Happy Birthday, Natalie!

I really hate that my baby is five. I'm not ready. Five is so much older than four.

"I'm five!" she exclaimed as she sat up in her bed this morning. Unfortunately, her enthusiasm was quickly squelched when she discovered that her birthday party was not going to happen today. (It's scheduled for Saturday.) She got really sad and decided it must not be her "real" birthday afterall.

Though she'll have to wait four more days to celebrate with all her friends, she got enough pampering to make her big day feel special. And she got to experience it all with her very best friend, Emma.

I picked the girls up from school and headed for McDonald's. On the way there Natalie warned Emma that "my mom doesn't buy Happy Meals." She knows that I am normally opposed to spending money on a meal in which much of the food will be wasted and the cheap toy will find its way into my garbage within a couple of days. But, not every day is your birthday.


The girls knew I had a surprise for them after lunch but they couldn't guess what. They were thrilled when we arrived at the nail shop and they got to sit in their teddy bear pedicure chairs.

They both said that putting their feet in the water was their favorite part.

They got to watch a Barbie movie and eat suckers while their fingers and toes got the royal treatment. Natalie picked green with hearts for her toes and pink with flowers for her fingers. So cute!

After gymnastics, Natalie chose Wendy's for dinner and then we came home for birthday cake.

A slice of cherry chip cake and five trips through the spanking machine made her birthday complete.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!