Happy Birthday, Abby

We were at the eye doctor (and the dentist, and Nolan's school, and Abby's school, and my doctor, and Dave's work, and McDonald's, and the park) and someone asked Abby how old she was and she proudly said five and a half! It was a mere two days before her sixth birthday, but still she was only five and a half. And now, here we are, and she's six years and two days old!

This isn't Abby's birthday, but it is the park on the day that just wouldn't stop (described above)... Max on the elephant.

And Max with a fuzzy blue sock and Nolan's shoes. He thought it was funny.


Here's the first picture of Abby's birthday... on Wednesday she got Gram and Grumpy's present and was very excited because she could open it early. She got a Wii Carnival game and Monopoly Jr. and loved it! Here she is calling Gram and thanking her for the gifts. She wandered around the house, phone to ear, with my shoes on for some reason.


Saturday, Abby's actual birthday started this way. Nolan opened up the gift bag for the party early and found this disguise! And the flamingo just completes the picture.


We let Abby open up some gifts in the morning... She got roller skates (from us)


A Build-A-Bear gift card (thanks Grandma and Grandpa... we went today and loved it!)


And Littlest Petshop Pets (thanks, Auntie Lisa and fam!)


And then the party was underway. It was a gorgeous day, so we had the waterpark set up


And Jenny and Rocky next door let us use their bounce house. What great neighbors!


Dave did face painting. Here's Kyan and cody as a snow leapard and a tiger


And Abby and friend Elliott the pirate, J.J. the cow and Abby the panda


And J.J. the cow with Reagan the snake.

We had a pinata... the kids knocked the pinata down before it opened up so Dave had to fix it. And the blindfold only lasted for two people. Eventually it opened a little, and we ended up tearing it open and just throwing the candy down.


The baby toys always hold appeal, no matter how old!


The Littlest Pet Shop cake.


It was windy, so I'm not sure if Abby actually got to blow out candles or not, but hopefully all her wishes come true!


J.J., Abby, Elliot and Reagan... Kindergarten pals. I wonder if we'll know any of them 5, 10, 15 years from now?


Two of Abby's favorites... SpongeBob and Roller skates.


And then after everyone went home, and just the neighbors and the cousins were left, Abby was in charge. "Don't talk unless you raise your hand!"


And we finished out the night with a campfire and a movie... not just the perfect end to her birthday, but to summer.


I've realized that summer birthdays are strange, especially at the very end, because you haven't seen your friends for 3 months. You also may or may not have the same kids in your class when you start school in three more days. For Abby, Reagan will be the only one in her class. I'm sad that we won't see much of Saige, her best friend from last year, or even Elliot or J.J., who I've come to know through her. But she seems ok with it... I guess she adjusts better than me. I'm going to miss those kids!

I think Abby had a good birthday, the first one with school friends over. I could go on and on about how I can't believe she's 6 (SIX!), but I could do that every entry. Instead what I love about her sixness... she can read! She can hold a conversation. She can sing songs, and tell jokes, and catch things I say that she never used to pick up on (and that I don't always want her to pick up on!). She takes care of Max, sometimes better than I do. She has the ability to play with and be nice to and help Nolan, when she wants to. She's polite, without me reminding her to be polite. She's absolutely her own person, with some of me, and some of Dave, and all Abby. And is even more the miracle after coming into this world at only five and a half pounds. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!