The Day Of...

Allie's 5th Birthday!

I always start her day with balloons (the picture is dark because my Princess is still sleeping).

I got this tradition from my friend, Laura.

In sticking with tradition, we headed out to Mall of America with my mom, Grandma Kathie.

You will remember, last year, we did the same (well, almost).

This year, My friend, Nikki, over at Baby Belle, made Allie a #5 shirt to sport on her special day.

This year, we did the mall without a stroller.  Just hand in hand with grandma.

This year, we learned grandma's heart doesn't quite work like it used to and we were so thankful to have her here to enjoy our day together.

This year, grandma thoroughly enjoyed each ride she was able to go on and so did Allie.

This year, we ate at the American Girl store.

Allie had her American Girl all dressed up and ready to go and we forgot it at home.

Not to be left in the cold (Frozen Tundra), they had dolls you could borrow.

The food was AMAZING!  The service was OUTSTANDING!  The company was BEAUTIFUL!

This year, my Princess went on the swings...ALONE!

This year, Allie made a Build A Bear.  She named her Velvety Pup, Tug of War.

There were two pups in a display playing tug of war and thus she named her pup.  Clever.

This year, Allie claimed, "this is the best Birthday EVER!"

This year, we topped the day off with Arby's for dinner (Allie's choice).

We even had Chocolate Turnovers, which doubled as Birthday cake!