Natalie is 5!

Happy Birthday to Natalie! You get to start kindergarten this year! Yay for you, sad for me. I'm gonna miss this little girl and her cute little voice. The birthday started as most birthday have this summer: with the birthday kid getting breakfast in bed.

On this birthday she, like Lily, woke up much earlier that usual and was quarantined to her bedroom while we made the food. The kids didn't wake up early to make it though, so we were running a bit behind.

Wes made the pancakes, I cut watermelon into heart shapes, and Hyrum put the rainbow sprinkles over all of it.

Natalie went for the sprinkled watermelon first and seemed to enjoy it, but I thought they did not look yummy. After eating breakfast, downstairs to open presents! "Natalie is 5!"

She didn't want cake, she wanted donuts. But I went to the store with 6 kids after the park last night to find donuts and buy the ice cream, and they didn't have enough sprinkled donuts, so Natalie opted for the sprinkled pink cookies.

Sophi asked me last night "Can you buy me a present to give to Natalie?" No, sorry, you're on your own. She "gave" Natalie her pink unicorn, just like she had given it to Lily, and then taken it back. Natalie looks like she's not buying it that this is a real gift.

What else is in these bags - a Mulan Lego. Natalie picked that out over a month ago when I was dong early shopping for Lily.

She got a Rapunzel barbie from me and a Wonder Woman super girl barbie. She picked both of those out too when she came to the store with me on another trip. It's kinda dangerous taking her out. Corey took her tonight to buy the present from him. He left me a voice message: "I'm here with Natalie at Walmart. She thinks it's a shopping spree. She wants to get lots of toys."

"I should have known there was trouble when she insisted on getting a cart..." and "I've never seen anyone so effectively use eenie meenie miney mo."

Yes, shopping with Natalie can be dangerous if her birthday or Christmas is near.

My personal opinion is that it's best to avoid shopping with kids at all costs. Shopping with kids turns what could/should be a serotonin producing experience for women into an adrenaline/cortisol one. Corey parent's came over and Natalie got more presents - a cute Calico Critter Ice Cream parlor -

And then at 2 the final gifts came when "the birthday lady" (my mom) arrived with a cake and a few more gifts. She had a automatic candle thing that kinda threw sparklers and played a birthday tune while the "flower" twirled in a circle on the cake, wow!

 And then it was playing "Happy Birthday" in a minor tune for the rest of the night in the garbage in the street. Until Corey threw a watermelon rind on it. More Cheetah Beanie Babies!

Natalie's Baby has more family members, aw!

She decided this will be the grandma, cause pink = female and gray = old?

Some small Disney Princess dolls (that was what Natalie played with the rest of the day) an Incredible lego set, and a Chelsea Barbie with a cute pony. You got lots of good toys, you lucky birthday girl!

I think she had a good day, so did her siblings, lots of processed junk. I wish there was a different way we culturally celebrate birthday traditions, food wise. Daniel after eating some birthday Pringles.

Sleeping at counters has happened many times at our house, but this is the first time with Daniel - we had so much partying going on that he missed his nap.

So, next birthday is Owen in 17 days, then Hyrum in Aug - . So 2 more to go before school starts, 3 after school starts, then we're done until Mel in December. Happy Birthday Natalie, we love you! But I mean it this time, it's time to stop growing up!