Happy Birthday Jane!

It was a good day!  {Minus the part where we got the news that our car is officially dunzo and we need to look for a replacement ASAP.}  As I woke all the kids up this morning to get ready for school, Jane popped out of bed with an enthusiastic "It's my birthday!"  Hahaha.  She's been counting down how many "sleeps" were left for the last few days.  She was so funny, though, because after I wished her "happy birthday!" and "you're 4!" she responded right away with a "not yet."  When I tried to tell her that she was, she insisted once again that she wasn't.  "Not until you make my cake," she told me.  Hahaha.  Oh well, there was no way I was going to be able to postpone her cake and ice cream celebration until the weekend now.  

It's a good thing I went to the store last night to grab some cake mixes and frosting, because we ended up taking the car in first thing this morning and were stuck at home all day long as a result.  I tried to make things as fun as I could around the house for the birthday girl, and in the end I think I succeeded.  We did some coloring in the morning with Alex, and then once he was down for his nap, Jane and I played a little Hide-and-Seek, watched Toy Story 3, and put together a cute little ballet puzzle that grandma had sent for her birthday.

She really was having fun.  I promise.

There's my girl!  

And my boy!  Our new resident marker monster.  Poor beagle pup bore the brunt of it this time.  {That's what he calls his little doggie junk that Sophie gave him for is birthday.}

She somehow cut her finger this morning and kept asking for new band-aids all day long.  

A fairly familiar scene around here.  They all LOVE to play with my phone.  Which is why they hate that I've put a passcode on it.  Hahahahaha.  Although it doesn't stop them from taking all kinds of ridiculous pictures and videos.

When our movie was over, I decided I should probably get to work on her cake while I still had the relative peace and quiet of a napping baby and no big kids home from school.  Jane helped me lick the bowl and beaters and after taking a brief break to deal with other things, I started to work my cake-making magic.  Jane really loves owls these days, so after carefully culling Google images for inspiration, I created this masterpiece:

I do think I've outdone myself this time!  Hahaha.  The kids were totally enamored as well, and I heard from Grace a few different times that this was the best cake I've ever made.  Validation.  I'll take it!  Hahaha.

Quick photo shoot on the back porch after a quick downpour had just ended.

I was excited to remember about this cake stand that I had bought right before we moved.  Its inaugural run was a success!

After finally finishing up the cake, I managed to whip together a last minute and hastily thrown together meal of Taco Salad and everything was ready to go by the time Scott walked through the door.  Our dinner hour has become the one semi-dependable moment of enjoyment and harmony in our day and this evening was no exception.  The kids all had a good day at school and everyone seems to be making new friends.  Thank goodness!  

As soon as the dishes were cleared, we hauled out the cake to sing to our girl and officially make her 4!  She is such a sweetheart and I am so glad she is a part of our family.   

Poor Alex was not quite ready to relinquish the birthday rites to Jane.  He really wanted to blow out those candles for her!

Thankfully, I had picked up a present for her at Costco earlier this week before the car broke down.

Sophie enjoyed her oreos while the rest of us chowed down on cake and ice cream.

Hours of work destroyed in mere minutes.  Rest in Peace little Owl Cake.

The "party" put everyone a little late for bedtime, but we couldn't expect the birthday girl to go on up to sleep without being able to try on her birthday present at least once.  Grace helped her get dressed and did her hair and Jane LOVED it.  

"Expecto...

...Patronum!"  Hahaha.  Jane's a wizard.  {The kids have all been VERY into Harry Potter this summer.}

Sisters...

...Sisters. {Grace is a dog, case you were wondering.}

And that was that.  We have a 4 year old!  What would we do without our Jane Felicity?  

We'd be awfully bored, that's for sure.  Hahaha.