Turning 5 doesn't make you brave.

Today is Kallie's 5th birthday. She woke up bright & early and headed off to school, pink cupcakes in hand to share with the whole class.

When I picked her up from school, we headed home for a few treats. First, she found a mailbox-full of grandparent greetings! Few things make her smile as much as a letter or package in the mail (hint, hint!!). Then I told her to run upstairs and check the bathroom. Callie (our friend that's living with us right now) had left her a birthday greeting on the mirror along with a card & gift. (By the way, the squealing had begun at the mailbox, and it just got louder as she found more & more treats!) Next I gave her the bracelets that I'd had made for her on our cruise (they sold gold & silver by the inch...her little wrist is tough to fit so it was perfect!), and we also gave her a Disney princess play tent for the living room. Actually I think it's a real tent, but I figured she & Luke would have a blast in it. And maybe one day she can use it for a sleepover.

Once Seth got home from school we left all the boys at home and headed for the mall with two things in mind...Build-A-Bear and Libby Lu. She had received a Build-A-Bear gift card at her party (thanks Sandy & Kristin!) and then wanted to use her birthday money from Grandma to get her ears pierced.

First she built a cute pink bear at Build-A-Bear that she named Pinky...



They had her stand at the front of the store & ring a bell to get everyone's attention, and then they sang to her. She loved it.

So with Pinky in hand (for comfort, of course), off we went to Libby Lu. Unfortunately though, when we got there we found out that there was only one associate available for ear-piercing, which meant they'd have to be pierced one at a time rather than together. Um, no. That won't work. A sweet little 5-year-old with only one earring is not a good thing. So next we tried Claire's. Same story. There were two Claire's in this mall, so we traipsed to the other end to try our luck at the second store. Nope. Our last hope was The Icing, which is owned by Claire's. You guessed it...just one sales associate. They offered to make us an appointment for Friday, but by this time Kallie had WAAAAAAY too long to think about it & decided she really didn't want to get her ears pierced after all. Oh well, maybe when she turns 6. We're in no hurry.

Headed home...no earrings, but lots of bear hugs...



Pinky ate dinner with us. Daddy says Pinky will not eat dinner with us every night.





Happy birthday sweet Kallie! You make our lives so fun and sweet. You are so full of joy & innocence. It's hard to believe five years have gone by so fast. We love you!