Grace's 6th Birthday

Any guess as to what "theme" Grace wanted for her Birthday?

(Reid gets all the credit for this awesome tower/hair display, btw)

My girls (and maybe their parents) are in LOVE with the new Disney movie--"Tangled".  So, it was no shocker when Grace wanted a Tangled b-day party.  She invited 22 girls.  Which was fine, since usually about half can't come.  But it turns out that if parents have the chance to dump their 5-6 year old off on a Friday night for 2.5 hours--they make it happen.  There were twenty girls there!!!

I didn't stress it too much, 'cause we had a plan:

5:30-5:45 - Girls arrive
5:45-7:15 - Girls ALL in the basement, eating popcorn, watching Tangled in its entirety
7:15 - Girls come upstairs for "Tangled" gift exchanged (a brilliant idea I stole from my neighbor--each girl brings AND goes home with exactly one gift!)
7:40 - Girls eat cake and ice cream
8:00 - Girls' parents come and take sugar-loaded children home

The first 25 minutes played out EXACTLY like we'd planned.  The girls all brought blankets/pillows and were very excited to watch the movie.  They loved (and spilled all of) the popcorn

 

And then.  One by one.  They started coming upstairs, saying "i've seen this movie a hundred times," "i'm bored, what else can I do," or "what else is there to eat?"  I was in the middle of getting the game ready--tying each gift to a long piece of Rapunzel's hair (yellow yarn) and all I could say was "go outside and play!"

But Super-Reid saved the day.  Seriously.  He was amazing.  He started playing Red Light/Green Light with the handful of girls that were done with the movie.  And by 6:15 all but two of the girls were in the backyard playing Mother May I with Reid. And somehow he kept them all happy for one whole hour! 

So, around 7:15 the girls came in for the "Tangled Gift Exchange."  The girls absolutely LOVED this game.  None of them knew which gift their strand of hair was attached to.  And the strands definitely got "tangled"--which was the point.  Grace was a trooper.  She really liked the gift she opened--which was an artsy-craftsy gift.  But she also started seeing all the barbies, and fairy dolls that other girls were opening, and she started to get tears in her eyes.  But she just wiped them away and kept going around to her friends.  I witnessed this and my heart just about broke!  I had purchased two gifts as "backups" in case there were any hurt feelings.  And although she didn't ever say a word or complain one bit, I went all softy and decided that it was time for a "backup" gift.  So Reid pulled her aside and let her open the little fairy doll with a glittery horse.  And she was soooooo happy--like a birthday girl should be :)   And THEN, when her friend was disappointed with the gift she'd opened, Grace offered her the art/craft gift--which her friend LOVED.  It was sweet to see these little girls working things out. 

This year, for the first (and not last!) time I actually purchased the birthday cake.  Grace wasn't a big fan of any of the "homemade" options i'd ran by her.  And truthfully--neither was I.  So, a big thanks to Target's bakery--they had the cake she'd "always wanted."  And now, when the girls and I go past any bakery section, we have 20+ minute conversations about what their next cake is gonna be.  I just might not ever make a birthday cake again! :)

Grace absolutely loved her birthday party.  Maybe we'll even let her have another one someday... :)

Grace's actual birthday was a little more low key.  Most of the morning was spent making her classroom treat:

And then, for dinner we went to a restaurant of her choosing--Tres Margaritas.  They put a big sombrero on her head and sang to her--which made her all kinds of shy.  It was cute.

After dinner we came home and opened presents.  It was like pulling teeth trying to get her to tell me what she'd like for her birthday.  Her biggest request was a booster car seat--which she got and loves.  She got some clothes and a Rapunzel beach towel.  I made her a little fleece blanket (by "made" i mean tied the edges) that she loved.  I can't tell if she is just trying to make her poor ole mom feel good, but she sleeps with it every night and tells me all the time how much she loves it.  She's sweet.

She also got some $$ from Grandma Allred.  That was probably the thing that got the best reaction from her.  Not because Grace wants money so she can buy something.  No, no.  My sweet, practical 6 year old is saving up for.....are you ready?  a bank account!  How cute is that?  she went to the bank with Reid a few weeks ago and asked when she could get her own account.  The lady told her she needed $25.  And she has taken it very seriously to start saving up for that! She's more than half way there, and loves to do her $.25 chores that get her closer to her goal. Apart from candy, there's really nothing that Grace ever wants to buy at the store, so I think she's going to reach her goal pretty soon.  And then she might reach her ULTIMATE goal--which is a check from Mom and Dad.  Everytime we pay a babysitter Grace begs for a check of her own. She's so practical--i love it :)

Grace is a rule person.  She does really well with rules.  Of course this doesn't apply to the "being bossy or mean to your sisters is against the family rules" rule.  But with other--more black and white things--like brushing her teeth, paying a tithe, washing her hands after school, taking her dishes to the sink, doing her daily chores, being honest, staying by mom in the parking lot--those kinds of things she does really, really well. 

She loves to learn.  She learns really well from her teachers.  She has done so well in Kindergarten, and has had a wonderful teacher--we're all so sad that it's soon coming to an end. 

Grace protects her sisters. For a 6 year old, she's incredibly responsible and observant.  She'll make a great babysitter someday--i'm calling it. 

She has a very active and sharp mind.  And it's always in motion. She asks questions that constantly stump Reid and me--like "who made God?"?!?!

She's naturally really athletic.  She just finished her first soccer season and caught right up with the other kids who've been playing for a couple years.  She's fast and she loves to run--she will race anyone.

She's very competitive.  She loves to win.  She tries hard to be a good sport, and succeeds much of the time.

She's so excited about Baby Brother joining our family.  She was just 3 years old last time a baby was born into this home--and she doesn't remember it at all.  This will be such a different experience for her.  I'm excited to have her helping hands around. Grace has been saying for a few days now that Baby Brother "is going to come on Wednesday, because I prayed that he would."  I love her faith.  I hope (for many reasons) that she's right.:)

We love you, Grace!  We're so glad to have you in our family!!