Olivia's 5th Birthday Party!

We haven't held a "real" birthday party for Olivia yet since I feel like we've always done a huge party for Sofia that has sapped all my desire to throw another one a month later. Plus, while she was so young it just didn't seem like it mattered to her very much since birthday parties at 2 or 3 years old are more for the parents "surviving another milestone" than for the kid. Last year, I planned to throw a mermaid-themed birthday party and painted a mermaid cut-out on poster board for her friends to pose with. However, we headed down to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Florida for 10 days and they decorated the dining room table, had presents and cupcakes and she felt like that was "her birthday party." We just went with it since she was happy!

So, this year I finally decided I really had to throw her a fun birthday party since turning 5 is sort of a big deal. I remember when Sofia turned 5 it was really difficult for me to know she'd be starting school and we wouldn't be spending very much time together. I had been keeping mermaid-themed birthday party ideas on my Pinterest for months and finally decided to get started on the birthday planning on Wednesday morning. I stopped at Dollar Tree as well as Party City (which are conveniently next door to each other) and picked up all the things I'd need to decorate. I also visited Michael's for small wood chests, paint brushes and paint for each kiddo to paint their own treasure chest. I also picked up a pack of foam poster board that I planned to make my signs with. Along with the mermaid cut-out, I planned to set up a "paint your own treasure chest" station, a face paint station and a place to dig for treasure in our sandbox. I painted the signs and gathered all the things needed for each station to save time for the morning of the party.

Originally I sent out the Evite to Olivia's friends for a mermaid swim party Saturday morning at 10:30am, but then changed it to 3:30pm when about half the kids would miss because of soccer. Neither of the girls' soccer teams were scheduled to play that morning, so we were fine either way. Around 7:30am, Olivia and I walked Buddy and Harley to the soccer fields and then we returned to the house to start setting up for the party. CK took Olivia with him to go flying and have breakfast together, which worked out perfectly since we wanted to have the party as a surprise for Olivia too. Sofia was at home with me and after playing and reading for awhile, I had her help me in decorating and setting up for the party. She was actually super helpful and did a great job, saving me a lot of time. Sofia helped blow up balloons, set out plates, napkins and cups, buried all the "treasures" in the sandbox and handed me supplies while I was up on the ladder. She swept the living and dining rooms and was game for helping out whenever I asked! It was terrific and I stopped calling her "Sofia" and switched to "assistant" which she loved! The set-up went well and I showered and started making the food around 2:30pm. For food, we had "starfish sandwiches" (pb&j sandwiches cut into star shapes), "Sea Snails" (Chik Fil A chicken nuggets), "Fishie Crackers" (Goldfish), "Oysters and Pearls" (cantaloupe and watermelon in balls), "Clamshell Cookies" (Nilla wafers with blue icing and a chocolate "pearl"), "Drift Wood" (large pretzels dipped in white chocolate with a goldfish on them), and "Ocean Punch" (blue Gatorade with pineapple juice and Sprite), which was surprisingly delicious. It was fun to make all the food and I'm thankful for all the ideas on Pinterest!

Meanwhile, CK took Olivia with him to run errands and then stopped at Chik Fil A for the chicken nuggets and then to Trio to pick up the cupcakes. I ordered the cupcakes from Trio, my absolute favorite restaurant that also caters, and ordered dozen chocolate brownies (that are the size and shape of cupcakes), six strawberry cupcakes and six blueberry-coconut cupcakes. I originally wanted a dozen each of chocolate and vanilla both with buttercream frosting that had a blue tint so the white chocolate "mermaid" tails I made would look like they were coming out of the water, but decided to let the Trio baker do her thing. I'd rather her birthday cupcakes taste good rather than look good. I'd piped mermaid tales out of white chocolate and added blue sanding sugar. Sofia helped me make them and taste test the white chocolate!

