FIVE!

Shelby turned 5 on Thursday!  Jeremy switched his work-from-home day so that he could be home on her birthday.  It was so nice to have him home so we could celebrate all day with her.  We started off with Funfetti pancakes with fruit and whipped cream and bacon for breakfast. 

She also got to open her birthday present - a new Merida doll (from Brave).  She knew we were going to see the movie and has been so excited about it.  

We asked Shelby where she wanted to eat for her birthday dinner.  We were rattling off places like Chuy's, Macaroni Grill, etc.  What did she want?  Golden Corral.  I started laughing so hard because Jeremy makes so much fun of me for liking Golden Corral.  I'm sorry, but salad bar, mashed potatoes, meatloaf...what's not to love?  Haha!  I said, "Well, she's definitely my daughter!".  So we headed off to Golden Corral, only to find out the one we went to had been closed for a while.  So we went to Cracker Barrel instead since it was right next door.  (By the way, I hate Cracker Barrel.  The food is about the same quality that you would get at, say, Golden Corral, and the portions are tiny.) 

After we got home we had cake.  I feel really, really bad about Shelby's birthday this year.  We had already explained to Shelby that between Girls Camp, Utah, and me being sick a lot that we weren't going to do a party this year.  Instead she got to invite a friend to see Brave with us, and she was fine with that.  But then I didn't even get her an actual birthday cake.  We had a Laurel activity the night before that I had gotten a cake for, and I still had about 3/4 of it left.  So I didn't want to go get whole other cake.  Shelby didn't care, it was totally one of those mom guilt things though.  That night she told all of us, "Thank you for being my family and loving me".  Sweet.

So, like I said, no party this year.  We woke up early this morning and picked up Shelby's friend, Sara, and headed to see Brave.  It was super cute.  I was even laughing a lot throughout it.  Afterwards we went to the Disney store and got each of the girls a cup from Brave to remember the day.  The girls also got to participate in a cute game they were playing to promote the movie.

Then it was off to Cheesecake Factory for lunch.  The girls had a fun time giggling their way through lunch. 

This picture is a little dark, but I loved the look on her face when we were singing to her.

 

Shelby is such a funny, sweet, and caring girl.  She and Joey have their spats now and then, but more and more I see them playing sweetly together.  Shelby is very protective of her and loves to show her how to do new things.  The other day I was on the phone and came out of the office to find Shelby changing Joey's diaper (just wet). 

Shelby loves to dance and do gymnastics.  She also loves to sing.  She makes up songs all day long.  She will often tell us she wants to be a rock star when she grows up. 

We just love Shelby so much.  Even though it wasn't everything I would have liked it to be, I hope she had a great birthday!