Double Birthday Day

For Olivia's birthday this year, we planned a special day, just the two of us. Since our birthdays are back to back, we decided to call it the Double Birthday Day. I told her we'd have to have extra fun, more food, and buy twice as many presents since we were celebrating both of our birthdays. She got a big smile on her face. When the big day arrived, her first present was a pink soccer ball I gave her just after breakfast. She was ecstatic. She wanted to go get her pink soccer cleats on too. The photo above was taken the following day before her first soccer game in which she scored a goal!



From the moment she woke up the morning of her birthday, Olivia was asking me "What time are we leaving? When are we going Mom? Aren't you ready yet?" etc. I was so glad that she was looking forward to this day as much as I was. I thought to myself, "How many more years do I have before this excitement ends?" I hope the time never comes when she does not want to spend a day with me to celebrate our birthdays. She is my first girl and has a special place in my heart. She is my special princess. She loves it when I call her that. She gives the best hugs. Such a sweet girl. Anyway...



Mom planned to watch Ashley while Olivia and I went out for the day, but when I was talking to Jill on Thursday she offered to take Ashley with her to Creative Friday at Michelle's. I was really impressed and touched since I know this is kind of sacred time between the two of them and I wouldn't want anything to hinder their fun. She said, "No, I love Ashley and she is so easy" so I agreed. Mom had watched both girls the day before, on my birthday, so it was great to tell her she had the day off! Ashley was a bit leery getting into Jill's car. She wasn't so sure but once I pulled out her Fairies DVD and her binkie she realized that as long as she had the necessities, she could go anywhere.



Little did she know that Jill would later hook her up with fries and nuggets, an experience which she has relived often since that day (The other day she asked for fries, nuggets, prize and when I said no she said, "Jill's car". You made a good impression Jill)
Apparently Ashley and Eva had a great time together, played along wonderfully, and bonded right away. For the next week she kept saying things about "Eva's house" "Jack the dog... cute" and "Jump trampoline" so she must have had a great time.

So we sent Jill and Ashley on their way and the Double Birthday Day began. Our first stop was lunch since my stomach was rumbling. We had talked about how she was going to choose the restaurant and could order any dessert she wanted. So she told me she wanted fish and chips (after I named a few possibilities). That stumped me since I had no idea where to get fish and chips in Utah? So we ended up at Red Lobster. I know, weird. I haven't been in about 20 years. It turned out to be really good. I had a great plate of grilled tilapia, steamed broccoli, salad, and their yummy cheese biscuits (a few too many, I might add). Olivia got the kids' plate with breaded fish, applesauce, fries, and sprite. She was in heaven. She felt so special going to a non-fast food place and getting to choose what she wanted. When it came time for dessert I knew she wasn't going to be able to fit it in, but since I promised her I let her choose a chocolate cake with ice cream. The servers came out singing to her and it even had a candle for her to blow out. She was absolutely beaming. She took two bites and said, "I'm full". Gotta love 5 year olds! Note the coins on the table in the photo. She wanted to pay for lunch since she had so much money. Unfortunately the $5.76 she had wasn't going to cover it, but it was cute.



Our next stop was the party store. We didn't have a friend party this year, but I let her choose some balloons, plates, cups, stickers, etc. for her party with the family. I knew her cousins would love the kitty stuff she chose and it made her feel like she wasn't totally missing out on the party thing. Surprisingly, she didn't even ask for a party this year and never complained or acted like it was a big deal at all. I am planning on doing parties for my kids when they are 4,8, 12, 16 and the other years doing a special day with mom or dad, or maybe picking one friend to go to movies or whatever. Grandma Dot had sent her $5 for her birthday so she was very proud to bring out her glittery pink wallet and pay for the party goods (well, it was a contribution anyway).



Next we went to the mall. She loves her bear Susie that we got at B.A.B. a couple years ago. She has always wanted to go and get another bear, but since it's not so cheap and we are not in need of any more stuffed toys in our house, it hasn't happened. However, for her birthday I said she could choose another little friend at Build A Bear. She went right for the pink spotted leopard. She is such a girl. Then, she wanted the outfit. I had planned to get her another small gift, but I said if she wanted to choose the outfit then we wouldn't be getting anything else. She said ok. She chose a striped bikini for her bear. I tried to gently steer her in other directions like, "Oh, look at this cute princess outfit" or "What about pajamas?" but it didn't work. Bikinis are just not made for bears, but oh well, she was happy and that is what matters, right? You can tell from the photo how happy she was. She named her new animal pet "Bubbles" and she took it everywhere, and I mean everywhere, for the next week or so. Even to her soccer game. To church. To the store, etc.



We walked around the mall a bit more after that. After all, it was a celebration of MY birthday too, right? I ended up finding some cute capris and a funky turquoise top at a store I never go into. I was happy that I got a little something too. We headed back to Jill's at that point. The plan was to meet Jared there- pass over the kids- and head back to The Bombay House for dinner with my bookclub friends. They banned me from posting a photo but below is my edited version of the group photo that night- see girls, totally anonymous, no one can tell it's you! Ha ha. It's too bad b/c they are such cute girls and I really enjoy them. Heidi, Rebecca, Britney, Traci, and Shauna all came. Thanks girls for such a great dinner and a fun night out. Thank you Jill for babysitting Ashley and making the day wonderful too. It was a fabulous day.