Olivia's friends arrived and they all jumped into the pool and swam and had a ball going down the slide a million times in a row! Her friends included Hannah, Evan, Spencer (and Margo), Antonio (and Luca), Nicole, and Conor. Collins was invited but their day got away from them and they didn't make it. All the kids seemed to have a great time together and I let them all swim for just over an hour before I brought out all the food and called them in to eat. I didn't want to leave the food outside in the heat, although it wasn't too bad in the low-90s and shady. The kids picked out plates of food and all seemed to have hearty appetites after their swimming. I'd envisioned the kids doing the craft stations after they ate, but they were all back in the pool as soon as they finished their last bites! Sofia and Margo started painting pirate chests which was cute. They get along really well and I knew Sofia would love painting out of everyone.

After swimming for a bit, I called all the kids out again to sing Olivia "Happy Birthday" and enjoying cupcakes together. Olivia was a little shy and a little tired and sucked her thumb as we sang to her! I got her thumb out of her mouth without a fuss and she chose a strawberry cupcake after assuring me she'd made a wish. The kids ate up cupcakes and then they were once again back in the pool. Olivia's friends started to say goodbye and trickle out around 5:30/6pm. Antonio, Sofia, Olivia and Luca ended up in the sandbox digging up all the treasures (I hope!) and having a ball in the sand. Antonio and Luca said goodbye and headed home while the girls jumped back in the pool where they swam and played until we dragged them out at 8pm!! I made a quick pizza for dinner and they were off to bed after a fun and full birthday party! Such a fun day!

About to be a mermaid party!

Love how cute this sign turned out.

Sofia's birthday wishes for her sister

Sofia used her favorite rocks and gems to add decoration to the front table

Two girls are ready for a party!

The centerpiece - all Olivia's mermaid-related toys with a few shells added

The "Dig For Treasure" sandbox

The umbrella octopus

Paint Your own Treasure Chest!

Who wants to be a mermaid?!

The Face Painting options.....we never even got to this at all.

The "waves" of the party

Another octopus

Sofia, the "warrior mermaid" guarding the tiaras and leis

Time for mermaid food!

Olivia and her birthday mermaid food

Calling all kids for cupcakes!

Blowing out her "5" candle after making a wish!

Birthday cupcake!

Our birthday girl

Spencer

Evan

Antonio

Our little fish!

Nicole painting her treasure chest

Antonio painting

Olivia our little mermaid

Sofia our big mermaid

Digging for treasures

Olivia at 5 Years Old!

Olivia is now the big 5 years old! She's 45 inches tall and weights 46.6 pounds and seems to be growing out of Sofia's hand-me-down 5T clothes. It seems like she's really had a growth spurt in the last few months. Besides how tall she's gotten, she's grown up so much! A few days before her birthday, we were talking about her big day and her growing up and she said "I want to stay little. I don't want to grow up." I didn't explain to her that she didn't really have a choice. She certainly loves being the little sister in many ways and absolutely adores Sofia. Sofia and Olivia play a lot together and get along well. In fact, even when Olivia has a friend over she is usually focused on playing with Sofia more than she is her friend. One of the downsides of being the little sister is that it seems like she is sidelined into having interests that are more important to Sofia. When she was younger, Olivia really loved playing with dolls, mermaids, horses, and dress-up and now she wants to play with dragons, dinosaurs and swords which I don't think she would be interested in if it were up to her. Instead, she'd prefer to play with her sister so she goes along with whatever Sofia suggests and she seems to have fun, but I do wish that she had her own interests.

Olivia is our silly, easy going, rule-follower who likes to make sure everything runs smoothly and everyone gets along. She's also very thoughtful and caring. As I prepared for her birthday party, she came up to me out of nowhere and threw her arms around me and said "Thank you, Mommy, for having a birthday party for me." It was so sweet! If Sofia or someone she knows gets hurt, she is very concerned and always rubs Sofia's back and tells her "it's going to be ok." The night after her dentist visit, she was frantically searching for her "lip gloss" which I didn't really understand until she told me that Dr. Simpson said she "had to use it every night after brushing" and then I realized she was looking for her "floss" and she's used it every night since. She's generally very good at sharing and thinks of others without us prompting her.

