happy birthday, baby

the bean is just as much of a birthday princess as her mother.  maybe even more so (is that even possible?).  the festivities began the day before the big day, as she and her sister got to work stuffing goody bags to hand out to her classmates.

that night, we snapped a quick "last photo before turning 6" shot.

after she went to bed, super excited at the knowledge that when she woke up the next morning, she'd be a 6-year-old, the teen and i got to work.  it was late enough that we were still at it when the hub got home from the cigar lounge, and he got in on the birthday fairy action too.

she appeared at my bedside in the middle of the night though, having been scared in her sleep by a bad dream.  i pulled her into the bed with me and there we slept until the next morning.  she woke up extra early, whispering "mommy, it's my birthday!"  and when she got wiggly, she said "i want to go look at my room."  i knew she'd probably caught a glimpse of it when she got out of bed, and it was fun to watch her delight at the balloons and streamers we'd put up.

her special request for birthday breakfast was an old favorite - red velvet pancakes.

i may have put together a couple of birthday hair clips for the occasion, too.

and because it's pure torture to have a table full of brightly wrapped birthday presents and not be able to open them just yet, i let her pick out a small one before we left for school.

back at home, the teen helped me frost and decorate the cupcakes i'd made to take into her classroom.  and yes, they sure were red velvet.  my kid is nothing if not consistent.

costco pizza is the best.  we picked up our preordered pizzas, cut into small slices specially for the wee ones in her class, and headed over to the school.  hanging on the classroom door was this:

and inside, the kids all ooh'ed and aah'ed over the sight of us walking in with a special lunch just for them.  the bean was absolutely glowing with happiness.

every kid in her class gets to take this bag and bear home on their birthday.  it's a fun little treat courtesy of her teacher, who also packs a few little surprises for them to keep inside the bag, and then the bag and bear are returned the next day so that they can be prepared for the next birthday celebrant.

later, she was thrilled when i told her i was going to let her skip dance class this week in favor of hanging out at home and relaxing with her grandma, who came home just for her birthday.  the hub got home early too, and we all gathered 'round to watch her open her presents at last.

the aftermath.

she got to pick where we went for dinner that night.  after giving it some thought, she settled on "the restaurant with the snow on the roof."

it was a lovely dinner, capped off with a stop at baskin robbins for some dessert.  no, we didn't do cake - but we will on saturday when we have her party with all of her friends.

and for those of you who are anticipating my usual pinterest-y blowout bash, i'm sorry to say that you'll be quite disappointed.  the jumpy place where she wanted to have her party doesn't really give me much time to prep and decorate and get all crazy with the party room, and so it's going to be a pretty low-key gathering this year.  i think i'm relieved, especially since these parties in years past have always been super stressful and hectic, but i admit i'm going to miss the craziness a little.

don't worry, though.  it'll still be fun and exciting, and i'll still take a bazillion pictures to share.  you know this, man.