Fancy Annabelle

Annabelle turned 5 this last weekend (holy crap I have a 5 year old!) and she invited 9 friends over for her party. I was actually surprised that all but 1 showed up...given that the holiday season is in full force with Christmas parties. She had a Fancy Nancy birthday party and she was ecstatic (cause ecstatic is fancier than happy) to plan the whole thing. She had so many ideas and so with her help (along with Pintrest and my sister Chelsie who did all the fabulous printables) we planned and decorated for her party.

The invites:

Gotta love the Christmas decorations that are mixed in with the fanciness of it all. Kinda throws it all off a bit, but what can ya do? I wasn't about to take all the stuff down.

We read a Fancy Nancy book at each station before we did that activity. Here the girls got to each take a boa, crown, sunglasses and butterfly wings - all of which Nancy wears - home with them after the party.

Please disregard my old, ugly pillows...or, notice them if you are still trying to think of something you could get me for Christmas ;)

Each girl got to make her own bracelet, which proved to be interesting as they each wanted to put their name on their bracelet and then after continued to just put lettered beads instead of regular ones so their bracelets are gibberish.

They made and decorated their own butterfly wand. I was running around like a mad person all morning trying to set up (we had a Primary activity that morning and I thought 2 hrs would be enough. Needless to say, it was not, and I ended up skipping lunch as a result. Not sure if that has EVER happened in my 28 years of life) and this table was the last to get my attention so it is pretty sad looking. They had stickers, sequins, glitter glue (that stuff will be the death of me...never again!) and other dollar store items to help them make their wands :)

They each decorated their own crown to play Pin the Tiara on Fancy Nancy. We only had one cheater.

I talked Anna out of a cake (after spending time making an egg free cake last year to have her not even eat 2 bites) and we had ice cream parfaits instead - parfait is fancy for ice cream sundae.

Pinkies up!

I got a kick out of some of the girls parfaits. They seriously LOADED them up and then only ate about 1/4 of their concoction. lol.

Time for presents:

If you want a good reaction to a present you give, you should give something to Annabelle. She has been known to hit her head, fall to the floor, scream, gasp & yell out things like 'Oh my goodness! I just CAN'T believe it!' while opening presents.

Each guest took home a bag to put their accessories in along with some other favors.

Those other favors included a Fancy Nancy activity book, pen (with a plume, of course) a lip gloss ring (Anna was adamant about this!) and a flower shaped sucker. There was very little treats at this party (for me, anyway) and NO baking. Who knew I could throw a party like that?!

After the party, we cleaned up and headed out the door to continue the celebration. We wanted to surprise Anna with the rest of the day. And even though was very excited to see where we were taking her, (her guess was Chick fil A) she crashed after a few minutes in the car. Apparently the party exhausted us both.

When we pulled up at Boondocks she was so excited. She requests to go there every time we pass it on the freeway (she does, however, call it 'Boondocks center dot com' as a result of only watching shows on PBS). She got a free unlimited pass since it was her birthday, we paid $3 for Evan and we were free. Score. We then headed to Chick fil A after, as per her request. When we pulled up Evan yelled, ' We made it! We made it! Hooway fa chick a wave!' That place it magical to my children.

The day was a success. Anna said repeatedly, 'This is the best day EVER!'

I love Annabelle. Can she try my patience? Like you wouldn't believe. Does she hit her brother and yell 'No!' at me when I ask her to do just about anything? Yep. When I give her 2 things to choose between so that I she can feel like she has some control, does she try and give me an option 3? Uh huh.

But when Evan starts to cry in the car she has been known to start singing 'I am a Child of God' to calm him down (even if half the time, it only makes him yell, 'Stop singing Anna!') She loves babies and is so sweet to them. When I state any 'rules' for something we are about to do, she will follow them to a T (and make sure everyone else does too). She loves to help me clean, bake or do anything that I am doing. She is very creative and has gotten a lot better at drawing and coloring. She has moved up 3 levels in her reading class since September and has gotten better at reading and writing by herself. She truly cares about her friends and family and thinks of ways to serve others on her own.

I sometimes read this quote from Lynn Robbins talk in the April 2011 General Conference to calm myself down after a frustrating day. When he spoke them, my family paused the TV to make sure I was listening ;)

A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101. If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505. Rather than wonder what you might have done wrong in the premortal life to be so deserving, you might consider the more challenging child a blessing and opportunity to become more godlike yourself. With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?

And I do need her. Her lack of patience and stubbornness is definitely coming from me and this is God's way of drilling the things I need to work on into my head. I am grateful for all that Anna brings to our family and I couldn't imagine my life or our family without her. I love you Annabelle.