F-I-V-E

It happened. As much as I tried to stop it. This little one turned five. When did I get old enough to have a five year old? Well if you can't stop it you might as well make a really big huge deal out of it. So that's what we did.

She had to bring birthday treats to school so we made homemade oreo spiders (if you consider cake mix cookie with store bought frosting inside homemade. In my defense it did take a very long time to turn them into spiders.)
On her actual birthday she didn't have school and Audrey had playgroup so Julia and I went out to breakfast, just the two of us. I think she was so weirded out being alone with me that she literally just colored her menu the entire time. When she had me all to herself she wasn't sure what to do with me. Luckily she warmed up eventually and thoroughly enjoyed her pancakes with sprinkles.

That night we celebrated with Julia's favorite meal...Princess Pasta. (You may think I'm joking but that is actually what it is called.)
Recipe for Princess Pasta:
2 c. heavy cream
8 tbs. butter
1 medium onion, diced
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1/2 lb. deli sliced ham, cut into squares (thick cut)
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 box bowtie pasta

Cook pasta according to package directions. Saute ham and onions in butter until both are slightly browned. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add cream and cook over medium head until slightly reduced (I season with about a 1/2 tsp. pepper). Take off heat and add parmesan cheese. Toss with cooked pasta.
courtesy of Amy Keuhnl

Poor little Audrey was a little stressed out that it was all about Julia. She kept telling Julia that when it was her birthday she was going to have a Spiderman party. This was infuriating and incomprehensible to Julia. Spiderman?! Audrey I will NOT let you have a Spiderman party. That is for boys! This argument when on for several days.

Audrey when it's your birthday you can have any kind of party you want.
Julia making silly faces with her presents.
Yes, I went there. I fully introduced her to the world of Barbie. Do I regret it? We shall see.
That night we went and saw Toy Story 3 at the dollar theatre. I blubbered like a baby. Not only is my baby growing up so fast but it seems like only yesterday I was a child, playing with my toys. Youth is but a moment I tell you.
Now on to the big fat birthday party. This was Julia's first birthday party with friends and I figured probably the first she will really remember. So we decided to go all out. We had a "hot chocolate" party. We started with a scavenger hunt in which the girls gathered all they would need to attend the fancy "hot chocolate" party. Some treasures were crowns, necklaces, funny sunglasses, bracelets and a couple of games ending with a story. They had to balance a book on their head to prove they had grace and pour a tea cup with water in it while wearing gloves. It was lots of fun.

Do you think Julia enjoyed herself? She wore her fancy monarch butterfly Halloween costume to the event and I must say she looks smashing.
Blowing the big 5 candle.
My only regret is that Oriental Trading does not make every necklace, crown, bracelet in pink. This was a source of conflict. Some of the little girls had to actually go with a blue crown and orange sunglasses GASP! Every time the scavenger hunt led us to a treasure a chorus of "I want pink!" inevitably followed. Such cute girls. Luckily all the paper plates, balloons and the teacups I ordered followed their specifications. It was like pink puked all over the table.
I love this picture with the funny sunglasses. How cute are they!?
My little ladybug was so excited to be involved. The girls made their own english muffin pizzas and had apples and carrots on the side. They sipped hot chocolate and I put a dish of marshmallows on the table for them to put on the hot chocolate. The marshmallows were the hit of the party. They disappeared faster than I could keep up. So when the moms asked what they ate? Well... mostly marshmallows. But I do think a couple of kids took a bit of pizza. And they totally ate cupcakes at the end. So overall healthy lunch if you ask me.
Bryan was in charge of pictures while the scavenger hunt was going. This is the only one I didn't delete. So photography is not his strength. Good to know.
You see that pile of presents? Julia was spoiled ROTTEN. She still stinks from it even two days later.
Julia really wanted chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting, pink sprinkles and a cherry on top. (because they are Stripey's favorite). Consider it done.
This cute girl's mom told me she has only drank from her princess teacup since the party. That makes me happy.
That night we had our family cake. (Seriously does this birthday ever end?). She requested blueberry pie but settled for razzleberry pie.
Recipe for Razzleberry Pie:

Go to Walmart. Look in the frozen pie section. Discover that there are no blueberry pies. Do your best to convince your almost five year old that razzleberry pie has bueberries in it, even though it doesn't. Take it home. Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour. Enjoy warm with ice cream.