After a full week of Kindergarten, Olivia seems to really enjoy school although it is a long and tiring day for her. She loves playing with her best friend, Hannah, every day at recess although she cried when she found out that they aren't in Mrs. Schultz' class together. She still seems a little confused as to why she has to go to school all week, when she's used to going to preschool three days a week, but I think she really enjoys going with Sofia and really loves riding the bus home with Sofia and Antonio. So far, she's doing great and always tells us fun things she's learned that day, like "Mac & Cheese, Everybody Freeze" or a cute song about reading "from the top."

She still sucks her thumb when she's tired, bored or watching something on the computer. With school she seems to do it in the morning since getting up and ready isn't her thing yet. I really wonder who much she sucks it at school. She also loves touching and gently rubbing my belly or back with her other hand. That has always been a comfort to her and she does it when she's tired or really relaxed. She sleeps with "Giraffey" and a bunch of smaller stuffed animals, although Giraffey is her favorite and who she picks to cuddle with when she's tired. The other stuffed animals seem to vary from week to week. She loves "morning juice" in the morning, which is a fruit juice blend that I mix with water, from a character sippy cup. She's a good eater and she loves salmon, cauliflower, pizza, oranges, peaches, spaghetti, pb&j sandwiches and even likes salad and cole slaw. She always eats the frosting off her cupcake first and will then eat the cake part, or even leave it uneaten. She does love her sweets!

Olivia is signed up for another season with the same soccer team and had her first practice last week. She seems to really enjoy it and is fast and pretty good at it. This year her team is no longer called "Purlicious" but changed the name to "Pinkalicious" thanks to Harper, the couch's daughter. It's a cute group of girls and I hope she really has fun with it. She's also going to start piano lessons with James for 30 minutes before Sofia's lesson. Last week James had her at the piano to be sure she knows her right from her left and is comfortable with her ABCs. He said she did great, so her first formal lesson will start next week. After playing with James, she said it was a lot of fun! I hope she continues to enjoy it.

She still loves to swim, although she and Sofia haven't done a lot of it in the week we've been back from Florida. The water temperature is a little cooler too, but I think mainly they are burned out from swimming all summer. They still love their mermaid fins though. Olivia still loves taking baths and really likes taking one with Sofia and playing with horses, unicorns mermaids or dragons in the water together. She sleeps with her favorite lovey, Giraffey, as well as nearly a whole bed-full of stuffed animals that all have their place next to her on the pillow and under the comforter. Sometimes, she barely even has room to lay down to sleep and it's amazing she doesn't fall out of bed for lack of space. Lately, her very favorite thing is for me to read a story while Sofia acts it out. Of course, Sofia acts what I'm reading out in a very silly and crazy way and Olivia laughs and laughs! It's really pretty funny and Sofia gets clever with it.

Olivia's hair is still above her shoulder, thanks to the haircut she gave herself months ago, but is now an even length and can grow out again. I think she looks so cute with it short and she is awesome at always brushing it herself and taking care of it. However, Sofia has had me add small braids that feed into a ponytail or french braids almost every morning before school, and Olivia wants the same thing for her hair. It's just barely long enough that I can usually pull it off, but she says she wants to grow it out and have it long. I look back at photos of her with long hair and I feel like she's a completely different kid! I wonder if it will still be curly when it grows out. I guess we'll find out.

She's growing up into such a thoughtful and fun girl and I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by! I hope Olivia has a great year being 5 and she has so much to look forward to.

Our sweet girl with Giraffey

Filling out the chair when she sits in it!

Swimming with her sister

Olivia loves having double french braids, which is a bit of a challenge when it's so short.

Still loves that thumb

First day of School!

Today was the first day of Kindergarten for Olivia and fourth grade for Sofia. Summer seemed to have zoomed by! I decided to make the girls their own "first day of school" chalkboards on a blank canvas. I used pinterest as a model, but it didn't quite turn out as cute as what is posted (of course). It was fun and I enjoyed asking the girls what they wanted to be and what their favorite things are. I had the girls pick out their outfits the night before and set out all the lunch and snack containers, filled their water bottles and got mentally ready for the early rise and departure. This school year, the bell rings at 7:40am instead of 7:45am and they get out at 2:55pm instead of 2:45pm! A very long day for the girls. We got the girls to bed a little later than we wanted, but early given their bedtime over the summer. They were both in bed by 9:00pm, although Olivia was beyond tired and got into a crying fit about wanting her sister to act out her stories, which she finds hilarious. She finally calmed down when I told her that Sofia would act out her stories tomorrow night and she settled into bed.

