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Last Saturday was a big day. Olivia's party was scheduled to begin at 1pm and needless to say, I had plenty to do before our guests arrived. George went out that morning to buy ice melt for the bottom of our driveway. While he was gone and I was cleaning, I set the kids up with a craft project to keep them occupied. The first thing we did was personalize the party treat bags with glittered initials of our guests. While the glue was drying, they wanted to do a little painting. Nate got really "involved" as you can see.
As soon as daddy got back from the hardware store, it was into the tub for my little artists. It was about that time that we realized our new adopted dog, Riley, had escaped the yard. George walked around the perimeter of the property and up and down the street to no avail. We were worried sick but had guests arriving soon. To say we were a bit distracted during the party is an understatement. We were all gathered in the dining room enjoying some munchies when a crash was heard coming from the kitchen. I knew right away what it was: THE CAKE! I rushed in to find Olivia's beautiful Nemo cake upside down on the floor. "Olivia!" I called out. She was hiding in the living room. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to take a peek." Fortunately, we were able to save the cake, and our guests were very gracious about eating it.
Olivia enjoyed the frosting and the ice cream but wasn't very interested in eating the actual cake. It was a nice little party with a few friends we've made since we arrived. Our friend Tim took some great pictures of the kids. After the party was over, I drove around a bit hoping to find Riley. No luck. But later that night, Olivia found a hopeful sign on the kitchen floor...a little ladybug!
I considered this an omen that the dog would be found. Afterall, how often is it that you find a ladybug in your kitchen in the middle of winter?
We spent the next two days hanging flyers, and placing "Lost Pet" reports with the SPCA and local police departments. Monday morning, we visited one of the SPCA shelters hoping she had been turned in. Although we didn't see her there, a lady who saw the ad I placed on Craigslist emailed me at the end of the day that she had seen a puggle listed on the SPCA's website. George called, they asked him a few questions, and they told him that it must be our dog. He stopped there on his way home from work and brought Riley home.
So, this tumultuous weekend did have a happy ending. Despite smushed cake and a lost dog, everything turned out ok. Olivia still got to blow out her candles, and we're all back together again.
Lately when people have been asking Olivia how old she is, she says, "three in February."
We had a mini-party for Olivia on Monday to celebrate her third birthday. We had originally scheduled party for her on Sunday, but we had to postpone that because Olivia came down with a cold earlier in the week. We didn't want any of the party attendants getting sick so we pushed that party back to next weekend. She got to have some cake and open some presents. Nate enjoyed the festivities also. A big thank you to our family members that sent cards and gifts. She had a wonderful time opening everything.
Hot Chocolate! Just what I always wanted! Just kidding, that was just the box that Nanny wrapped her cow rain boots in. They even have little cow tails on them. She also got stickers, a rain coat, a new outfit, and some card games.
When she opened Cookie's present, she shouted, " Dora Saves the Three Little Pigs!" She was so excited to finally get a Dora DVD.
Grandma and Grandpa's package was packed with a Backyardigans guitar that Nate loves, a microphone, a quacker, a slinky and some gummy treats. She was so excited about the Jelly Bellys that she didn't want to eat her cake.
Here come's Daddy singing to his girl.
She started blowing out the candles before he even set the cake down.
When the cake was safely on the table, she leaned forward and took a big bite out of the frosting!
Nate enjoying his cake. Both his Nanny and his Grandma sent him a present. That was so nice.
This was a fun birthday. She really got excited about opening presents, blowing out her candles, and eating the cake. I asked her, "how does it feel to be three now?" and she replied, "great!"
Livy got to have popcorn AND cotton candy! How could Daddy say no? When asked what her favorite part of the show was, she said, "seeing Eggo." She can't quite pronounce Diego yet. George said his favorite part was the way they did the character "The Map" Apparently she looked like a big rolled up map with the face cut out so the actor's face would show through. He said it was really cute. He was surprised that they put the Dora actress in a little fat suit so that she'd look as if she was a tad bit plump, just like Dora. It's always interesting to see how they bring cartoon characters to life on stage. It was quite the fun evening outing for Olivia and George. She's so lucky to have a daddy that looks forward to spending time with her at things like this!
