Bella's Birthday

I found my camera, so now I can post some pictures.  (It was in the backyard, by the way - thank goodness it didn't rain last night!)

I asked Bella weeks before her birthday what she wanted to do for her birthday and she said, "I want to go to a farm, I want to ride Thomas the Train, and I want to have a party at Pump It Up."  So, that's what we're doing.  What??  Too much??  C'mon, you only turn 4 once!  No, actually, it's so easy because her preschool already had two of those things planned as end-of-year field trips, so all I had to pay for was the train ride!  She didn't know that, though, so I look like Super Mom and everyone's happy.  The day before her birthday we went to the farm.  Bella was in true Bella form leading the pack - first into every pen, first onto the hay ride, leading the entire class in an impromptu game of follow-the-leader around the field, etc.  She had a blast.

These are still from the farm trip.  She is in a different dress because she insisted on bringing a second dress to change into half-way through the trip.  The sheep got a bit of a strip show, but luckily everyone else had already filed out.

She was thrilled she got to touch an egg fresh from a chicken.  "It's still warm!"  I should put an egg in boiling water at home and see if it makes her as happy.

On her birthday we did the usual cake, decorations, presents, singing, etc.  She also got to pick what we ate, where we ate (she chose Mexican for dinner), and pretty much everything else we did all day.  Drove Benjamin CRAZY!  "It's not fair!!!" was shouted at least a dozen times.  "Wait 2 months and it'll be your turn," is hard to deal with at 5 years old.  We also had an all day fashion show as she couldn't decide which of the great new outfits to wear, so she wore them all over the course of a few hours.  Thank you Mimi and Grandma Dalton for the wonderful clothes.  She was giddier over those than anything else she received.

Today she celebrated her birthday in preschool with a crown she got to decorate, everyone singing to her, and a snack of her choice - croissants with strawberries and whipped cream.

Saturday we're riding Thomas the Train, and next week will be her party at Pump It Up (an inflatable bounce house place.)  I'll post more pictures then.  I like this way of celebrating birthdays because it's not such a let down when the day is over.  It just keeps going and going and going! :)

She's actually also excited to see her doctor for her 4th year check up.  She wants to know how much she's grown.  I want to know why she's 4 and still can't keep things out of her mouth!!!  She's the most orally fixated child I've ever met.  Coins, jewelry, toys (especially legos and polly pocket items), clothes, pencils, and not to mention her thumb, are in her mouth all day long.  I say "Don't eat that; it's not food! Spit it out!" probably 25 times a day.  Alas, you take the good with the bad, right?  We love you Bella! :)