Sophie had both grandmas here to celebrate and she was spoiled by everyone… new clothes, new toys, new books- she was in heaven.  She even got he Pocahontas doll she has been dying for.  It was a great birthday for my cutie 5 year old!

We have such a good time, going to the A’s games is going to be something I miss quite a bit… though, Jeff says if they make it to the World Series we might have to use our home visit to go to the games!

I think she is the cutest little soccer player ever- she ran herself ragged!

We started with decorating dresses for Hello Kitty dolls.

After that we went outside to hunt for Hello Kitty’s missing flowers… oh goodness those girls were good at finding things!  It must have been all the Easter Egg hunts- practice pays off!

Then we played a dress-up relay race… the girls had to put on a dress, 2 necklaces and a pair of high heel shoes and run to the basketball hoop and back- then give the outfit to the next person in line.

 While we were playing games Jeff and Andy were inside grilling up Hello Kitty shaped cheese sandwiches.  All that running made the girls super hungry.

The last game we played was a balloon popping game.  I was worried some of the girls would be more mad that their balloons were in danger of being popped- but they all seemed to love it.

Then we ended with cake and presents!

I can’t, unfortunately explain Sophie’s goofy face in the majority of those pictures… it appears that is her smile at the moment!  We love Sophie’s friends… they are just so fun and cute!

Some thoughts about my sweet Sophie:

She is my emotional girl, she has such huge highs and lows and really feels everything- it is so frustrating and so sweet all at the same time.  She really feels for someone who is hurt or sad, and really tries to do the right thing all the time (though it is hard for her).

She is such a stubborn girl, she wants what she wants and won’t ever let you forget it.  She has the memory of an elephant (assuming they really don’t forget!).  Don’t ever tell her you will do something unless you plan on doing it- she will remember until the end of time and bring it up when you would like her to most forget it!

She is becoming more adventurous in her eating- she used to be so picky, but thanks to Mrs. Perona Sophie is willing to try new foods and even eat (heaven forbid)… CHICKEN!  For her birthday dinner I told her I would make anything she wants.  Her request:  Strawberries, fruit and grilled cheese sandwiches- sold!

She loves her family and friends, and is loyal.  She LOVES her little cousins, and has had so much fun playing with them and taking care of them- she wants to be in charge oh so bad.  She takes such good care of her sister and worries about her, and tries to do speech therapy with her and be her cheerleader for potty training, speech and life.  I love that she loves Violet so much.

We love you Sophie May, you are such a joy in our lives, such a sweet spirit, and we are so grateful that you were put into our care.  Love you tons baby girl!  Happy Birthday!

After I got over the shock and said hi to everyone Norma and Kelly got the party started.  We divided into 4 teams and were told the rules of the evening.  Every team was given a basket of “must use” ingredients, and then we had a small contest to pick a protein… our team could not get the Oreo off our forehead (Minute to Win It style)… so we got last pick- salmon.  Then we had 30 minutes to cook and plate a winning sandwich to present the judges.  Our team was a little bummed about our salmon- but we came up with what we termed a “pan-Asian marinade” and pressed forward.  Our fish ended up being DELICIOUS!

We all finished on time and presented our dishes to the esteemed judges (Ned, Patti, Norma, Ryan and Grandad).  We thought we had a good chance at winning, but we were robbed (we blame being done first and presenting last… our sandwich got cold- that and the winning team somehow won with their side salad- we didn’t know we were making side dishes!) and didn’t win… sad day.  Everyone seemed into their cooking task and appeared to have fun!  I had a great time, and enjoyed our “Chopped/Top Chef” competition.

All the teams had made additional sandwiches, so we had the chance to celebrate everyone’s entries.  For dessert: Kara’s Cupcakes… my favorite cupcakes… yum!

It was such a fun night and, really, such a giant surprise… I had no idea (I say this because everyone keeps asking me- Jeff did a good job covering it up… until that night- then his story starting falling apart.  Luckily, at that point, I just wasn’t paying enough attention!).  Thank you to those who helped put it all together… especially Kelly and Norma (that’s her in the awesome hat)!  They did a ton of work, and got everything put together and running smoothly.  Thanks to Jeffrey as well, I can’t believe he pulled off something this big.  My 30′s can’t be bad starting with something as fun as this!

The next day our play group (church friends) had a HUGE Easter Egg Hunt at a friends house.  Jacki was so awesome to host all of us… and the kids had a great time… there were SO many eggs.

Then this morning we had a visit from the Easter Bunny!  He brought mermaid tails for the girls… unfortunately he measured the waists wrong and will need to fix that in the future… if you has his number can you leave a comment?!?  The girls and cousin Jordan wore their new outfits from Grandma and were adorable!

After church we headed over to Grammy’s house for Easter dinner and more Easter baskets!  Some kiddies were super spoiled this year… that bunny was everywhere around Concord.  The itty-bitties had a lot of fun and way too much sugar (it has all been put away for special occassions… but they had full reign this weekend).

We had a great Easter.  A smaller crowd than usual, but still so much fun.  We love living so close to family (and we love family that comes to visit us).