Hello, Birthday!

Olivia turned five last month.  She asked for a Hello Kitty cake, so we built a party around a Hello Kitty theme.  It took me much longer than it should have to make this cake:

One of the activities was coloring flags from different countries and learning how to say, "hello" in the language of those countries.  We learned it in Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, French, Nepalese, Samoan, Welsh, and Nigerian.  

We also played a game of "Pin the Whiskers on Hello Kitty."

And gave out gold medals to all the participants.

Brigham was great getting them involved in the games.  Olivia's cousin Kate gave her a hula hoop, which was used for some impromptu competitions.  And I couldn't have pulled it off with Julie's help--decorating that cake took forever!--getting the last minute things done.

I believe that fun was had by most.

A couple weeks ago, Olivia used her birthday money (and a bit from Mom and Dad) to purchase a scooter. I could have ordered it online and saved $10, but I wanted her to develop a better understanding of the concept of money.  I wanted her to have to hand over her own money and realize that she was "trading" it for the scooter and wouldn't have it anymore.  I think she sort of got it.  And she loves her scooter!  She rides it around the house everyday.  I missed a great photo opportunity last week when she was riding it while wearing her new Hello Kitty nightgown, her bicycle helmet, and an eye patch.