Katie's 4th Birthday Extravaganza!

It's time to finally get caught up with all the events surrounding Katie's 4th birthday! We started the celebrations with the 2nd Annual Daddy-Daughter Dinner, where Katie gets a special dinner out with her daddy the night before her birthday. Our only rule for the dinner: she has to pick a new location every year. Her choice-of-the-year? None other than Subway!! (Nice cheap date, huh? Can't wait until she's a teenager and starts demanding 4-star restaurants in the city...)

Anyway, she had a fabulous actual January 4th, as well. She proudly took in cupcakes to preschool, where she was treated like a rock star for the day. The kids and teachers sang to her, she got to pass out the cupcakes, and she got a special birthday hat to wear for the day. She was on Cloud 9 when we picked her up at lunchtime. Later, Daddy came home from work early so that we could have her favorite dinner (Taco Soup), more cupcakes, and the present opening. That was when she got the big "surprise" of the night...her brand-new bike and helmet! (Please, Mother Nature, let a nice spring thaw begin. She has already run into the walls, her little brother, and the back of our legs trying to ride that darn thing inside.)

Finally, we hosted our first-ever actual birthday party for her this year. Since we have major space issues in our tiny condo, we allowed her to invite four friends over for cake and pizza. Unfortunately, one of her buddies bowed out with illness, but the rest of us totally rocked out to a prince/princess theme. The kids had a blast doing a craft project, playing with tons of toys, telling "Knock-Knock" jokes (4-year-olds definitely need some work on this), and leaving the party with their own sword and shield. We only had one minor injury (head to the wall) and a few tears, so...all in all...it was a major success!!

Phew, our holiday season is officially over and we can relax a little. Bring it on, #5!! Oh, and please feel free to look at pictures spanning all three events in our photo album to the right.