Happy Birthday to our girl!

Olivia had been waiting for her FIFTH birthday basically for a month, ever since her friends Emma and Cate turned five at the beginning of August.  So, we were pretty surprised when 2 days before her birthday, she broke down in tears crying that she wanted to "stay little" and not turn 5.  As we talked to her, we figured out most of these fears were related to leaving Cathedral House and the fact that Cate already left.  So, that is something we will be working on this year.  But, we made sure the next morning to try and make a big deal out of the countdown!

And, the night before her birthday, we set up our traditional birthday balloons for her after she went to sleep and set up her presents in the living room.

This year's presents largely revolved around her beloved American Girl Dolls.  She got a Willie Wisher (Willa) and a matching outfit.  

And, I got a little crafty and fixed up a plain white doll table/chairs with a little paint and paper to make them a little prettier.

When she woke up that morning, the first thing she did was yell "Balloons!  Pink and Golden!" 

She then hurried out to see her loot!  My heart is full seeing these BIG SMILES!

Lots of love for her little babes.  I love this picture because it made me think about her birth 5 years ago.  I like to think of me like that when I first got to hug her - smile so big and heart so full, you think you may burst!

Um also, 5 year olds can read?!  We gave her a birthday card from Matt & I plus a little note from "Willa" inviting her to lunch at the Cafe.  She opened and read both of them!  Moments like this make me forget my longing for squishy little babies and fill me with excitement at the thought of grown up activities with my daughter!

I'm FIVE!!!

I'm sure it won't surprise anyone to hear that Olivia is basically all knowing as to our schedule and her amazing memory keeps track of every event we have coming up for the next few months.  We are constantly discussing our plans.  So, when she learned that I kept a secret from her that I was taking the morning off and that I planned a special lunch at the American Girl Doll Cafe, she immediately was shocked at my censorship.  She said "How did you surprise me like that?!"

When she found out Mimi and Grandpa were joining us, it was too much for her!

Daddy went to Chic Fila to get her favorite breakfast - chicken minis and tater tots. This girl LIVES for some tots!

She and I had a special morning playing with the babies that I will forever love.  

Mimi and Grandpa came over and we fixed Olivia's hair so it looked like Willa's and headed to the American Girl Doll store/cafe.  

Twins!

After Olivia finished opening her presents this morning, she asked me what other "accessories" came with Willa, recalling all the ones she had seen in the AG catalog.  Nothing I replied.  "No bunny?" No.  "No theater?"  No.  "Okay well I will look for some accessories when we go to lunch."  So, lucky for her, Mimi and Grandpa bought her a new outfit for Willow (an ice skating outfit) and Matt and I got her some ice skating background that she wanted.

Then it was time for lunch!  As soon as we arrived, they presented her with a tiara for her and her baby.  She brought Willa and the Cafe had lots of dolls for us to borrow so she picked this one and named her Abigail.

Her idea - all their hands are the same!

It was a real treat for her to have Mimi and Grandpa join us for lunch.  When we were driving to the AGD Cafe, she told her babydoll: "Mimi and Grandpa are really nice.  Mimi is silly because she's wonky.  And Grandpa always takes naps when he's not supposed to, so that's silly too!"

We were all happy to celebrate the birthday girl!

Cheers!

Her current favorite sandwich is grilled cheese so lunch was an easy decision

And, after lunch was over they surprised her with a birthday cake.  She was only slightly thrilled! (Also, I love that she and Grandpa both have the same look of excitement on their faces!)

Our nice waiter cut the cake for us and brought it back with little cups of ice cream.  

This girl is all about the details.  She loved the little daisies that were in everyone's cups and immediately used them as accessories.  (She also was obsessed with the pink flower napkin ties and luckily our nice waiter said she could take those as well!)

This little one loved her lunch and I was so glad I decided to take the morning off and make it happen!

I took her back to school after lunch and heard all about how she got to hand out her cookies to all her friends even though she is not even snack helper this week!

When I picked her up, she was thrilled to show me the birthday card from her teachers/friends, special birthday crown (purple, of course!) that her teachers made her and her purple "Happy Birthday" bracelet!

After school/work, we played at home for a bit with her new toys and then she chose Sweet Paris Crepes for her birthday dinner.  

For Matt and I, the best parts of the day were seeing how happy she was and also seeing how loved she is.  From early in the morning, our little social butterfly started a mental list of who had called/texted to wish her happy birthday.  And our friends/family did not disappoint.  Every time I told her about a new text or message, she was excited and on the way home from school she almost had a meltdown that "Aunt Yashie" hadn't called yet.  But luckily we got a special note from "Cousint" Crosby and a FaceTime with Yazzie too!

She also got special birthday calls and videos from lots of friends.  And, I won't say which one of her parents cried listening to the conversation between Cate and Olivia, but I will just say he's not even embarrassed about it!  I mean when you hear your 5 year old's best friend, who recently left the school they've attended together their whole life, tell your daughter "I wish I could see you everyday and forever because I love you!!" it makes your whole heart swell.  For 10 minutes these 2 best friends talked about the following: what they are eating for dinner, how excited they are to see each other at her party on Saturday, how much they love each other, how much they miss each other, how they can convince their moms to let them have a sleepover.  

The calls/wishes/texts were just as important to her as the presents.  And, I guess that is what we all want - to have friendships and people in your life that you love and value and to know that those people feel the same way about you.  The fact that she has that at 5 years old makes me so incredibly thankful that I can't really put it into words.  I will refrain from some mushy, philosophical tirade, but I'm certain there is a lesson in there that ends with "and that is the best present a person can receive."