Today was a pretty big milestone in the life of our family: Our baby girl turned five years old. We are still finding it a little hard to believe that she could be that old, but the proof is right in front of us.
Here she is on her actual birth day....
...and at about ten months old (always smiling!)....
...and today, getting ready for her 5th birthday party, looking all grown up.
The weather was warm and beautiful (48 degrees!), so we decided that the party should start off with some front yard sledding.
We even set up some seats for the spectators!
And of course what would a party be without some cold beverages nearby?
Em's cousins came to her party, of course, and we got to watch Lili master "snowboarding" on a sled...way to go Lili!
Sebastian did his usual kamikaze moves...
...and Mom even got out her "trick" skis and attempted some jumps.
Yes, that's a Spread Eagle attempt below (followed immediately by a faceplant).
Em's buddy Duncan from preschool joined us....
...along with her BFF Cole, who is always a good time.
Everyone had a great time sledding--even Connor got into the action a little bit.
Of course not everyone hit the hill...some of our guests were quite content to have a cold beverage and socialize.
We were so happy that Millie was able to come to the party too--it was really great to see her.
Eventually the sledding started winding down, and the snowball fighting picked up a little.
Now that's a fun time.
Emily knew that her birthday cake was inside waiting for her, so she started getting pretty antsy...it was time to move the party indoors....
...where Kate and Millie had already staked out their spots.
When Emily saw her cake for the first time, she couldn't believe it. Nana had actually made a spider cake, just like she asked for!
Yes, it was very creepy. But the birthday girl gets what the birthday girl wants, and we all had to admit that Nana did a fantastic job on it.
After being serenaded and picking out the first piece, Emily also found out....
...that the spider cake tasted great!
Everyone else agreed too.
Although some folks preferred Mama's bread pudding with (lots of) whipped cream.
After cake and ice cream it was time to gather around and watch Emily open her presents....
...with a little card-reading help from Mama.
Sometimes it's hard to watch your sister get all the birthday attention, so Kate got to open a little present too.
Emily got lots of fun gifts, and really seemed to enjoy being the center of attention.
Of course with fun gifts comes a certain amount of "assembly required", which can be frustrating.
While Mom and Pop Pop worked to get the hot wheels tracks set up, the kids stormed upstairs to the playroom to open Emily's final gift.
It was a kid-size punching/kicking karate bag, complete with a squeaker target! All the kids wanted to try it out, even though they weren't quite sure how to really use it.
Emily knows how though!
After giving the punching bag a workout it was time to go back downstairs, where Pop Pop just about had "Cris-Cross Crash" set up.
The hot wheels tracks were a huge hit--everybody loved playing with them (even some of the grownups).
This was our first attempt at combining a "kid" party with a "family" birthday party, and we think it went pretty well. Everyone seemed to have a good time, especially the birthday girl herself.
The hot wheels tracks were a huge hit--everybody loved playing with them (even some of the grownups).
This was our first attempt at combining a "kid" party with a "family" birthday party, and we think it went pretty well. Everyone seemed to have a good time, especially the birthday girl herself.Happy Birthday Miss Emily Jane!
