Parker turned seven this year and had a wonderful couple of days celebrating with family!
For her birthday date, she wanted to go to the rec center to swim. Because of swim hours, we ended up going the night before. Our van also was still getting fixed (our power steering was broken), so we had to borrow a car, but it all worked out.
Parker loved swimming. We took off her floatie to have her do a little swim lesson with Ben, but she still has a hard time putting her face under the water. She mostly swam around with her floatie on. She loves the lazy river area and had a lot of fun playing a chase game with me there.
After swimming, we stopped at Wendy's and got her a chocolate frosty with fries.
After she went to bed, I decorated. I don't always do this, but I really like to get the decorations for their birthday up while they're sleeping so they wake up to them. Parker loved coming down and seeing it all.
Oliver and the kids had a lot of fun with the balloons!
You can also see Jon in the background. He drove back with us and stayed for Parker's birthday, which she loved.
Another tradition we have is making (or sometimes buying) donuts. I had gotten the fry donuts all formed when Parker informed me she didn't like those and only liked chocolate cake donuts, so I decided to do chocolate donuts as well.
They all turned out yummy and Parker liked both the fry donuts and the chocolate donuts.
Uncle Jon gave Parker "sticker stackers", that made different foods. It occupied the girls all afternoon while we were getting ready for the family to come over.
We only do friend parties occasionally, but I always let the girls pick a theme that we decorate around for their family birthday party. This year, Parker chose Bluey.
I like to do balloons and streamers in the living room. In the kitchen, we move our table and put a banner behind where the birthday child sits. Then I do some decorations on the table and the kids color pictures to decorate the wall by the table. It's fun for me to theme it, but is also simple enough that it's not overwhelming.
Parker got a lot of cards from grandparents with money in it, and she got a kite, binoculars, and a painting apron from another grandma. When she opened it, she said, "I've always wanted a kite!" From her aunt Melissa, she got an art kit and a makeup kit and was super excited for both.
Another tradition I've started recently is taking a picture of the kids' drawings before we throw them away. Then for their birthday, I make them a Shutterfly book of their art from the previous year. They always really love it and it helps us not need to keep all their art around.
When Ashtyn was two, we started the tradition of doing a birthday date instead of a big gift. I still like them to have something to open from us, though, so we started another tradition of getting them a book (or a couple of books 😅) for their birthday. This year, I had actually gotten Parker a couple of princess books because I wasn't sure what to do. Then I found out that Ada Twist (on Netflix) was originally a book and knew that Parker would love them. I love how excited she was when she opened them 💗
Parker asked for an Oreo cake and Oreo ice cream. I had made her an Oreo cake the year before and it was a lot of work. We had had a lot going on, so I asked if she would want some Oreo ice cream cakes instead. It was more expensive, but she loved it and it was super easy for me.
Happy birthday to Parker!
Rylee and Navy are only a few months apart and we sure love Navy 💗
Oliver loved the ice cream cake! He is all for birthdays!
Parker had such a wonderful time celebrating. My goal with birthdays is to make the child feel special and loved. I love the traditions that have grown with our family and love celebrating each child! We are so glad that Parker is part of our family 💗
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