Pinkalicious!

Part II of Ayla's birthday coming at you and it involves something she is always super psyched about. The color PINK! We wanted to have some sort of a theme for her party and when I sat down to think of all the things she likes, I kept coming back to this happy color.

 

Two years ago, a colleague of Rhea's gave Ayla a book called Pinkalicious. It's about a girl who loves the color pink (especially pink food) so much she turns pink herself. Ayla fell in love. We even got to see the musical last April.

So the color pink it was. We made pink rice krispies and dipped pretzels in pink chocolate. We also made pink fruit dip to serve with the pinkest fruit I could find. Raspberries, strawberries and pink apples. And then? I set it out for everyone to enjoy and forgot to take a picture of it. So here is the aftermath of our pink food smorgasbord.

We also served tomato basil soup with grilled cheese. Tomatoes are kind of pink, right? And of course...we had pink cake!

This summer, Ayla and I were at Dairy Queen and she saw the ice cream cakes. She asked if she could have one when it was her birthday and I promised she could.

We asked that everyone wear pink to her party. Turns out, she took this request very seriously because when my dad walked in with a pink-ish shirt and khaki pants, Ayla questioned him. "Why aren't you wearing pink pants Papi?" My dad explained they don't make pink pants for men and she was quick to forgive and forget. Not so sure this explanation is true, but I would have a good laugh if I saw him wearing a full pink ensemble.

Lincoln in his pink-(ish) shirt.

We opened presents as soon as everyone arrived, because let's be honest...it's very hard for a four year old to wait one minute longer, when she's already been waiting months for this big day. She specifically asked for a Glow Pet. Aunt Rhe Rhe and Uncle JaJa happily obliged.

 

Ayla also received a box of art supplies from Netta and Papi....

And some play money and a new bath toy from Uncle KyKy.

The award for the oddest present went to my dad.  He got Ayla a box of pasta. Spaghetti to be exact.

The two of them have a running joke where they debate whether or not noodles are food. We don't eat a lot of pasta at home so when we're in a restaurant Ayla can usually be found ordering it for her dinner. Papi says to her "noodles are not food!" then she argues back that they are. Apparently is a  seriously fun game for Ayla because when my dad forgets to say his line, Ayla will remind him that she has just ordered noodles (with a giant smile on her face). Anyhow, back to the party....

Ayla's final request was to have a pinata.

She was a little timid with the bat, so others stepped in and gave her a hand. We of course added a blindfold to make it more fun.

Now that is one very PINK family!

Jeff and I are so blessed to have our wonderful family and children. It continues to amaze me how two little people can add so much joy to our lives!

So there you have it.  Our darling girl is four years old. Let's do some twirling to celebrate!

3 + 1= 4 Years Old!

Guess who's four years old? I can't even believe we were in the hospital with our sweet Ayla just a few short years ago.

Ayla got to have three birthdays this year. Yes, three. One at school, a second with the Skipper four, and a third with her whole family. To be fair , the one at school was really just small cupcakes that I brought in for her to share with her classmates after lunch. The morning of her actual birthday, we made special sprinkle pancakes.

She put in a request for candles and the Happy Birthday Song. After eating every speck, Ayla asked for a few more... and a second round of candles and singing to go with them.

We had a playgroup birthday celebration for all the kids with November birthdays that morning and then once Lincoln woke up from his nap, we headed to the mall for a special surprise. This was her excited face.

 Jeff and I thought she might enjoy making her own stuffed animal at Build-a-Bear. And what a process it was! So many choices!

After some serious thought (and a little help from Daddy), Ayla chose a white polar bear. She added stuffing, kissed the heart and gave it a bath.

We picked out clothes (the really fun part) and Ayla went for anything sparkly. And what bear would be complete without a tiara? Then she officially named her bear "Polar".

After our little adventure, we went home for a birthday dinner, presents and cake. I love these faces of surprise and happiness.

We decided to keep it simple, just like we did for Lincoln's birthday. One book, one toy, and an outfit. Lincoln also got her a gift (the monkey popper in the first picture). As for the cake, it was anything but boring. Ayla helped me bake and frost it. No surprise- she chose pink. Then we added a little cake bling in the way of sprinkles and candy tiaras. 

Oh my darling girl.

Happy Birthday Ayla!

