Adelaide's 6th Birthday

Adelaide's teacher at church shared a very funny story with me last Sunday. We have know this gal for years, so she naturally called Adelaide, "Addi" during class. Apparently Adelaide kindly informed her, "I like to go by Adelaide now." So funny! I'm glad she likes her name in its entirety. It's so pretty.

Our little Adelaide turned 6 the day we left for Kansas City. She had a holiday party at school, so we made sure there was time for her to go so she could also celebrate her birthday with her class (Tristan and Alicia had tests to take that morning anyway). She was very bummed out about having to spend her birthday in the car, so I tried to do all sorts of things to make it up to her. The Saturday before, I took her to the mall for a "surprise birthday present" and to do her Christmas shopping. The surprise gift was getting her ears pierced. She was SO excited! She picked some cute "Hello Kitty" earrings and seemed to be well prepared and ready for the big event. There was another little girl ahead of us, but she lost her courage and asked if Adelaide could go first instead. Adelaide was so brave...and then her first ear was pierced. I can't even describe the look of shock and betrayal on her little face. I thought she knew it was going to HURT.... I felt awful...I didn't prepare her at all!! She tried to hold it in, but when I put my arm around her and told her how good she did, she buried her face in my stomach and sobbed. Somehow she pulled it together for the other ear to be pierced, and since she knew what to expect, she did much better. Mother of the Year, right? We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon shopping in the mall, and it was nice to spend some one-on-one time together.

Before and...

...after. Finding a smile was a little more tricky....poor thing. 

On the drive to Kansas City, I had wrapped up a few movies for the kids to watch, so I let Adelaide unwrap 2 of the 3. Instead of getting her choice of a home-cooked meal, we agreed to stop at a Cracker Barrel for dinner. Unfortunately she was feeling a bit carsick and didn't end up eating much, but oh well! The stop in her honor made her feel special!!

The next evening we celebrated her birthday at my parents house with most of the family. She loved her purple unicorn with a gold horn chocolate cake. Grandma always seems to have great resources!! A co-worker's daughter is starting up a cake business and did this cake for a super good price. It tasted pretty good too!

Adelaide got a 3-wheeled scooter a few years ago, and has been begging for a 2-wheel scooter for a while. 

We saw this sweatshirt at the mall after she got her ears pierced. She really wanted it, so I told her I'd wrap it up for her birthday. I was impressed at how ok she was with that and her ability to be patient and wait.

She has been wanting a toy laptop for about a year...good thing Grandma came across one at her store!! It was far cheaper than buying it new!

the unicorn cake...

 It's hard to believe that little Adelaide is now 6 years old! She is super energetic and always has a smile. She does a great job at not only being a big sister, but also a little sister. We love you Adelaide! Happy Birthday!!