The Birthday Girl

Anna had a fantastic birthday. We had so much fun and lots of family. This year we celebrated with my mom and brother and Mike's parents and sisters and even brother-in-law and our newest cousin.

It was a full house, but that's how we like it! Our day started off with sticky buns that have become a bit of a tradition whenever we get together with the Roths. I found the recipe last year in a cook book with only recipes that can be made the day before. These sticky buns won rave reviews from Mike's dad and, well, that pretty much guaranteed I'd be repeating it.

Anna told Aunt Meagan that she would be wearing a dress for her birthday and marched in and selected just the one she wanted. What can I say... she loves dresses. After accessorizing and promising to put on something warmer if she went outside, Anna sat down to a plate of sticky buns.



The weather had been so beautiful the day before, but then turned a little chillier on Saturday. We still managed to barbeque and eat outside on the deck. Of course, Anna chose a strawberry cake again this year so I baked a three-layer strawberry sour cream cake. We made a serious dent in that cake, but had quite a bit leftover. With Mike working crazy hours this week I've had to carry the weight of eating leftovers almost entirely by myself. Very Difficult.



Happy Birthday to ANNA...



This is the first year I've really had a sense of what Anna wanted for her presents. Previously, I just sorta came up with some stuff I thought she'd like and it all worked out just fine. But this year was different. She's mentioned a few things to me that she wished she had and I dutifully remembered them so I could forward the list on to family. Funny story, she has wanted a Pillow Pet (though she calls it a pillow pad) for sometime now. It's one of the few toys that is advertised on Sprout, go figure. A preschool playmate brought the unicorn to school and Anna has been going on and on and on about it since then.

Thinking I was being so smart, I told my dad that Anna wanted the unicorn pillow pet. And, as always happens, last Tuesday Anna mentioned yet again that Jillian has a pillow pet. But then she drops a bomb on me and says she really likes the lady bug - not the unicorn. WHAT??? BUT I THOUGHT YOU LIKED THE UNICORN??... And she just shrugged and said that Jillian had the unicorn. She wanted the lady bug.

So I BOLTED upstairs to the computer to send my dad the new link and find out if he'd already ordered the unicorn. Fortunately, he hadn't and we made the switch. BUT OH MY GOSH! I feel like I just advanced to Christmas panic 101.




Mike and I surprised her with a new scooter. Some might say that she isn't ready for it because she still hasn't mastered her tricycle and there is a distinct possibility that Abe may be teaching her how to operate these two forms of transportation. But, she seemed to love it and we are all looking forward to some driveway lessons.

Okay, this is the funniest picture we took the entire day. It looks so dramatic.

She was FINE. The girl just somehow managed to collapse in a heap despite the total absence of any obstacles in her way and while moving at .0000001 miles per hour.

But we decided to retire inside for the next BIG event of the day. Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Watching children and adults alike stumble around the basement was pretty funny. I can't wait to see Anna's little playmates try it this weekend.

Anna took a few minutes to snuggle with the pillow pad on the kitchen floor. We're pretty casual around here, but Anna kicks it up a notch. She lays on the floor while wearing a new princess dress.

Despite our best efforts to get a family photo, all we managed to capture was this. Mike and I did our part... the kids not so much.

We all went to dinner that night at the Schnitzel Platz. This is a great German restaurant that serves all the schnitzel and frankfurters you can eat. Cuckoo clocks all over the place, a couple of old men who sing german songs alongside a glockenspiel, great stuff.

The band sang Happy Birthday to Anna and she smiled ear to ear the rest of the night.

Anna had a fantastic day and we were so happy that our family was here. The kids love seeing them and we're so grateful that everyone could take the time to travel here. We'll post some more pics after Anna's friend party this weekend.