Annie turns 5!

September 24 was Annie's 5th birthday. Five. I know I sound like a broken record, but wow - has it really been 5 years since we first laid eyes on that pretty little baby with the dark hair, long eyelashes, and pink rosebud lips?! She was such a sweet little thing. Still is. We are blessed to call her our daughter.

She had a Tinkerbell birthday party on the 22nd. She invited all of her younger cousins (didn't think the 11 through 13 year olds would be offended if we didn't include them), and 4 friends - Paige, Oakley, Hannah, and Abby, a new friend from preschool. Birthday parties are always crazy at our house since the kids have so many cousins, but it was fun, if chaotic.

Then on her actual birthday, she had a field trip to Black Island Farms scheduled for preschool. We let Ethan stay home from school that day and come with us. There is a ton to do there - corn mazes, slides, hay rides, a train. It is was a lot of fun.

With her cute friend Abby on the hay ride

Check out that pose - she tries to do it in every picture!

We went to lunch at Subway. We don't do fast food very often, and the kids have never been there before. We asked Annie why she chose it, and she said she had always wanted to try it, so there you go!

Then off to the Layton Mall for the big events - making her own stuffed animal at the Teddy Bear Stuffn' Factory (a Build-a-Bear clone - don't tell Annie. She thinks she went to Build-a-Bear.), and getting her ears pierced! Aaron and I always said that we wouldn't pierce our girls' ears until they were old enough to ask for it and really want it, and Annie did. She told me about 6 months ago that she wanted to do it when she turned 5, and she didn't forget.

The Stuffn' Factory was okay. Annie had fun, but there wasn't really much to it. Put the filling in the animal, get a birth certificate, the end. She picked a pink and white puppy (of course) and named her I Love You Puppy.

I was nervous when it came time for ear piercing, but Annie did great. The girl who did it was worried since she was the only one working that day, so they couldn't do both ears at one time. But Annie didn't even flinch. No tears, nothing. She just asked for a mirror so she could see her pink sparkly star earrings. What a trooper - already willing to suffer for fashion's sake.

All in all, a busy and fun 5th birthday for Annie-Belle.