Five

Before we left, we had a birthday party for Leah.  She wanted a Barbie birthday party, which meant pink, pink, pink!  The girls loved choosing accessories-

and putting on make-up-

and posing in front of the giant Barbie.  Adam did not want to be left out.

We played pin the accessories on the Barbie (Leah was okay with being blind-folded this year!)

and moved on to the tasty stuff.  Since we were in the thick of getting ready for our trip, I bought her little cupcake Barbie cake from the store.  I nearly cried when I saw it- as did Leah, just not for the same reasons.  She loved it and that is all that matters but it definitely renewed my commitment to making my kids birthday cakes.

Then on to presents- the big surprise was a new bike! 

 

Santa told us there wasn't enough room in his sleigh for it to be delivered on Christmas, so we told him we would give it to Leah for her birthday.

 

I think she likes it!

After the party Leah wrote out "fill-in-the-blank" thank you notes to each of her friends, and she wrote me one, too.  It said, "Dear Mome, Thank you for coming to my party.  I had fun playing with you and I loved the BIC.  You're a doll!  Love, Leah

We had a second birthday celebration in Denver with Grandma Morales, Grandma Miller, and all the aunties, uncle, and puppies.  It was a combined birthday and Christmas celebration, with lots of presents and cake.  More pictures of that trip coming soon.

 And a third celebration on her actual birthday. 

Jason and I took Leah out to the restaurant of her choice for lunch. 

We had a great time talking with her- it's always fun to see how each of our kids acts when they are alone with us. 

We conducted a birthday interview and asked Leah five questions.  It's been over a month now, but I'll see if I can remember them.

1. Who is your best friend? Mommy and Emma
2. What is your favorite thing to do? Ride my bike
3. What is your favorite food? Pink lemonade (we were at Red Lobster, after all)
4. What is your favorite book? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (our cross-country read aloud book)
5. What are you looking forward to this year? Kindergarten!

Then on to the final birthday party.  The best surprise of the party was when Ariel- yes, The Little Mermaid herself- called to wish Leah a happy birthday.  Her cousin Sarah told Ariel it was her birthday and then she called!  It was very magical.  Today, over a month later, Leah got her kindergarten shots at the doctors office, and she was not very happy about it.  Amidst her tears, in an effort to cheer herself up she said, "Remember on my birthday when Ariel called me?  That was so cool."  And it really was.

Leah wanted a princess/star wars birthday cake- she was pretty disappointed when she realized that having a Barbie birthday party in Indiana meant not inviting boys- so she wanted something that would include her brother and cousin Ethan this time around.  And with my new commitment to making birthday cakes, I had quite the task in front of me.  I opted for a giant cupcake cake, and it was a hit.  Leah was so excited about blowing out the candle, we sang, "Happy birthday to--" before she couldn't wait any longer and blew it out. 

Leah loved the huge sticker faces we gave her, and was happy to share with her "guests".  Even Adam created a catfish-looking she-man.  But the most exciting gift of all was ballet classes when we got back to Indiana.  Leah loves to dance, and she is thrilled about the chance to be a real ballerina.

Phew!  So we thoroughly celebrated Leah's 5th birthday, and were happy for every minute of it.  We are so proud of you, Leah!  You are a thoughtful friend, a kind big sister, a great mommy's helper, and a sweet, sweet girl.  We love you!