Five and Fabulous

Well, that was a fast week! Whoosh! But, it was a good one. My family made it to Chicago to celebrate Lainey and her amazing five years--and thank goodness all four came, because we hosted a drop-off party for nine of Lainey's preschool friends. Mark and I never would have survived alone!

It may have been chaotic, but the party was a big success! It was a beautiful day, the bouncy house was a hit, and no one got a concussion while whacking the piñata. (There were a few close calls though.) Lainey loved her Lion King cake, but refused to let us sing to her. Other than that moment, she was totally in her element being the center of attention. I thought she did a very nice job of making sure our two little neighbor girls got introduced to everyone from school and felt included. Such a big girl!

After her party, we presented her with her present from us...for the FOURTH year in a row, Lainey got a new set of wheels! She was soooo excited!  Now we just need to squeeze in time to let her practice riding it and get those training wheels off! 

                           Hit it, girl!

             Flanked by her besties

          She'll be two-wheelin any day

On Sunday, we finished off Dad's birthday bucket list with a brunch cruise on Lake Michigan. The weather wasn't looking too promising, but we ended up with sun and the perfect breeze. (Until we got off and it was ridiculously hot and humid.) The kids had fun and even got to visit the Captain's room. Check out Captain Lainey below!

After the cruise, Lainey got to be showered in gifts AGAIN by her grandparents and uncles and we treated everyone to some Smoque BBQ--which was really a treat for me, because a) it's awesome b)  I didn't have to cook--win-win! 

We had to say goodbye to everyone Sunday night and early Monday morning (Lainey's actual birthday) and that made the birthday girl pretty sad, but she bounced back when presented with her birthday crown at school. We kept things pretty simple that night. I made up a scavenger hunt with rhyming clues leading to two small Zootopia dolls (I mean she has to have something on her actual birthday, right?), and stuck some candles in a leftover piece birthday cake. She permitted singing that time. 

And that was a wrap on celebrating Lainey's first five years--until tomorrow that is, when we celebrate with the Brandi crew; we're in the car right now being asked every two minutes if we're there yet. No, Elaine. No, we are NOT almost there yet. You'll be the first person we tell--I promise!

Happy Birthday anyway, my little love!