Princess Ball

The day after Chuck E Cheese we surprised Nola with tickets to the Princess Ball as our birthday present.  We drove to Omaha and had lunch.  At lunch I gave her a gift- some sparkly shoes and a small notebook and pen- and told her about the ball.  She was pretty excited but also a little confused.  We took her to the mall to get her hair done first.

It was super cute but the wind blew out most of the curls before we even got to the ball! 

Then we took her to JC Penny's and let her pick out a dress.  I was hoping she would pick out the Elena dress but they were all sold out.  She chose an Alice in Wonderland dress (not really a princess, but we just went with it) but refused to take her shirt off underneath of it.  It was a battle.  There were many small battles that day, which was frustrating because in my head this was going to be a magical day full of fun surprises.  But, I just had to keep reminding myself that she's a kid and she had a good time.  After dress shopping we went to the make up counter and she got some blush and lip gloss, then we were on our way to the ball! 

We weren't sure what to expect.  I had ordered the VIP tickets, which included a coronation, but there was some miscommunication and we missed it.  I got my money back, and Nola never knew about the original plan, so in the end it was fine.  It's not like I cried at the princess ball or anything.... Like I said, many battles. 

There was a stage and one or more of the princesses were on it at all times, singing their songs or reading a story.  Nola was so happy to watch Ana and Elsa but after that she wanted to walk around, meet the princesses, and get their autographs in her notebook.

I also bought a necklace that was given to Nola by Princess Tiana.  It was an Elena necklace, it was suppose to match the dress that JC Penny's didn't have.....

Over the next hour we met all of the princesses and filled up her book!  She was most excited to see Princess Elena, Aurora, and Ariel.

 

You guys.  Snow White was legit in character THE WHOLE TIME.  There was a moment when a princess on stage asked the audience a question and she was next to me and a bunch of parents, not a kid in close proximity, and she played it up.  Like, I was kind of embarrassed for her.  She also spent a lot of time dancing with the kids.  It's crazy that people do this for a living.

At one point they asked any kid that had a birthday in October to come up on stage and they sang Happy Birthday Princess.  Nola was pretty nervous about it.  There were a lot of kids on stage.  I don't think they all had October birthdays......

Ana and Elsa had a long line the whole time so we waited until the end to see them.  Nola was pretty excited about them.  I had Turk join in on the fun for this one.

It was a fun day, but with the birthday party the day before it made for a long weekend.  I also think I expected too much.  Nola was tired, I was tired, but the ball was really neat.  Everyone was super nice and I think she felt special!

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! 

Trip to Wichita

My brother was chosen to be a "Local Joe" for the Prairie Fire race in Wichita.  Basically, he had to use social media while training for their half marathon in exchange for free gear, registration, and a training program.  This was his first big race (maybe his last?) so we decided to drive to Wichita and cheer him on! 

Before we left Nebraska I made him some signs (with help from Nola and my teacher's aide).

Go Kyle go!!

All of the signs (except Nola's) were Taylor Swift themed.  Kyle's a big fan :)

When we weren't cheering him on we were hanging out at the house and even got to celebrate Nola's birthday with presents, delicious cupcakes made by Aunt Jessica, and some obnoxious, giant balloons! 

The race was only one big part of Kyle's weekend.  He proposed to his girlfriend, Hannah too!  I'm pretty excited about my new sister-in-law, Nola is VERY excited about her new Aunt!