We set Sofia's alarm for 6:15am, although she wanted to set it for 5:50am so she could ride the bus with Antonio. I told her that Antonio would be driven to school the first day so she could "sleep in" until 6:15am. Sofia was downstairs, dressed and ready for her day by 6:30am! Of course, she had her book and wanted her old standby: toast with chocolate milk. I also braided her hair and pulled it back so she "looked like Artemis." I'd completely forgotten to have the girls check and make sure their tennis shoes fit, since they would both need them for P.E. Sofia brought out her three pair of tennis shoes and two didn't fit while the 3rd would work for the day. I told her I'd take them to Academy for new shoes after school, and we'll need to decide if their soccer cleats fit too. I got the girls' snacks and lunches ready. I packed both girls pretzels and carrots for their snack and a PB&J sandwich with strawberries and tangerine slices and apple sauce for lunch. I also included a chocolate chip cookie in each of their lunches. After packing their lunches, I was ready to wake up Olivia. CK actually went into her room and tried to convince her she needed to get up. She wasn't buying it at all! Finally, CK got her up and tried to get her dressed into the dress she chose, but she changed her mind and wanted to wear a "new" dress. Thankfully, I'd bought her a striped dress that matches the dress we gave to Sofia for her birthday. It's a size 5-6, so a little big on her but really looks adorable on her and she was happy. She also needs to wear tennis shoes, but she wasn't having anything to do with it. Instead she put on her favorite flower sandals and I put her shoes and socks into her backpack for P.E. Her teachers can deal with that! I also braided her hair just like her sister's, as she requested.

Once both girls were ready, we took them out front with their "first day of school" chalkboards and took photos. They both kept yawning, which was actually cute and I tried to get a photo of them both yawning at the same time. The girls were great sports given that it was 7am and they were both tired. After photos, I offered a few options for Olivia to eat for breakfast, but she kept insisting that she wasn't hungry. She's my kid who prefers eating mid-morning rather than just after she wakes up. She did drink her morning juice though. I grabbed a bowl of cheerios and we headed to school for their first day!

We parked by the church next to the school and walked in with Pritha and Shivani and said "hello" to so many great parents! Sofia and CK held Olivia's hand as they walked down the hall toward Mrs. Schultz' class. Mrs. Schultz was standing outside her room and gave both girls a big hug (Sofia had Mrs. Schultz for 1st grade and she remains one of her very favorite teachers). We were actually the very first family to arrive in Mrs. Schultz' class which will definitely never happen again! It was great to have a few minutes of her time though and she showed Olivia her cubby where her backpack will go and told her to put her lunch box near the front door. Olivia was a little shy but excited to be in school. Antonio, Stacy and Marco were actually the next ones in the classroom and Antonio looked really excited to be there! The rest of the class started arriving and Olivia got less and less sure of herself. She didn't actually cry but said she "didn't want to go to Kindergarten anymore." I finally told her that I needed to check on Sofia and meet her teacher, Miss Murray, since CK took her upstairs a few minutes earlier. To get her to agree, I told her we would stop back by to give her another hug.

I made my way up to Sofia's classroom and met up with her and met Ms. Murray. Sofia was pretty much the exact opposite experience. She gave Ms. Murray a huge hug and found her seat. As we were walking toward the school, Sofia told me she actually ran upstairs and added Green Beup Beup to her backpack before getting into the car! So sweet! I love that she's maturing into a wonderful 9 year old, yet still needs her lovey on her first day of school. We said goodbye to Sofia and wished her a great first day! She was happy as a clam to be in class and looked ready for her day (and the year ahead). Then, we headed back to Olivia's classroom and gave her one final hug. She seemed to be ok and I told her that we looked forward to hearing about her very first day of Kindergarten! CK and I walked back to our car with mixed emotions, but definitely not as sad as when we dropped Sofia off on her very first day of school. We hope they both have a great day and a terrific year ahead! Still can't believe school is back in session.

