After our little excursion to the park, Danny and I put the kids to bed. We told Sophie she needed all the energy she could get to turn 4 years old the next day! After we were sure she was asleep, we decorated the kitchen for her. For weeks, Sophie said she wanted two things for her birthday. She wanted to get Princess Candy Land from Claire, and she wanted flowers from me. I figured she'd be pretty excited to wake up to flowers on her birthday.
She was definitely excited! Danny and I listened as Claire woke up first, saw the kitchen, and ran in to get Sophie. We heard their "oohs" and "ahhs" and excited squeals, and then the pitter-patter of their bare feet running through the kitchen towards our room. Sophie jumped up on my side of the bed, threw her arms around me and said, "I can't believe you did that for me, Mom!" I figured that was a pretty good start to her birthday. :)
Since we have 11 o'clock church, there was time to make a special birthday breakfast for our birthday girl. Sophie chose pancakes, and Daddy upped the ante by trying out the Buttermilk Caramel Syrup from the "Our Best Bites" cookbook.
It's literally pouring candy over your pancakes. Simply. Delicious!
We enjoyed a rambunctious Sacrament Meeting (the consequence of feeding the kids sugar for breakfast), and Sophie loved Primary, where they sang "Happy Birthday" to her and she got to pick a birthday prize. Once church was over, we hustled home to get ready for Sophie's birthday dinner and some very special guests. We invited Grandpa Richard and Grandma Ruth Ann to join us for dinner, and since Sophie is our little Pizza Monster, she chose homemade pizza for her dinner. We had a lot of work to do to get all the dough rising and toppings ready! Danny and I had big plans, including three pizzas. On the menu was a cheese pizza for the kids, with a homemade tomato pizza sauce, a Chicken Bacon Artichoke pizza for the adults with a homemade Alfredo sauce, and a Sausage and Roasted Red Bell Pepper pizza to top it off. Things were hectic, but were going well. We had three sets of dough rising at the proper time intervals to have each pizza in and out of the oven at the right time. I was feeling flustered when Danny said, "Uh, Sweetheart? I think I ruined your dough." I looked at him, with not the happiest look, and he continued to tell me that he had only put 1 teaspoon of yeast in the dough instead of the 1 tablespoon that the recipe called for. All the dough had to be thrown out and we started over, now behind schedule. I was not a happy camper. But Danny kept his cool, and we managed to get two more sets of dough rising, and we decided to make the two adult pizzas with a thin crust, so we didn't have to make a third batch of dough. Things were going to work out after all.
Grandpa Richard and Grandma Ruth Ann came bearing gifts, and Sophie figured she could open some presents while she waited for her pizza to be done. :) Grandpa Richard delivered with a much anticipated "Toys R Us" gift card and assorted goodies. Sophie can't wait to do some of her own shopping!
Finally, the pizzas were done and we all enjoyed some delicious pizza. Good choice, Sophie-kins!
We visited for a while after dinner, and Grandpa and Grandma played in the yard with the kids. But then it was time for Grandpa Richard and Grandma Ruth Ann to head home. We're so grateful they came to celebrate Sophie's special day with us, and we're glad we live so much closer now. We look forward to many more meals together.
But with the end of one party came the preparation for another! We had the rest of our local family coming to the house that evening for cake and presents, and we were scrambling to get set up. Papa and Aunt Katie came with Great Grandma Lovell (Grandma was in California still), Grandma Candy and Uncle Matt, Aunt Jenny, Isabelle, Eli and Ava came, along with Uncle David, Aunt Camillia, Ruby and Lucy. Danny's cousin Michael even drove down from Provo to hang out for the evening. All in honor of Sophie! She ate it all up. But better than all the company were the presents! :)
As always, Sophie made a haul! She got a story book for bedtime from Mom and Dad, along with some fun arctic animal puppets and a big cake decorating Play Doh set. From Claire, Johnny, and Luke she received...wait for it...Princess Candy Land! Big surprise there. :) Grandma Candy got her an awesome giant floor princess puzzle and princess dress-ups, and Isabelle, Eli, and Ava got her a Snow White tea set! Perfect for tea parties! I think there may have been other gifts, but at this point I can't remember. I do remember that as soon as Grandma Call got back from California, she took Sophie out to a special birthday lunch at Chick-Fil-A (Sophie's favorite) and bought her a birthday book and magic wand craft. Sophie loved her belated birthday celebration with her Grandma.
And we opened one extra special present for Daddy while everyone was together. Happy Birthday Daddy! :) Go Cougars!
After presents, of course, comes cake!! Sophie chose a Tinkerbell Fairy cake this year, which came with fairy rings. I think that may have been the motivation behind her choice. ;) But whatever makes her happy! And this cake did just that. And just like we've done in years past, we threw a couple extra candles on for Daddy. :)
The cake and ice cream was delicious! And we loved having everyone in our home to celebrate our September birthdays. Danny and I have been dreaming of the day when everyone would gather at our home for our family's events for a long time, and it was immensely satisfying to see that day finally come. Have I mentioned how much we love our home? ;)
And with that, Sophie's birthday came to an end. We sure love our Sophie Anne, and we are so excited to see what this next year in her life brings. Happy Birthday, Sophie Anne!
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