Birthday Bonanza

All in all, Caroline had a great birthday weekend.  She woke up on Friday morning in very good spirits and kept telling me she had "antsies in her pantsies" because she was so excited.  That morning, my MIL delivered doughnuts to her class so she could share her celebration with them.  Since homemade treats aren't allowed anymore, I've found Dunkin Donuts to be a fine alternative to nasty, store bought cupcakes.  Ms. A passed them out at lunch and Caroline was very excited to be sharing them with everyone.

Then, that afternoon, my MIL and SIL took all three kids to see the new Muppet movie and out to dinner after.  (Jason and I spent our Friday night at the dealership buying our new Pilot....more on that later.)  The kids loved the movie (when will I see it? Boo hoo!) and had a great time with Nana and Aunt Kelly!  It worked out so well too since we had a "boring" task to do and they had a night on the town.

Then on Saturday morning, Caroline REALLY got a case of the antsies!  She knew that it wouldn't be long before Sophia arrived and because I had a few gifts I wanted her to have for her day with Sophia, I went ahead and gave her the gifts we'd gotten her at breakfast:

Harry Potter Lego Wii went over VERY well!

As did the Selena Gomez flick, Monte Carlo:

She also was very excited about the outfit I got for her (she wore it that day) and the outfit I got for her AG doll.  I also gave her the Judy Blume Fudge series and she promptly read 20 pages that morning.

Sophia arrived around 11am and all the kids played together.  Kelly called that morning and asked Bryce and Piper to come to her house for the night and Jason and I agreed it was a great idea.  (Big Dad wasn't feeling well and Kelly/Jesse had been wanting them to come for an overnight.)  Jason delivered the younger two while I took the big girls to their pedicure appointments:

After that, we went and got Jason and the four of us had dinner at Bertucci's.  It's so different dining with your child and their friend.  Unlike with siblings where there's banter or talking over one another, with two friend, they interact and enjoy each other.  Jason and I actually could talk to each other without being interrupted   Strange.   On the way home we stopped at Yogi Castle for frozen yogurt and, as expected, both girls put way too many toppings on (and clashing toppings at that) and neither ate very much.  Seriously, each of their cups looked like Buddy the Elf's breakfast.  Nerds, marshmallows, chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate sauce.  Gross.  Kids!

We made it hope and turned on Monte Carlo and the girls chilled.  But they didn't last long and were ASKING to go to bed before long.  Score.  Seriously, they didn't even stay up talking, they passed out.  YAY!  Although I was tired too so I didn't last much longer either.

Both girls were up by 7am and were rarin' to go.  Caroline decided to decorate for her birthday gathering later:

Front Door

Coffee Table

Soon after though, we found out that my mom had a stomach virus and my FIL was still not feeling well.  And because my mom was sick, she wondered if my MIL would be able to sub for her on Monday which meant that she would be coming down on Monday, so we told my MIL she didn't have to come down to save her all that running around.  However, my dad, my brother/Kelly and Jesse/Kelly still came and that was enough for Caroline.  Bertie sent her some wonderful gifts:

Super sparkly shoes!

Lemonade Mouth on DVD!!!

Very fashionable boots!

And then it was time for cake (and oh yum, Eggnog ice cream!).  Unlike last year where Caroline randomly freaked out before we could sing to her, she enjoyed blowing out her candles:

Then, my MIL came this morning and brought her the rest of her gifts - a Ravens jersey (Flacco!) and a doll trunk filled with clothes for he AG doll - many of which my MIL made!  Just perfect!  Caroline was thrilled (and I must get a photo).  

So a great birthday except for the grandparents that couldn't make it on Sunday!  I can't believe she is 8.  That's halfway to 16 and it scares me how quickly time is passing.