This sweet thing turned four on May 30th! Eloise Hope- she is never dull, usually grinning & always up for a snuggle. She was delighted to be celebrated all week long!
We had plans to spend time with the Ellis family at my Aunt Deb & Uncle Joe's house so instead of a regular get together, we decided to make it a mini celebration for the birthday girl. Debbie LOVES to celebrate anyone & everyone for ANY occasion so she did her best & far exceeded my ideas of making Eloise feel like a queen.
In true Eloise style, she surprised us with some random requests of a robot cake then changed her mind to a skateboard cake & then decided to go with a snowman cake instead. I was as happy as I could be since the final decision was the simplest of designs. It was chocolate on the inside...glad that's her favorite since it's mine too! Since we went with the snowman theme (in May) we opted for some Frozen decorations & some festive snowman decor that must have been pulled out of a Christmas box. It was such a lovely setting!
I love how the girls are sharing a smile leading up to the birthday song.
Auntie Deb quickly became Anson's favorite since she has a hard time saying no to sharing her cake.
The girls have been OBSESSED with wanting hula hoops ever since I demonstrated my ultra cool hula hooping moves in the toy aisle at Target a few weeks prior to Lolo's birthday. I was a cheapskate & refused to pay $6.99 for one so my mom found some for a couple dollars at the grocery store & brought them to the party. The hoops & all the hula hoopers provided many laughs throughout the afternoon. Eloise could only keep it going around her neck & as you can see, it was pretty intense...
Charlotte really got the hang of it as long as she kept her tongue sticking outside of her mouth & moved it back & forth as the hoop went round & round. SO cute.
I will refrain from posting any photos or video clips of the rest of the adults that attempted to show off but I will comment on how impressed we were with Kyle who could hula the longest & Scott who used it like a jump rope even though he is over 6ft tall & the hoop was about 3 feet in diameter. I'm still laughing just thinking about it. Kyle & I could have been a circus act when we figured out we could pass the hoop from my leg to his & back. In order to do this with my pregnant belly I had to lean on the couch & let me tell you, I had one super sore half of my body the following day! My arms were also sore from my double hooping. I think I'm out of shape ; ) The hula hoops didn't hold up so well & my mom confessed to accidentally running over them with her car...that makes me laugh outloud too! End of the story, I replaced one with the oh so pricey one at Target & it has flashing lights & it sturdy. I haven't tested it's strength against a Ford Expedition though.
As far as adults participating in the fun, I will share a picture of the uncles preparing to pin the nose on Olaf. Eloise specifically requested to play this game & we are pretty sure she had some mischievous eyes under the blindfold because she had perfect placement every time.
We spent some time watching the three monkeys climb a tree....both brothers with my cousin Zak. Also entertaining haha!
Gift opening was fun as expected when considering a four year old & wrapping paper. She received some new games, play dough, books & an incredible Rapunzel gown & wig made completely by her Gaga paired with some fancy heels. What a talented woman & a happy girl! She was beaming as you can see.....
The party concluded (for our little family) with a massive rainstorm before we headed home for the night. We were all zonked & went to sleep as fast as possible.
One week later, it was the official birthday of our little lady. I was SO teary the day before when we were out & about. I was looking in the rear view mirror as she was quiet & looking out the window. She asked me some questions & had some stories to share with me from the back seat. I was just staring at her thinking "how does this happen?" & remembering that around 6pm on the evening of the 29th was when it all began. We went to the hospital not even knowing her & within a few hours she went from inside the womb into our arms & a whole new world began in getting to know this precious little person. I am pretty sure these emotions were added onto the ones from less than two weeks earlier when I sent my mom a text on the eve of my birthday that said "Think about me around midnight tonight. May 17, 1983 was the start of a great friendship & the leading example in my life of how to be an incredible mama. You have lots to celebrate." I just love the relationship she & I have with one another & pray that God would develop that kind of bond between me & my girls over the years. Birthdays have become so much more special since I became a mom.
On the morning of Elo's birthday, she woke up to a blueberry muffin breakfast complete with gifts & a surprise visit by Uncle Kyle who crashed at our house the night before.
These four were making me laugh....
She was thrilled to get a princess book from her sister & her very own Ladybug rolling suitcase. After things calmed down, Robby & I took the birthday girl on a special date. We went to Old Navy & let her wander around as long as she liked before picking out something. She is drawn like a magnet to the puppy mannequin at the entrance. She talks to it & also gives it some scratches....makes me laugh. We were looking for one new dress which turned into four since she is four. Let's just say her Daddy smiled at me & whispered "it's her birthday" so I smiled back & headed to the checkout with one happy four year old. We went from there to BJ's Brewhouse for lunch where she ordered her very own mini pizza and a chocolate chip pazookie. I was hoping she would be more generous with the bite she shared with me ; )
Once we were home, Grammy, Papa & GGran all joined us as the celebration continued. GGran helped me cook the requested dinner of lasagna, Cesar salad & garlic bread. Eloise had been talking about it for weeks & we had to laugh when it was served & she completely lost it. She was saying "I hate that! I'm not eating it!" over & over. I think she ate a half piece of garlic bread for her dinner & topped it off with a cookie for desert.
The picture below perfectly captures one of the reasons I love being in Dallas just a mere 20 minutes from this lovely grandmother & great grandmother. Our bunch has become quite attached to her over the past year & greatly look forward to time together. I enjoy it too.
We are all about "birthday week" in this family & were jumping for joy that we were all healthy. Anson almost pushed me over the edge the night before during dinner when he choked & threw up part of his mac & cheese. I cleaned him up, looked at Rob & he jokingly said "is that a tear I see rolling down your cheek?" I think the tears would have started flowing had it happened again! It's been a rough go around for celebrations this year!
We have said "it's hard to be three" quite often the past year & are hoping that it is not hard to be four! We love sharing life with this lively lady & look forward to many more years of celebrating as she grows.
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