Gabe's Fifth Birthday

The day we all were waiting for finally arrived. Gabe was counting down the days. She was sooo excited. We debated if we wanted to have a birthday party for her or not. She is still young enough that we probably still could have gotten away with not doing one even though she has been to a few others. She is starting Kindergarten and we were kinda wanting to meet some of these preschool girls that she gushes about. So we thought we'd go ahead and do it. Plus we wanted to meet some of the parents better of the girls so we could hook up for play dates in the summer or whatever. 

Anyway, Gabe decided that she wanted a butterfly birthday themed party. She just went to a princess one, so she didn't want that. She is obsessed with butterflies so it worked out well. She did at one point say she might want a ballerina one, but she kept it to butterfly. So we got it all ready and planned some stuff out. It kinda is amazing what cheap themed party supplies you can find. 

I got on Pinterest and learned how to make paper 3D butterflies. So it makes it look like they are flying or landing I guess. I made a million and stuck them all over our walls. We had some hanging flowers that hung from the ceiling, and some butterfly balloons. 

The day before her bday I spent the whole day in the kitchen. I really did. I made lemon cookies for her to take to her Preschool, and made the chocolate cupcakes she wanted for her party. Then I made these Raspberry rolls she wanted for breakfast, and then dinner. Phew it was a busy prep day. 

The morning of her bday she was so giddy. With her rolls she wanted purple scrambled eggs. We didn't have red food coloring so she ended up with blue ones. Ha. Whoops. We then decided to let her open her b-day gifts before school, cause we wouldn't have a time later that Daddy could watch, unless it was late. So it was kinda mean to have her hurry and open her gifts, then send her to school. Oh well we did it anyway. :)

Gabe has been begging for a dollhouse ever since she has gone to preschool. They have one there and she plays with it almost every time she goes. So we looked into some. She used to have a cheap little one when she was younger that got beat up and we threw it out. She remembered it and wanted another. We decided to get her a little nicer one, but nothing wooden fancy. So we got her the Fisher Price loving family one. We actually didn't get the newest style cause in the reviews people complained it didn't have enough space compared to the older model. So I got the older model. On fisher price's website you can find bundle deals to buy stuff for it. All the people and rooms are sold separate. This was kinda annoying to me at first, but I love the thought of her adding to her dollhouse. She already knows which pieces she wants for Christmas. I did get a bundle deal that came with the house, the family, and like three rooms. The rooms came in separate boxes so it made it look like she got tons of stuff, which she loved. :)

Gabe is pretty easy to please, so we could have gotten her anything really, but she was super excited about it. She squealed and exclaimed she has always wanted one and all that stuff you want to hear when your kid opens your present. 

This look on Ollie sums up his day. He had a rough day. He was good about letting Gabe open her stuff and staying out of the way, but he was whiny and sad about it all day. Poor guy. It was hard for him to understand why Milo's b-day is next and not his. So on Milo's b-day he'll probably be the same way. 

When she got home from school she was happy she got her b-day crown and she was sung to as she shared her cookies . She also got presents from lots of fun people that love her. Nana and Papa sent a present, Good stuff from Grandma Kristi and Kay and Tamera gave her stuff, and her primary teacher brought her by stuff as well. She was spoiled. 

One of the things she and I talked about was face painting for her b-day. I attempted it. Ha! I practiced on Gabe like three times to find the one that I was most comfy with that I knew I could whip out fast on all the girls. On her b-day she wanted it painted like the wings she was going to wear. We also got dollar store wings for all the girls to wear too. We ended up inviting seven girls. We honestly didnt think they all would make it, but they did. Four girls from school she plays with, two from her primary class, and one from our old ward. Gabe wanted an all girl party with no boys, even though she does have some boys she plays with occasionally. With Gabe's birthday always falling around memorial day, and high school graduation, it makes for a busy time for most people. We never know what to expect in the future when it comes to parties and celebrating. 

As soon as the girls got there we gave them wings and painted faces. We played a pin the butterfly on the flower game. Then we ate cupcakes and ice cream. Gabe wanted chocolate cupcakes that had crushed Oreos in the frosting. They also had an Oreo cookie at the bottom of the cupcake. She was stoked about them. Making the frosting pretty was tricky, but oh well. I bought some cheap edible butterflies. None of the girls dared to try one. :) Gabe eventually did and let them all know it was super gross. Ha. 

After dessert we played musical chairs. The girls were supposed to fly around like butterflies but they were too competitive. Adam and I really thought their personalities came out during this game. We played quite a few times cause they liked it and the same competitive 3 made it to the end every time. (Gabe being one of them and winning once) 

L to R on top: McKay, Kallie, Paige, Allie, and Emma. 

L to R on bottom: Brianna, Gabe, and Kelby. 

McKay, Allie, Emma, and Briana all go to school with her and will be in her grade at the same elementary. (Well Allie is moving to St G) McKay is also in our ward, but in an older primary class. 

Kallie, Paige, and Kelby are all church buddies/neighbors, and younger and will be a grade younger. Paige was in our last ward. 

Honestly some of these girls I wish she would befriend better than others :/ . I probably shouldn't say that, but as a parent I can't help it. I'm just grateful she has some fun friends in her life. All of them so excited to come and hang out with her. They all were fun cute girls. 

Honestly this was probably my favorite part. Watching how excited all these girls were to give Gabe gifts and how excited they were to watch her open them was so fun. I imagine Gabe is the same way at parties. She is always so excited to choose presents for friends. 

After presents they asked to run around and have a dance party. So we obliged as they danced their little hearts out. It was adorable. If I could post video I would. Some really got into it including Ollie. 

So the other parties Gabe went to were a few hours so we had ours a few hours. After the dance party we were done with a half hour left and girls wanting to be entertained. Whoops. Ha! Hey we're new and we thought things would take longer. We were gonna play the game where you tie a balloon to their ankles and they run around trying to pop each others. But once we got them all tied on and started explaining the rules, the girls panicked cause they all loved their balloons and wanted to take them home. Ha! Ok, scratch that idea.  So I had this other random game I considered doing but ruled out during the party planning. Well we did it anyway:

You wrap them in toilet paper like catipillars in cacoons, and whoever gets out of the cacoon and puts their wings on the fastest wins. They LOVED it. So I'm glad we did it. 

We then ended up giving them their goodie bags with cheap party favors early and it entertained them the remainder of the time. Phew. 

Milo didn't know what to think of all the chaos. He just sat and stared. Luckily he slept through half of it. 

I made Ollie a goodie bag too. He deserved it, he had a hard day. 

Gabe wanted to go to dinner for her b-day with the family. She knows that's what people do on their birthdays. She chose McDonalds. We never go there. We usually get Wendy's if and hardly ever if we eat out. We just don't have the money and if we do, McDonalds isn't mine or Adam's first choice. :) So Tamera gave the kids gift cards there for Christmas to go get a happy meal. So they discovered McDonalds and the toys they have to play on. (Plus one of Gabe's friends had a birthday lunch there) Gabe wanted to go there. We let her have her way. It was her b-day after all. So we went there that night for dinner and played on the toys after. 

Mmm Mmm Big Macs we say. 

The kids playing on the toys. 

So glad this was such a fun day for her. So glad it is over with. Ha! We love this girl so much, and can't believe that it's been five years since we first had her as a baby in our arms. Every year she just grows into this awesome sweet thing that we just love and adore. She is so caring and loving. She loves to help, and be in charge of things. She helps with both brothers willingly and loves to play or eat or do anything with you. Happy B-day Gabrielle. We love you!

Thanks for all the kind birthday wishes and presents sent her way. She felt very loved and special.