Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Celebrating As A Girl Should

Jan 2012 arrived and Miss Sassy Pants decided that it was going to be a Birthday WEEK! Right on sweetie, as it should be! And so this is how we celebrated...

Monday Layne spent the day shopping at Coral Ridge with mom and Grandma. We did a little Victoria's Secret and a little Build-A-Bear. Made everyone happy, really. Okay, so she doesn't look super thrilled here, but that is just because she was mad at me for capturing the excess of lipstick that she had on, in addition to mom's face powder!

Tuesday after coming home from school, Alayna found that a birthday present was delivered early. A new bed and dresser set AND Hello Kitty sheets! What could be better!? She was a happy camper to finally transition from the crib to a twin bed. (Okay, so I know she is 4 now, and was still in a crib size bed... whatever.)
And I thought she'd look so big in this bed... oh no! Not when she brings her whole toy box to bed with her!

Wednesday was a tougher day for celebration, because we spent about 2 hours at an optometrist getting her eyes checked, dialated, and examined. Sure enough, she has astigmatism at 2 diopters, which is a moderate level, but requires corrective lenses.
Thankfully, she got to spend the rest of the day with her Nana and Hello Kitty sunglasses. I hear she was pretty bossy and deliberately gave directions as she saw fit for the day! Thanks Nana for putting up with the princess! :)

Thursday was finally the big 4th birthday! We had walking tacos and ice cream sundaes at the house and she enjoyed lots of fun time with her family she loves the most!


Friday was a very special day. After getting picked up early from school, Aly and mommy ordered the Hello Kitty cupcakes that have been talked about all too highly for the past month. Next stop was the Optical Shop to pick out her first pair of specs!
Biases aside, can she really get any cuter?

Saturday was low key, but we had fun finishing off her bedroom, putting all the fun new clothes away, cleaning out the toy room, storing old baby toys, and making room for the new. Oh, and of course she had to go shopping with Grandma for a new coat and baby (as though Christmas and birthday hadn't brought enough! And did I mention that we were just cleaning out the toy room? Oh, pardon me, it's her birthday week!) Plus, she insisted that we bake cookies and paint our nails... with sparkles of course!

Sunday brought the actual birthday party for friends at the Play Station. 10 little ones joined Aly for a big celebration of her first four years! Cupcakes, tunnels, presents and slides -- everyone had loads of fun.


Although, she wouldn't thank anyone for the gifts or for coming, she really did appreciate all her friends being there. We're still working on the snotty, entitled, sassy attitude that hits at the most inopportune times. But, as you can see she did have an awesome time and crashed hard once we got in the car.
In all, she knows how to raise our blood pressure, but she also does pretty well at melting our hearts. We couldn't be more happier to have this little princess in our lives. Thank you Alayna for all that you are to us, the patience that you create and expire, and the love that you bring to our family!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The Toast

As usual, we headed to our friends' for New Years. This year though, it wasn't about potlucks, pizza for kids, a little confetti and grab a horn. Oh no. This year the sitter was hired (to stay the night), the boys did the grocery shopping (and cooking), and we were treated like kings and queens in the Fortune's beautifully remodeled home. Just a quick glance at this feast, and you'll know that we had a good time.

We exchanged gifts and even had a few mean games of Left, Right, Center. We kicked off a dance party that lasted through the night. It was good to see that at we all still have our moves, even after climbing past 30!

There was plenty of bubbly to share, which brought toasts to good friends, times to remember, nights to forget, and years to come. And it wouldn't quite be New Years without the confetti!



Here's to wishing all of you a fortunate, healthy, and meaningful 2012. With all our love,