Kimberly's 4th Birthday!

So 2 weeks after Tydon was born, was Kimberly's 4th Birthday... Not exactly perfect timing for me, but I tried my best to make the day special for her, despite being in "survival mode"!  We started the morning off with our traditional "Mickey Mouse Birthday Pancakes"... Sang "Happy Birthday" & blew out candles.  Check!

Then my Mom came over in the middle of the day to watch Tydon for a little while, so I could somehow give Kimberly a little one-on-one attention & make her feel special on her big day... All I had the energy for was a quick trip to Arctic Circle for lunch & playing on the playground, but the girls seemed to LOVE it!  And it actually was REALLY nice for me to have a break from the baby for a little while!  :)

Lately we've been trying to let the kids pick one exciting thing to do as a family on their Birthday, but knowing that I didn't feel up to going & doing anything too exciting this year, nor that I wanted to be taking a new baby out into public much in the middle of this terrible flu-season, I STRONGLY encouraged Kimberly that she should pick playing out in the snow together as her "family activity."  Luckily, she fell for my idea & so while everyone else had a BLAST playing with Daddy in the snow, Tydon & I kept each other company inside while I tried to clean up the house for our visitors that were arriving later that night... :)

Oh yeah, & as SOON as Daddy got home from work, she BEGGED to open her presents right away... She'd been counting down all day long & couldn't wait another minute!  I just tried to enjoy the moment of watching her enthusiasm & excitement, so alas, I don't have any pictures of that part of the day.

And then, the official party started!  My sister Emily made this beautiful Princess Birthday Cake for her (thanks a million Emily!), which Kimberly was THRILLED with!  And when Grandmas & Grandpas showed up with a few additional presents, she was anxious to get going on those as well!  Her brother & sister were anxious to get in on the action as well... :)

It was Laron's idea to put the 4 candles in the tops of the towers, which worked PERFECTLY!  He was happy to be able to contribute to the party in some small way... :)

All-in-all, I think she had a good birthday!  She'll never quite understand the energy & stress that it required of me to make that day perfect for her, until maybe SHE'S having kids of her own someday & celebrating a birthday for one kid, with a 2-week-old crying for attention in the background.  But my plans until Christmas were pretty simple otherwise, so I guess I can handle ONE day of chaos in the meantime!  The funniest comment Kimberly made today was when she first woke up... She was getting dressed that morning & commented, "Wow, Mom!  My socks STILL fit me!"  I asked what she was talking about & I guess she thought that once she was 4-years-old, her clothes would suddenly be too small for her & she's need to get all new ones.  Funny girl!  :)  We sure love you Kimberly!  You bring SO much character & excitement & love to our wonderful family!