot! Woot! Partay. We celebrated with loads of family & friends, boxes of pizza, and gluttonous amounts of cake and icecream. It was fun! Sara requested to have a Tinkerbell party. We decked out the house with Tink, including a big ole Tinkerbell balloon, which actually may have been a little more freaky than festive but whatever- she's 4- she loved it!

Sara is all about being involved in the planning of big events. She loves parties. A couple weeks before her birthday I was talking to her about her party. Chattering excitedly, she ran over to the cupboard, pulled out a tiny notebook and started writing (3-year-old chicken scratch, of course) invitations to all her friends and family. She would tear each piece of paper out of the notebook and put it in a pile. She had quite the pile of papers on the floor when all was said and done. She really really really wanted to have a game at her party. While at the party store (love the party store), I came across "Pixie Bingo". Perfect! I was worried that things would be too hectic to have a game but it actually worked out nicely. The kids loved getting prizes and it kind of corralled them all for a while and calmed the chaos.

Even Ethan and Taylor enjoyed some Pixie Bingo!

Opening gifts at parties involving small children always leaves me feeling a bit frantic. I've been thinking about this the last couple of days because really, it freaks me out. It brings me back a couple of years ago to when we took the kids to feed the fish at Gardner Village. One piece of bread dropped into the water and suddenly, out of nowhere, large numbers of fish are frantically swimming and jumping all over the place. It was a feeding frenzy. This was the direction the gift opening was going at Sara's party. Neighbor children were grabbing gifts and trying to open them. Kids everywhere, "helping" Sara. Hello. Not a free-for-all, people. This is a birthday party for Sara, who has a control-freak of a mother. Step back. I felt like I needed to put on an orange vest, grab a whistle, and assert my neurotic self with some serious crowd control. Next year I am roping off the area and putting on protective eye wear. No really.

On to the cake- the first gulp of air Sara breathed in and expelled onto the cake completely missed the candles. The second attempt was more successful- she got three! And with one more blow, she had all four candles out! An impressive showing, if I do say so myself. Anytime the kids don't spit on the cake, I let out a sigh of relief. It brings back vivid memories of being at family birthday parties when I was a kid- standing around the birthday cake screaming the 'Happy Birthday' song at the top of our lungs. And then- looking on with wild excitement only to see the beautiful cake barraged with a shower of birthday wishes and spit. We would let out loud groans and moans, muttering to each other that there was no way we were going to eat that cake. Good times, my friends, good times.

I guess I fit into the role of one of those mothers, you know, the ones who buy their kids things in the excitement of the moment, only to realize later that it was a bad, bad idea. Hey peeps, no judgements here because I am guessing, just a shot in the dark, that you are one of those mothers too. So yes, what I am trying to say is that I bought Sara some play make-up. It was probably the most treasured gift of the night. At some point, a few of the girls made their way upstairs to Sara's room to glam themselves up. I didn't notice they were even gone until my neighbor showed up to retrieve her kids. Upon entering Sara's room, we found 6 little girls, faces all aglow with glitter infused grease. I think Sara's goal was to cover every inch of her face. Not only did she accomplish that, but she also had her chest covered as well.

Here she is with her little friend Mary

And here she is again... This is the current "Sara pose". Whenever the camera is on her, she immediately assumes this position- head to the side, hands on her hips. She is such a poser and it drives me nuts! Just smile normal! Is that too much to ask? (Don't answer that)

Make-up is all fine and dandy until you want it to come off! The stuff does not come off easily. And all the glitter! Oh, the glitter! Nightmare. Poor little Spencer has been sporting a shimmery, glittery head from all the kisses and love the girls were giving him. Though I never thought I would say this... it's a good thing Livvy vaselined her head a few weeks back because I am now equipped with every de-greaser you can imagine. A few minutes in the tub with a bar of Lava soap and Sara was as good as new. Well, all except the glitter. I'm sure we will be finding a sparkle of glitter here, there, and everywhere for the next little while. But you know what? It was all worth it because she has loved every second of the make-up. She puts on her make-up and twirls around the house singing, calling herself Gabriella Butterfly Flower. And she's in heaven.

And for those of you thinking that maybe Livvy would let the day fly by without incident, you are WRONG!

A few minutes before guests began arriving, Olivia came down the stairs looking like this:

And here is a very sad Livvy because she knows she is in trouble and "mommy does not have time to give you a bath!" But mommy did. And Livvy survived. And so did mommy. But mommy was not happy when, after her bath, Livvy came downstairs and opened one of Sara's wrapped gifts! Oh, and just in case you are wondering... it's mascara.

Sara had a fun day filled with happy things. She deserved it. We love her more than anything. Happy Birthday Miss Sara! We love you!

A few things about Sara:

• She can be such a good helper around the house. She especially likes to help wash the storm door.
• She likes to organize.
• She likes to surprise mommy by cleaning her bedroom, including making her bed.
• She likes to wash her babies, and just about anything she can get her hands on, in the 1/2 bath sink.
• She loves pink and purple, and sometimes orange.
• She likes to wear lots of colors- none of this matching stuff...
• She likes to do her own hair.
• She wants to be a princess when she grows up.
• She likes to pick flowers from the yard.
• She doesn't like to buckle her car seat.
• She doesn't like shorts- just pants and skirts for this girl.
• She twirls around the house singing princess songs and "Sara songs".
• She eats like a bird, unless it's food from my plate.
• Some of her favorite things to eat are chicken nuggets- dipped in ranch, red punch, popcorn, chips in a bowl, and salad.
• She LOVES to take a bath.
• She very much wants to do everything herself.