Lily Bean Turns Five

On this day five years ago, the Lord blessed us with our sweet Lily Bean.  She woke up on her birthday ready to be five.  It wasn’t long before the phone began ringing.  Her first call of the day of course came from her BFF, Margaret Anne.
  After church we got busy preparing for Lily’s party.  One of her favorite days at school is pajama day and she was elated at the mention of having a pajama party.  So above you see Daddy cooking pancakes and sausage for 16 preschoolers.    We decorated with paper teddy bears, stars and moons.    Lily insisted on wearing her favorite polar bear PJ’s which are two sizes too big.  What the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets!   As our friends showed up, they searched around the room for a teddy bear with their name on it, then decorated their bear.  Next we were off for a scavenger hunt!.  The kiddos each picked a clue to where their goodie bags were hidden.   They had a blast running through the house chasing after each clue. This is where Lily keeps the PJ’s that she wears.
As you can see, her favorites are the ones with polar bears.   This is where Lily and her daddy like to grow plants.                                      Be careful on the way not to get dirt on your pants. This keeps Lily’s mommy and daddy cool.                                                        Ask an adult to help, they may need a stool.   Once all the goodies were found, we settled into a yummy meal of pancakes, sausage and fruit.  It is amazing to me how much breakfast food children will eat.  It’s a good thing Daddy made that extra batch of pancakes.
Time for cake.    We couldn’t have pulled off this party without the help of Gabby and Maggie.  It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating their 5th birthdays.   We did something super cute this year for opening presents.  (I found this idea online – how did anyone ever plan birthday parties without the internet?)  Lily sat in a big chair and the children lined up in front of her.  She then drew a name out of a bag and that child came up and sat with her while she opened his or her present.  This kept the chaos to a minimum and both Lily and the gift-giver loved it.
   Then it was up to the playroom with glow sticks.   A few games of duck, duck, goose and everyone headed home.   Lily Bean, you are a blessed little girl with so many special friends in your life. 

Happy 5th Birthday, Bean