Olivia's birthday was last week, and we made sure to celebrate our little girl!
I was out of town for 4 days. I went back to Ohio for my friend Laurie's wedding. Since Michael had to take off some time while I was gone, we just went ahead and extended it into the next week so that we could have a fun day for Olivia's birthday (and have less crowds doing so)!
We hung streamers on her door (which, by the way, she remembered we did last year and asked the night before if we were going to do again!!), and covered the floor outside of her room with balloons. She was thrilled!
She always comes into our room in the morning to wake me up, and she did that day as well. Michael immediately left to get her special birthday breakfast, so she just hung out in my bed with me for a bit.
As soon as Michael got home, we let her go into the living room to see her presents. She had already got a glimpse and couldn't wait!
Her bedroom is right off of the living room and we didn't want her seeing her gifts before we were there to document her reaction... so we covered them up!
We got her one gift. A doll house. I'm pretty sure she screamed something about it being just what she always wanted! She plays with her princess Barbies every day. She sets up little rooms and vignettes all over the house, so it just made sense. Plus, when we went to walk around Toys R Us to check out bikes (our original idea) she passed three different doll houses and asked for them. Barbies was my all time favorite toy when I was growing up. It's really one of the only toys I played with. I would have loved a house for them, and I know that this gift is going to be used for years and years to come!
She was delighted that it came with a birthday cake just for her. ;)
She has almost all of the princess Barbies, but she really wanted Tiana. Logan got her Tiana and a princess sticker book.
I knew my dad would send money, so we planned ahead and made her a Lego table from Grandpa. It was covered with a blanket too, but the unveiling picture didn't turn out as well. It's an IKEA table ($7!) with a Lego plate glued on with liquid nails. The tote that rolls under it is also from IKEA and it's on casters so it rolls in and out easily! Then she got two sets of Legos from Grandma Pryor (Michael's mom).
The doll house is also on casters. It's double sided and has 10 rooms. It is amazing!
She insisted I take a picture of her making crazy faces... because, well, she's crazy! ;)
She's working hard to master Michael's one eye brown up/one eye brow down "crazy face".
Then it was time for her special breakfast. Aren't these donuts amazing!? This is when being on the McKinney Moms Facebook page pays off! They were yummy too!
After breakfast we got ready and headed to the Sea Life Aquarium at Grapevine Mills.
In the tunnel--surrounded by water and sea life. She wore the "Birthday Girl" badge and got lots of well wishes.
We left the aquarium and walked over to eat lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Another fun treat!
Olivia loved being surrounded by the animals. She enjoyed a yummy lunch, and they sang to her when we were all done.
We headed home for naps, and had a relaxing rest of the day at the house. She requested a reindeer peanut butter and jelly sandwich (from our Advent calendar ideas), so that's what she got. We watched a movie together as a family, and she got a special ice cream treat to end the evening.
I think the day turned out pretty great. She loved it all, felt loved and special, and Michael and I enjoyed the extra family time. I can't believe our sweet girl is 4!