Olivia is "almost" 5. She loves to have fun, laugh, swim, read stories and fly in the Stearman. Her favorite colors are purple and pink and she loves cows and dragons. She wants to be an astronaut/author when she grows up.

Sofia is 9 years old and loves reading, swimming, laughing and playing with Olivia. She loves all colors, peacocks and dragons. She wants to be an author and screenwriter when she grows up.

Both girls and their signs

Getting the perfect shot!

The girls, Buddy and me

Walking together

Love this photo!

With their Papa

Heading toward Kindergarten!

Mrs. Schultz showing Olivia her seat

Olivia and Mrs. Schultz

Olivia is a little uncertain about this "Kindergarten" thing....

Sofia and Miss Murray

Showing Papa her day ahead

Sofia's classroom

Olivia eating lunch with Charlie (Charlie's mom sent me this photo to show that Olivia was having a good day)

The school bus!

Getting off the bus on their first day!

Happy kids after a fun day!

Love it!

A Day at the Beach

Yesterday morning, Connie offered to call Mary to see if we could drive out to their little house on the beach in St. Augustine, just an hour or so away. The girls were dying to go to the beach and were super excited. However, since it was already 10am, we figured we'd wait until the next day to get an early start so we could really spend the whole day on the sand. Sofia was really upset but got over it once she realize that she'd have more time swimming and playing at the beach.

Today we got up around 8am, ate a quick breakfast and got ready for the drive to St. Augustine and the beach! Connie loaded the car with towels, a beach blanket and a soft-sided cooler with cold waters, granola bars and pretzels. It was great! We drove to Mary and Alan's house, which is adorable! We changed into our swimsuits and walked to the beach! The beaches are so long and made of such hard sand, it almost felt like we were walking on the sidewalk as we picked our spot. Immediately the girls were gone and running in and out of the surf, which wasn't very strong. School had already started in Florida, so the beach was pretty empty and there were no kids. We felt like we almost had the entire place to ourselves with a few people on either side of us but very far away.

After just over an hour, CK headed back to the house since he doesn't really tan but burns instead, even with sunscreen. The girls continued to play and I tried to add sunscreen to them, especially their shoulders, back and faces as often as I could. They would run and dive through the waves and then spend a long time digging in the sand and building sand castles. We also spend a lot of time hunting for shells and Olivia loved picking them up, washing them off in the ocean and giving them to me to hold. We actually found a lot of really good ones and it was fun to hunt for them. The girls would occasionally appear for snacks and/or water and I told them once we were out of both and they got hungry, we'd go back to the house and grab lunch. I read with a towel over my shoulders and a hat on and took a dip in the water when I'd get too hot. It was actually not to bad out, although having an umbrella would have been really great.

Finally at 4pm, CK texted to let me know he was starving. I convinced the girls it was time to head back to the house and they came with little fuss. They didn't want to admit it, but I think they were starving. As we walked back to Alan and Mary's house, Sofia asked "So, now are are going to swim in the pool?" The community has a pool and the girls brought their mermaid tails to use, but I told them we were done. The plan was to rinse off, change back into clothes, go to an early dinner and head back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. She was a little sad that we'd have to leave the beach, but they had a great day.

We headed over to Saltwater Cowboys for an early dinner, which Connie and CK had recommended. We were all very hungry, thirsty and sun-drenched and the food was delicious! After eating, we loaded back into the car and headed back to the farm. Olivia was asleep in no time while Sofia read. Unfortunately, I hadn't been as consistent with the sunscreen application as I should have been and both girls were pretty sunburned on their backs. Luckily Connie had some aloe spray which they both said made it feel a lot better. Feel terrible for the sunburn, but had such a fun and relaxing day at the beach and I love how much fun the girls have in the sand and ocean!

CK getting comfortable

Starting off playing in the sand

My view - so peaceful!

Sunscreen girl!

Chasing birds

Sunscreen big sister!

Jumping in the surf

Just a few of the shells we found

Having fun in the sand/ocean as the tide slowly comes in

Who is that caped woman?!

Playing in the ocean together

Girls after a very fun day in the sand and surf!

A much-needed snooze after an early dinner

Spending a little time reading on our drive home