On Saturday, Ansley turned NINE. I'm about to hyperventilate over the fact that I've been a Mama almost a decade. I feel like that should make me an expert, yet so often I think "What am I doing?!" There are days when I just don't feel cut out for this parenting business, because it's hard and wearisome and challenging and I pray and pray and then wonder if my kids will only remember the "Mama Lost It" moments.
So I make up for it all with my party planning.
Oh, I kid.
Sorta.
But I do love party planning.
Enough about me and my insecurities.
Ever since John and I went to Hawaii back in 2008, Ansley has had quite a fascination for all things Hawaiian. So for her 9th birthday, she wanted a Hawaiian Luau. And me, I take a theme and run with it.
But let's back up because you know I am all about birthdays, and most especially the birthdays of my own offspring. Birthdays are very important to me, and I really want to make sure my children know that they are loved and cherished all year, but especially on the day of their birth.
There are some must-haves, of course.
You must have birthday streamers. It's a tradition.
You must have family to help you celebrate. Mimi, JonJon and Missy were very happy to help celebrate Ansley!
You must have presents, of course.
First thing, Ansley got clues that told her where her gifts were located, but first she had to unscramble the clues. She really enjoyed this, and got pretty good at it!
Her first clue led her to this large kitty cat. She spotted this a while back when we were in Atlanta and loved it. However, when Avery saw this, she started screaming "MINE!" and grabbing at it. It's taller than she is, but she would carry it around the house. Quite funny.
Her second clue led her to a new camera (she sadly left hers in store a few months ago, and when we went back just an hour later, it was gone. She was very upset), but I didn't get a picture of that because I was too busy laughing at Avery yelling "MINE!" and dragging this huge cat down the hallway.
And this was her third and final clue. For many years, one of Ansley's favorite things has been Calico Critters. She has been wanting the Cloverleaf Manor for awhile, so that is what she is reacting to.
She was very excited about this! She also received an Amazon gift card from Uncle Mark, Aunt Ashley and boys, so she was thrilled to be able to immediately order a furniture set for one of the rooms! (It will arrive on Tuesday, she told me.)
There is always a special breakfast ritual on birthdays. Usually I do birthday donuts, but Ansley's birthday happened to fall on a Saturday this year, which is kinda cool. So she got to pick where she wanted to go for breakfast, and we had a family birthday breakfast. She picked Shoney's.
Yes, that would be my least favorite place probably ever, but it wasn't my birthday. (I have buffet issues. They force you to overeat and I can never eat enough to justify the price. Well maybe at Shoney's that's not the case, but usually it is. And I absolutely hate touching the serving utensils that 50 million people have touched previously and then eating my food. Ugh. I know, I have issues.) So off to Shoney's we all went.
Mimi brought Ansley's gift to Shoney's with her so she could open it. She received her first pair of James Avery earrings. I love James Avery jewelry! Ansley has very sensitive ears, and most earrings turn her ears green or get them infected. Now she won't have to worry about that! And they are beautiful earrings - so girlie!
(I forgot to change out my lens so I couldn't get a group shot. Bummer.)
Here's a close up. She loves them!
After we got home from breakfast, she got to open her gift from JonJon and Missy.
If Calico Critters are her first love, Legos are a close second. She and Christian play Legos most often when they are playing together. They make these Lego girl sets that are SO cute. JonJon and Missy gave her the stable Lego set. Ansley worked all afternoon putting it together, and then played with it just as long! She got some help from JonJon (they are working on it in the picture of the two of them) and me. It is really cute!
This is from the previous night. Ansley really wanted to sleep out on the screened in porch, so we said she could. This is the cozy bed she set up for the two of them. I think she would have slept out there, but Christian was too scared so they ended up coming back inside around 11 pm.
And I just love this shot.
This is the first half of the day. The other half was lots of birthday party prep and then the actual birthday party. We are very thankful for all the help Mimi, JonJon and Missy provided! Part Two will have to wait until tomorrow - it was an exhausting, but fun, weekend!
We are so thankful for our Birthday Girl and the love, life and spunk that she has always brought to our family. We are so blessed that God gave her to us to love!
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