The night before Megan and I left for Chicago, we had a Birthday Dinner with just family to celebrate. My parents, Uncle Andy and Aunt Adrie, and Uncle TJ all came.
My brother Andy, Papa Don and Wyatt
Uncle TJ with the birthday girl
We BBQ'd burgers with all the fixins - tomatoes from our garden, blue cheese, sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, bacon, avocado - and had a green salad, Megan's favorite corn on the cob, and garlic fries too. YUM!
Megan picked out the pink and orange tea roses at Trader Joe's earlier in the afternoon. I put them in wine glasses and tinted the water pink. She was so impressed with my skills. It made me giggle.
My parents had a special gift for Megan that had to make the trip to Chicago with us! Her American Girl doll, Kailey. Kailey's story is that of a California girl, from Dana Point, who is into recycling, conservation, and the environment. She loves the beach and works to help save the Tide Pools by her home. Kailey was the American Girl of the Year in 2003 - the year Megan was born. So of course, my mom HAD to buy her when Megan was just 2 months old! She's been boxed up on a shelf in my closet ever since. Grammie wrapped her all up - boogie board, wetsuit, flip flops and dog named "Sandy" included - and she was Megan's 5th Birthday surprise. Along with the special party that Kate and Paul hosted at the American Girl Place in Chicago.
This picture is classic Megan-Molly. Always together, always sharing in each other's moments. I asked Megan to hold Kailey up for a picture and Molly "helped" by holding up the book about Kailey too!
Earlier in the week (so she could start packing!) Megan had also been given a new suitcase for her birthday from Grammie and Papa.
She loved it SO much - she asked me if I could make a birthday cake that looked like her new suitcase. I was at a loss for how to make a cute "Suitcase Cake" for a 5 year old girly girl...so I came up with this idea instead. SHE LOVED IT!
I baked 4 nine inch rounds, layered them, and cut out the #5 shape from the two circles. I attached the top part to the bottom "round" part with a couple plastic straws stuck thru the middle. The dots are made out of fondant that I tinted with food color gels. It took me an hour to blend all the different colors! It was like playing with really stiff playdough.
This night was so fun. We enjoyed family time, lots of laughs, and celebrating this special girl. She is such a little lady now! After cake and ice cream - we said our goodbyes and quickly headed to bed. We had to be at the airport at 5AM the next morning!
Pics of our trip on Monday!
2 comments:
I absolutely love reading about the special times you spend with your family and how you truly cherish all of those memories made. I can only hope and pray that we are building the same kind of love and family bond with our boys that you share with your parents and siblings!
So glad Megan had a wonderful birthday dinner and as always....i love the cake!! You are so talented!!
Wow. It's amazing how well you matched the coloring from the suitcase to the cake!
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