The big four year old celebration stuff.

The past few days have been jam packed with birthday celebrations. We had two evenings with family at our house, a celebratory well-check (complete with FOUR four-year-old shots), and a princess ballet party, to boot. I'd say she's as officially four as a kid can get.

We started her birthday morning with surprise decorations all over the house...and Daddy even surprised me with an extra dozen balloons outside. The girls just sat and looked at them in awe. Then, we had a surprise breakfast with our neighbor friends, Tyler and Riley, at Krispy Kreme!
Thursday and Friday evening we had family to our house for dinner, cake and presents. I made Hailey's cake, and she seemed to like it! She blew all four candles out on her first try, which surprised the heck out of her.

Keelyn also enjoyed the cake, as she wolfed it down in basically one bite.

Hailey has been asking for these boots now for weeks. They were among her favorite presents, which seem to include every single one.

Birthday hug.

Birthday tent. A tent which the kids now eat in, watch cartoons in, read books in, jump on pillows in, and beg to sleep in.

Hailey got all kinds of special attention at preschool last week. The most exciting thing to her (other than the brownies I made for her to share with the class) was her turn at the "mystery bag." Each week a different classmate gets to take home the bag, and on Friday, they bring it in filled with items from home that match the monthly theme, to have a show and tell of their own. This month's themes are fire safety and pumpkins, so Hailey took in her fire hat, and her Five Little Pumpkins book. She also took in princess stickers, because she is pretty sure that her birthday is also a monthly class theme.

On Saturday, we had a princess ballet party at Hailey's dance studio, taught by her own ballet teacher, Miss Sandra. This was heaven for Hailey.

Her favorite princess of the week is Snow White. I made her a dress, because at first she wanted to be "Princess Hailey." But then she wanted to be Snow White AND Princess Hailey...so her dress has a Snow White emblem on the front. And there you go. When I tried it on her to make sure it could slip on and off easily, I had yet to make the straps. She insisted it stay strapless, as that is how Princess Hailey wears her dresses. And there you go, again. Behold, Princess Hailey-Snow-White.

And Princess Minnie Mouse, who thought princess ballet class was very cool.

Many little princesses. See Hailey having fun with her girls. See Keelyn trying to get everyone to participate. She spent a good deal of time passing out batons and scarves, and telling grown-ups, "'m-on".

Flying on the parachute.

Adults included. (Cooper came home for the birthday celebrations, which made it extra special.)

Princess train. Hailey LOVES being the front of the train.

Princess snacks and cupcakes.

My first attempt at a group photo.

My next attempt at a group photo, made into a "group" with a little help from PhotoShop.

Pretty, pretty four-year-old princess, all tuckered out.