Annabelle's 4th Birthday

It was fun to get things set up the night before so Annabelle could wake up to a birthday surprise.

We let her open some gifts right away.  She was very nice about letting Katie help her.

This was her birthday outfit.  I snagged that shirt at an outlet store while we were in California.  I debated about it but it was on clearance for $5 so I decided to go ahead and get it.  When I got to the register it was actually marked down to $2.60.  Score!  Annabelle was very excited about it.  You can't see it very well but it says "girl" right under Birthday.



This was a little activity she did during the day.  It's actually a Valentine box that you decorate like a castle.  I got it at Hobby Lobby for 90% so it was literally just a few pennies.  Sorry for all my bargain shopping commentary but it is one of my thrills in life to get a killer deal.  I've figured out to do holiday shopping a year in advance and get all the clearance deals right after the holiday ends.



Annabelle has loved puzzles for a long time and she is good at them.  Here she is working on a new one she opened that morning. 
I don't have a picture of it but for lunch, Annabelle wanted to go have lunch with Katie at school.  None of them wanted the hot lunch option so she and Ben just took in sack lunches to have with Katie.
(I was busy slaving away on the cake at home.)

Annabelle requested Happy Joes for her birthday dinner.  My parents and sister Jenny met us there.

I stuck the candles in little blobs of poster putty.  It was raining that night so I was nervous about transporting the cake but it made it there just fine.

I had no reservations about cutting right in. 
It was made to be eaten.

My very talented sister Jenny designed and sewed this princess dress-up gown for Annabelle. 
I am so impressed!!

Princess Annabelle with all her birthday loot.  
I usually try hard to keep things simple but this time I was happy to go just a little overboard (with help from her generous extended family).  As the middle child, Annabelle seldom gets the spotlight.  And she has been waiting sooo long for her birthday and has been sooo excited for it.  The rest of us have birthdays in November and January and so the past few months she has watched everyone else celebrate.  She was constantly asking when it would be her birthday.  It was fun to help her celebrate and to make a big deal out of it for her.  She handled it all very well and completely enjoyed her day.

We ended with one last gift before bed--a princess nightie.
My Mom gave her those little slippers. 
She was absolutely delighted.
Happy Birthday sweet Annabelle!