5 parties

Nola is such a lucky girl!  She got to celebrate her birthday five times! We've had more than one celebration almost every year and honestly it makes for a looooooong month.  I'm kind of relieved when they are all over, but this year I'm so thankful we celebrated a few more times before her actually day!  

The first was in Wichita.  We were down there for a race that Kyle was doing and decided to do a little birthday celebration.  My sister made cupcakes, we bought some big balloons, and she opened presents.  

While we were driving home from Wichita we asked her if she wanted to have a birthday party with her friends.  She said yes, that she wanted it at Chuck E Cheese, and that she wanted to invite her friends from Michelle's (her former daycare).  So, I got online and booked a party (it was super easy, not too expensive, and I didn't have to bring anything!). 

The guest list changed a couple of times due to illnesses, but in the end her two best buddies from Michelle's were able to make it.  She was so excited to see Gabby and a little confused to see Nixon- apparently he got a haircut since she saw him last (5 months ago) and it made him look different!??!

Ainsley and Penelope came too! 

She got to go in the ticket booth and brought Gabby in with her.  It was hysterical watching them try to catch the tickets!

After Chuck E Cheese we went to the office so Nola could open some presents from Robert's family.

The next day we took her to the Princess Ball.  You can read about that here.

How many parties is that?  3?  Party number 4 was at her school.  They do such a good job with birthdays there.  She got to make a birthday book for Pre-K that they read in class that day and she came home with a crown, a card and a little book that the daycare put together where all of the kids wrote a birthday message.  I also picked her up during my plan period and took her to get some doughnuts.

And here we are with her birthday crown.

Her fifth birthday celebration was at the hospital..... more on that here.

Going to the hospital and having surgery on her actual birthday was not fun, but I'm glad she had the other parties before then.  I'm also so thankful that she didn't miss her actually birthday at school!  She's a lucky kid to have that many people who care about her and we are lucky to be the ones to care for this special kid!