And You Can Quote Me (10)

It's that time again. Our dear Ayla constantly keeps us on our toes and is rarely silent. She's got so much to say and ask that I often have to remind myself to treasure each conversation. There will perhaps come a day when she doesn't want to talk to me ALL day, but for now, here are some of her newest gems....

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Making cookies
Mommy: "Ayla, I thought you were helping me?" (She left to play with toys.)
Ayla: "But Mommy, you're doing such a good job by yourself!"

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In the car
Ayla: "Daddy goes to work so we can have food and our house, and clothes and jammies, and our car."
Mommy: "How did you know that?"
Ayla: "Because I turned four!"

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Talking to her animals.
Ayla: "Elephant, I'm the boss today. You have to listen to me or I'm going to send you home....Excuse me?? That's strike one. I'm watching you. Now put your shoes on."

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Singing in the car on the way to Ohio for Thanksgiving. (Lincoln flew with Rhea and Jonathan and wasn't with us.)
Ayla: "Lincoln, I love you. You're always in my heart. Why are you so far away? I love you so much."

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Helping me fold clothes
Mommy: "Oh no! This shrunk!"
Ayla: "What does 'shrunk' mean?"
Mommy: "It means it got smaller. Sometimes when you wash things, they get smaller."
Ayla: (Look of horror) "So when I take a bath, I get smaller? But I thought I was growing up!"

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Random
Ayla: "Hey. What do turtles eat for lunch?"

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At breakfast
Ayla: "Me and my snowman went to a chicken coop and it was so stinky!" My snowman thought we were going to see horses."
Mommy: "Was this a dream?"
Ayla: "No. It happened just now when we were playing."

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Trying to sing Christmas songs. 
Ayla "Mary and Joseph went to town, riding on a donkey. Stuck a feather in their hat and called it macaroni."

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In the car
Ayla: "If I'm bad, what will Santa bring me?"
Mommy: "Coal"
Ayla: "Just one piece? Or lots?
Mommy: "I'm not sure."
Ayla: (thinking)........ "Will he wrap the coal?"

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Mommy: "What would you like for Christmas?"
Ayla: "A Christmas present!"

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Halloween: Skipper Spooktacular

It's no secret that Ayla loves celebrating all holidays. She got especially excited about Halloween, even more so after we picked out our pumpkins. We immediately went home and carved one.

Because it was nine days before Halloween, this poor pumpkin didn't make it. He was very much rotten beforehand. We waited four or five days before carving the next one. It was a cat face but I forgot to take a picture of it. The day before Halloween, Ayla had her class party at school.

I dropped her off in full costume. Then Lincoln and I waited for the school parade. Ten minutes later, out they came. Dozens of cuties in costumes. There's something about dressed up kids that just makes me smile.

One of the teachers would call out a child's name and who/what they were dressed as.  Then that child would walk around the circle to a round of applause.

Followed up by some "trunk-or-treating" (candy passed out from the trunks of cars)- sounds much more shady than it really is.

We decided to make Halloween inspired pancakes the following morning.

Ayla chose which ones to use... Two ghosts (who according to Ayla, are good friends), a bat, a pumpkin and a moon.

Late that afternoon, the costumes went back on just in time for the neighborhood party. Here's Ayla the "nice" witch. (She made sure to tell everyone this when they asked what she was.) Originally, she planned to be a "mean" witch but then something changed and she decided to cross to the other side.

A witch and her sweet puppy dog.

Oh I could just squeeze him all day long!

 

My parents, Rhea, Jonathan and Kyle all came over to see the kids dressed up. Before we left for the party, Ayla walked around offering everyone a "trick or treat". 

 

Then it was onto the neighborhood party. We were even picked up in style. (It just so happened, the hay ride was going by our house just as we were leaving.)

Ayla immediately met up with her friend Laney and ran off. I couldn't even get her to turn around for a picture. Two little witchy pals. 

Ayla and Daddy later headed out to do some trick-or-treating while I took Lincoln home to bed. Jeff says she had so much fun skipping from house to house. They went to about a dozen and then came home. She immediately threw off the costume and asked if she could hand out the candy. It was a warm night, so we just left the door open (also to keep people from ringing the doorbell and waking up Linc.) And then she sat patiently waiting.  Each visitor was met with Ayla's greeting "Hi! You can have two pieces if you want!"

 I love that she enjoyed giving away candy more than getting it. I hope that giving spirit never goes away.