Hats, I mean Tiaras, off to the Birthday Girl

A girl only turns 4 once. However, if you're our girl, you may think it's your birthday all month long. When we were in line at the airport to get on our plane, Makenna says, "I'm turning 4 today!" to everyone she ran into. You wouldn't blame her, though, if you knew all that she did to celebrate her birthday since we left for vacation on her actual birthday, August 3rd.

First, we woke up early to catch our flight, but not before we made Minnie Mouse pancakes for her birthday breakfast. That was the extent of her birthday day.

Second, while in Logan visiting Great-Grandpa and Grandma Mann, she was presented this gorgeous cake, which won her over immediately.
(Can I be honest? The Aerial figurine had a bigger, ah-hem, chest than I remember. Totally anatomically inappropriate, I must say.)

Third, when we got to Grandma Karen's house, our girl had yet another birthday party with her cousins. Totally spoiled by her aunts and uncles! We're now going on day 4 of "It's my birfday today! I'm turning 4!"

Fourth, we've made our way down to Arizona to be with her 2 uncles and Grandma Donna and Grandpa Mike. Grandma, in her infinite wisdom of what tickles my girl's fancy, took her to Build-A-Bear. Upon entering the store, she declares to our helper, "It's my birfday today and I'm 4 years old!" I just smile and nod.

Lastly, we arrive at Saturday, her ACTUAL birthday party. And oh, let me tell you, she felt like a princess indeed. I could not resist when she asked me to have a princess party over 6 months ago. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for anything and everything pink and glittery.)

We started with our invitations that I must admit, turned out pretty darn cute.

Then with both feet and hands full of frosting, I dove into the task of making her requested and much-anticipated Princess Castle Cake. I think this was as much for me as it was for her. I knew when I got roped into taking the Cake Decorating class at Michael's before she was born, I would learn some mad cake skills and then put them to use for countless birthdays to come. And voila!

Next, we invited her closest little friends and strongly urged their arrival in royal attire. Check out little Gavin's knight costume. Way too cute.

And lastly, I had some princess games up my sleeve that our royalty really got into (who knew 4-year-olds could be so competitive? I guess with a stash of dollar-bin prizes up for grabs, you would be too.).

Crown decorating:

Pass the Poison Apple:

Pin the Crown in the Castle:

Then it was pizza, presents and princess cake to end the royal extravaganza. So much fun for her. So much fun for me.

Love our little girl. She's getting ready to start her 2nd year of preschool in a few weeks. I took her for her 4-year check-up. She's still in the 96th percentile for height, the 68th percentile for weight. They tested her vision this time. Though I was waiting for them to tell me she needed glasses (both Drew and I wear contacts, and I'm legally blind), she actually has 20/20 vision! Incredible. I told her to enjoy it while it lasts.
She's such a great big sister to Addison. A fantastic helper around the house, (when she wants to be). She picks up the funniest things that constantly keep us in stitches. I adore her and wish I could keep her this kissable forever. Happy Birthday Month Makenna!!!