I really cannot believe that my baby girl is 4 years old! I've got another post in store to record my thoughts about it, but I just keep thinking, "Where has the time gone?" Following tradition around here, Gracie rang in #4 with multiple celebrations. It started a couple of days early with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's, courtesy of Gabby. They had lots of fun eating pizza and playing games, and Grace wasn't even afraid of Chuck E. himself (much unlike me when I was her age).
Several weeks ago, I asked Grace what she wanted to do for her birthday. Our conversation went like this:
Me: Gracie, I can either cook whatever you want for your birthday, or we can go out to eat.
G: I'd like to go to a restaurant.
Me: Okay. What would you like to eat?
G: Pizza.
Me: Oh, yes. You love pizza. Where should we go?
G: Domino's.
Me: Um, well, you can't actually eat at Domino's. You can only order it and eat it at home.
G: Why can't you eat it there?
Me: They don't have any tables.
G: Hmm. That's strange.
Oh, sweet baby. She wanted her special birthday meal at Domino's :) Guess we don't get too fancy around here with pizza.
Since take-out pizza just wouldn't do for such an important event, I had to come up with a Plan B. Gracie LOVES "Chinese food" at the mall (aka- Teriyaki chicken and rice), so I thought she might like Benihana. I was right. We met our families there after church, and Gracie and Ella enjoyed the enormous koi pond.
Once inside, Grace seemed initially impressed by the elaborate set up and our "cooking table."
Ella enjoyed coloring and quickly demanded, "Where are chips?" I guess we eat Mexican food a little too often :)
Sutton was also impressed and had fun with the funny hats.
Grace wasn't sure what to think of our chef. The look on her face says it all...
A little sushi was just what she needed. Isn't it funny that she loves California rolls?
After some yummy hibachi chicken and rice, Grace got a special birthday dessert--ice cream that looked like rolled sushi.
Here's a picture of everyone, and I'm surprised with how good it turned out. Everyone except Sutton and Ella is actually looking at the camera and SMILING!!
Oh, how I love this girl!
After lunch, we headed home for birthday cake. Grace was completely surprised by the gift from Poppy and Dory that showed up in our backyard...
Oh yes, the bounce house was a huge hit. We had to coax Gracie back inside for cake and presents.
And the gift she's been asking about for almost a year--a scooter. She was thrilled!
After scooting around the house for a while, she begged to go outside to use her new princess ball, bat and glove. Poppy and her daddy were happy to oblige.
What a special day! Poor Ella missed all the post-lunch fun because she was ready for a nap when we got home. When she woke up, we took her outside to check out the bounce house. She was a little unsure at first, but quickly realized how much fun it was!
At bedtime when we asked Gracie what her favorite part of the day was, she replied, "The whole day. The whole day was my favorite part!" That's exactly what we wanted to hear. I'm always thinking about how I want to create wonderful memories for her, and although I'm not sure she'll remember this birthday, I know that Travis and I will.
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