Caroline Turns Four!

We had a wonderful family celebration for Caroline's fourth birthday! Here are her cards, all lined up on the china cabinet.

It's a poor photo, but I put Caroline's one year, two year, and three year old photos on the table where we arranged the food. We had Chick-fil-A nuggets, potato salad made by my mom, fruit salad, veggies with dip, pita chips with hummus, and shrimp cocktail.

I also made a cake for Caroline - chocolate with "pink sugar icing," as she requested again this year. The icing is strawberry - yum! Caroline got the honor of licking one of the beaters while I frosted the cake.

I had to include this picture because I thought it was funny. This is Tyke, my brother's dog, up on the back of the couch where my dad was sitting. My dad kept eyeing the dog suspiciously as it sat behind his head.

Caroline's party guests were both sets of grandparents and Uncle Mike and Aunt Crystal... and Tyke, of course.

Caroline got lots of fun gifts. Here she is opening a bag from Uncle Mike and Aunt Crystal - she got Model Magic, bath crayons and dyes, and a couple Spring craft kits. She already had fun making a bunny today!

Here she is getting ready to open a git from Uncle Tim. He had visited our parents a week ago and left his gift to Caroline with them so they could bring it to her on her birthday.

A new book, Joseph and Chico, and some holy cards - Tim got them at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Alabama, where he and some fellow seminarians had recently visited. I had been eyeing this book for awhile and am looking forward to reading it myself!

Here is Caroline with her bag from Gran and Grandad. She got all kinds of goodies from them including leggings, pajamas, socks, colored pencils, and hair clips!

Here she is opening her gift from Gramma and Grampa - it was a set of dress-up clothes based on the book character Fancy Nancy. See below for a photo of her all dressed up!

A gift from Cecilia (okay, I bought it in reality): musical instruments! A tambourine, maracas, and a jingle bell thing. Caroline said, "Now we can play marching band!" Daddy replied jokingly, "That will be a good thing to play when I'm at work!"

Here is Caroline blowing out her candles on her cake. I am sad to say I missed this moment. Cecilia had woken after a brief time of napping and I went to resettle her and told everyone to just go ahead with the cake if they wanted.

This is how she looks all dressed up in her new clothes. She wore some of them out to dinner at Gondolier that night for a birthday dinner with the grandparents!

The big gift from Mommy and Daddy was a new bike with training wheels. We didn't actually get a photo of her with it, though, because we were busy videotaping her as she tried it out for the first time!

Caroline with Gramma and Grampa

Caroline with Gran
(Grandad was outside with Daddy at this point , finishing the replacement roof on one of the storage sheds)

Caroline, I cannot believe you are already FOUR!! Where has the time gone? You are growing up into a very special girl! We love you!!