the balloon fairy strikes again

it was noon by the time the bean finally got home after her friend's birthday sleepover.  i'm not gonna lie, it was really weird not to have her wake up in her own room on her actual birthday.  and we'd discussed it earlier that week when she realized that she wasn't going to see the handiwork of the "birthday balloon fairy" this time around.

"mom, can we still have the balloon fairy come this year even though i won't be there?  pleeeeeeaaaaasssseeeee?"

i mean, who could resist that?  certainly not me.

being the procrastinator that i am, i hadn't wrapped a single one of the gifts we'd bought for her.  i'd started gathering things to give her and tucked them away in our room, and so that morning i pulled it all out and started wrapping them all using the rainbows and unicorns paper i'd bought at target along with the few party decorations we'd used at the go-karting place.  and you know what's kinda awesome about having the party the day before her birthday + waiting till the last minute to wrap presents?  you get to reuse the gift bags...and even some of the tissue.  heh.

she was a little bummed to leave her friends after they'd spent the morning swimming and hanging out in the jacuzzi, but she was excited to see what was in store for her back at home.  she walked in the door, squealed when she saw the pile of presents on the table, and headed right for her room.

after changing into some dry clothes, she emerged from her room ready to get started on the business of opening presents.  i gave her the birthday medal we'd gotten the day before:

and then she tore into the first little package.

as she went through all of the gifts, she had quite the adoring audience.

there was even a bit of cheering happening behind the scenes.

the rainbow poop emoji reverse sequined t-shirt was a big hit.

so was the giant bag containing a couple of new huggable friends that she'd been coveting for weeks.

there was pusheen the cat EVERYTHING.

strangely enough, the item at the top of her birthday wish list this year was a zen garden.  she was pretty excited when she opened it, and promptly handed it to her sister to get it set up.

the piece de resistance was a stack of ten birthday cards from her beloved grandparents, each containing a handwritten sentiment and some cold, hard cash.  the last one was a fun pull-out card that featured the birthday song...sung by cats.  hilarious.

this year's haul (not including gifts from her friends at the party):

after that, it was time to head out and have some birthday lunch at the neighborhood olive garden.  she's obsessed with eating here for some reason, while the rest of us groaned inwardly and went with the flow.  for some reason the joint is always crazy packed, and we were quoted an hour-long wait when we got there.  oy vey.  although the complimentary glass of wine we were served once we were seated helped a little.

we followed that up with a pitcher of their green apple sangria, which smelled and tasted like a jolly rancher.

we were joined by one of her BFFs, and they were super excited to hang out again.

she also made sure to sit next to the old lady's special friend, who she adores.

birthday sweets:

as soon as we got home, we got started on a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies to take to cheer practice.  the first sunday practice of the year happened to fall on her birthday, and she was excited to bring some treats to share with her teammates.  she did pretty much everything from measuring to mixing to scooping, and all i did was put the sheets into the oven and take them back out again.

we rounded out the day with dinner at the local teppan grill restaurant.  she couldn't decide between sushi and steak for her birthday dinner, and i suggested it thinking that she could get both in the same place.  she was a pretty happy camper at the idea.

we all giggled at the chef's cart for the table next to us:

ever had a coconut martini?  i hadn't either, until just then.  i gotta say, it was pretty darn tasty.

there was the usual show - volcano + "fireworks," the "egg roll," and of course the beating heart of fried rice:

which then turned into a cross between mickey mouse and deadmau.

mmmmm, meat.

and of course, what's a birthday dinner without a silly hat?

birthday dessert was tempura-fried green tea ice cream and a green tea ice cream macaron sandwich.

one last group pic:

and then we went home, tucked her into bed and that was that.  birthday princess 2017 is officially over, for all of us.  whew!