Lena Turns 7 with Barbie & Friends!

 Happy 7th Birthday to Lena! 

We celebrated Lena turning SEVEN with family and friends and BARBIE! Lots of Barbie's and her friends showed up and the girls had fun playing with some new gifts and accessories that they brought along. Thank you to big sis, Laila, for getting them all settled in to the party! 

I made my first Barbie cake which was fun! We had pineapple cupcakes and Lena's favorite, again, made homemade by big sis - Chocolate Chip Cookies! I'm raising the next generation of party planners. ;) 

We had Uncle Craig come in from Atlanta and Uncle David and Jill (Barbie and Ken) came too! Lena loves seeing and spending time with her family the most. She always says the best part of having parties is spending it with her family and the people she loves most - she really is the sweetest. 

We had a lot of fun with the
Barbie and Ken wigs! Even Daddy makes a pretty handsome Ken!:)

I think Lena enjoyed her day! She got to go shopping at Target and then had a fancy lunch with mom and dad at her favorite spot - Olive Garden. She also went with grandma and Uncle Craig to get her nails done and they matched her Barbie themed party perfectly with Barbie silhouettes and all. Lena and Laila both played with the new Barbie's all evening and all of the next day and even added in some that they already had. Who doesn't love themselves some Barbie Town? Barbie is a classic who just gets better with time. Some of my best memories as a kid was playing with Barbie's. My favorite Christmas morning memory is when my grandpa put together my new Barbie house for me which back then was not nearly as cool as the houses now but it was everything to me! I'm still amazed at all of the new Barbie accessories and play sets that they come out with. Lena even got a Barbie with a dog that has puppies! What will they think of next?

Lena, we love you beyond all of the words in the world. And we're so proud of the smart and kind, little lady you're becoming. You make me laugh and cry happy tears more than anyone. We sure were magnificently blessed the day you were born.  

 xoxo, Mom 

Happy 9th Birthday, Laila!

 Last year in the single digits! This time last year was the last time that we saw our family all together for a long time! We finally felt it was safe to have everyone come over. Most are vaccinated and we're finally seeing light at the end of the pandemic tunnel! 

Laila loves American Girl dolls right now. She loves all of the accessories and organizing all of their clothes and play sets so we decided on an American Girl doll themed party. 

Laila also loves to bake with me and she's getting pretty good at it! She wanted to try a piñata cake filled with all of her favorite candies so that's what I made. It was fun and everyone anticipated the cutting and the 'explosion.'

 We had walking tacos, her favorite and a special guest - Papa! First time we've seen him in person in a year! We were so excited to see him and I think he was glad to get out and enjoy the day too. 

Laila also got to go to a paint class with her good friend Genevieve. They had a lot of fun and their paintings turned out great! 

Laila got lots of accessories for her dolls including a travel set, camping set, matching Girl Scout uniforms and pajamas; she loves the matching outfits! Her favorite though was the Jeep! Now she has what she needs to pull her camper - they're off to the beach! 

This year Laila has been the student of the month at school and has been the top cookie seller in her Girl Scout troop. We are so proud of the young lady you're growing up to be. You're always so helpful and happy; I love that about you. 

Happy 9th to my first baby. 

xoxo, Mom