Norah's 5th Birthday/Party

Norah's 5th birthday started off with our traditional birthday pancakes.  This year she requested "Butterfly pancakes", complete with a brown m&m body, whipped cream wings, dotted with sprinkles and cherries.  Yeah, we're all about kicking off the day with a healthy breakfast around here.  (On a side note, I wonder how many years before she'll die of embarrassment of my posting genuine "bed head" photos...)

Next, we headed over to U-Paint it, to pick up the plate that Norah had painted the week prior.  (It is a self portrait, and includes her 5 year old signature at the bottom...I will love it forever!) I am secretly hoping that we'll end up with one for every member of our family...wouldn't that make a cute set?

Next we headed over to McDonald's for a play date with Grandma, Grandmother, and Aunt Paige. N requested I take a photo of the birthday shirt I made for her (the hand on the front is traced from her actual handprint...I thought it would be fun to capture it's size and memorialize it on the shirt)  Too bad I cut off her head...it would have been a cute photo!  I love how she is thrusting out her chest, about to explode with all her 5-year-old pride.

Later that week, N helped me bake and decorate cupcakes for her party.  (She requested strawberry butterfly cupcakes)

Some of the finished products...(I piped the butterfly wings onto wax paper, covered them with white sprinkles, and held them together with a chocolate icing body)

They were a big hit at her party...and so much easier to serve than cake!

Speaking of the party...this year, we had her birthday party Michael's (yes, as in the arts and crafts store).  They have a classroom off to the left of the store, that was just the right size for a birthday party.  I LOVED the freedom of being able to do a semi-messy craft, and not have to worry about my carpet!  As soon as her guests arrived, I got them started painting wooden tiles in the color of their choice. 

The week before the party, I whipped up some art smocks for each child, using checkered tablecloth fabric, of all things...the kind with the vinyl surface that wipes clean, and embroidered their names on them, so they could take them home and hopefully reuse them) Even the little guys got in on the action!

I was amazed at how well everyone stayed on task....maybe they were just shocked we were letting them do such a potentially messy project?  But really, even with all that paint, there wasn't much to clean up at the end of the day.

Michael's put brown craft paper down on all of the tables, which made cleaning up a piece of cake.

After all of the painting was done, the kids modge podged scrap book paper to the other side of their wooden tiles, making sure to do a pair of each design.

Which left them with their own, personally crafted Memory tile game.

...Complete with a nifty carrying bag!

Norah was excessively spoiled by her generous friends and family, including a pair of "Twinkle Toes" and a "Unicorn Pillow Pet" (who has been dubbed "Cornelia"), both which she had been BEGGING for for a couple of months prior to her birthday, and an assortment of other fantastical gifts.

Another favorite gift was a homemade, blue satin "Princess" (aka--floor length) night gown from Gramps.  She LIVED in this night gown, day and night for at LEAST a week after her birthday.  It was all I could do to get her to change clothes to leave the house.  And she still favors it over all her other pajamas.

The Twinkle Toes shoes (by Sketchers) are officially the first brand-name purchase request that she has made (and made, and made, and made...to be sure we got the point).  Who knew it would start at 5?  We have always been blessed with amazing, quality, hand-me-downs, so I haven't had much experience in shopping for new clothes/shoes (unless you count my semi-annual stock-up at Target/Walmart for $3 play clothes).  I was taken aback at how much these shoes cost (yes, I know, I'm cheap...but it did make me so much more thankful for the bounty of hand-me-down treasures that sweet Jenny has shared with us these past 5 years)....but I am thankful that Norah loves them and wears them almost every day...and that her feet grow at an alarmingly slow rate in comparison to most kids (including your brother, who now wears just one size smaller than you)...so hopefully they'll last a while!

Sweet Norah, at five years of age, you are such a joy.  You have a tender, compassionate heart for everyone around you.  You wear your heart on your sleeve, but this also allows for you to be sensitive to the needs of others. Your sincere prayers for people you encounter throughout our days (sometimes at the grocery store, other times friends and family) are an encouragement and constant reminder for me to keep my eyes open for others who are hurting or in need.

You still love to cuddle.  

You are a precious, sweet sister to your brother.  You love to tell him he's "so cute", and are always happy to play "princesses and cars" with him (Complete with Lighting McQueen waking Sleeping Beauty with a kiss, at times).  Your favorite color is pink.  Always.  

Your favorite food is "Mommy's Pepperoni Pizza" and your favorite drinks are "Blue Poweraid" and "Milk", but "not together".  

You love art of any kind, but painting is your favorite.  Y

ou can't wait to start kindergarten in the fall, and you love telling everyone we meet that you are "a five year-old." 

You are reading some on your own now, but are still happy to be read to (which, makes mommy happy, because I love reading to you).  

This year you learned how to swing all by yourself (Hallelujah!), and surprised us all with your impressive hula hooping skills (no doubt inherited from your mother, who tied for 1st place Hula Hoop Champion of her 3rd Grade class, which, incidentally, your daddy was there to witness).  

You tried gymnastics for the first time, and loved it.  The night Daddy taught you how to do a cartwheel you would run and hug his neck each time you completed what you deemed to be a "good one". You LOVE to perform, and routinely break into spontaneous performances--everything from dance, to songs (both those you've heard on the radio and hilarious originals that you make up as you go along).  You know all the books of the Old and New Testament (and have sung solos of them in Children's Church, Bible class, CBS class, and any other setting where you are given a "stage"), and continue to excel at memorizing scripture.  

You claim to have conquered your long-standing fear of the dark, but still sleep with a small night light (and prefer us to leave the bathroom light on, too).  

You refer to any weed flowers in our yard as your "garden" and take it personally when Daddy runs over them with the lawn mower or weed eater. 

 You are beautiful, through and through, from the inside out, and I am so proud to be your Mommy.  I can't wait to see the great things that God has in store for you as you continue to grow.  Your Daddy and I love you, dearly.