Dana Brielle turns FIVE!!

So Dana turned 5 last month! I can't believe my little girl is going to be starting all day kindergarten in two short months! What will I do without her, oh, that's right, I'll have a newborn plus mischevious little Kimmy to keep me occupied. She loves to hold my hand and is always offering to give me foot massages - lotion and everything. She is very empathetic and can just can sense when others are unhappy and goes out of her way to help them feel better. She loves to help around the house with chores or cooking and especially taking care of her little sister Kimmy. She can't wait for the new baby to be born so she can help change it and feed it. Dana's birthday was such a fun day. For her birthday breakfast she got to have french toast with strawberries and whip cream made by Daddy: The she got to open a new birthday outfit:

Then she got to go on a date, just her and Mommy to the mall. We had to make a stop at "her store" which is actually Claire's boutique so she could pick out a new present. I loved this hat, but she chose a diary with a lock and key instead...could she be 5 going on 15?

After the mall, we got to go see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D, again just the two of us. Dana is such a sweet girl with such a sweet heart, I loved having the chance to do something with just her. For her birthday cake, she wanted to get an ice cream cake, and Baskin Robbins had just the perfect one for her. It was pink and shaped like a purse. Too cute!

Of course, Nate couldn't wait to dive into the cake!(She was having a great hair day, don't you think? Kate needs the CHI Jed ;)) After cake, Kimmy had to go to bed because it was already after 8. So it was just Nate and Dana for the opening of the presents. I realize that it looks like from these pictures that Dana got a massive amount of presents, so I feel the need to clarify. The presents in her pile include those from both sets of grandparents and quite a few from Mom and Dad were much needed clothes, which I decided to wrap up to make it look like she had more. Jared said she is going to look back at these pictures next year and say "36? 36 presents? Last year, last year I had 37!!!" (for those who don't know that was a Harry Potter reference).

Of course, her favorite present was this one:

It was a great birthday, we are so happy and blessed to have her as a part of our family. Life wouldn't be half as fun without her.

To quote Dana: "This was the best day of my life. I got everything of my heart's desire!"