Bethany's Birthday

Bethany's birthday was a really good day. It didn't start out so good, though. She started complaining the day before that her ear was hurting, so I took her to the doctor that morning. She's doing much better with doctors, but it's still not her favorite thing, and barely cooperated with him looking in her ear. She does have another ear infection, so we got some antibiotics and went home. All in all, it was a decent doctor's appointment--very quick and relatively painless.

We'd been home for about twenty minutes when I thought we were going to have to go back, though, this time for Meagan. When we got home, I went into the kitchen to start making Bethany's cake. The girls decided to dance in the living room, so I turned on some music for them. I was just finished cleaning up and getting ready to start the cake, when Meagan started screaming. I went in the living room, and she was huddled on the floor, clutching her foot. I never figured out what happened, but Bethany was apologizing to her, so I'm guessing Bethany stepped on it or something. Anyway, I had Meagan sit on the couch for a few minutes, and she stopped crying, but when she got up, she collapsed as soon as she put her weight back on her foot. I was afraid she'd broken something. By that point, I was in the middle of making the cake, too. I was having visions of having to take her to the ER and getting a cast and giving her baths with a cast on, etc, etc. I gave her some ice in a baggie, and had her sit back down and hold it on her foot while I finished the cake. I was just about done and was going to go check on her again, when she came sauntering in the kitchen like nothing had ever happened, and asked to help, too. I watched her for awhile, and she seemed just fine, thank goodness.

I didn't really go all out with Bethany's birthday this year. I've gotten a little crazy with them in the past, but I didn't feel like it this year. Instead, I tried to just spend some good time with her and have some fun activities. Instead of a fancy cake, I let the girls help me decorate it. They had a blast, especially when they got to eat the leftover sprinkles in their bowls.

Meagan and Bethany, holding the cake stand steady for me.

Bethany adding frosting to the first layer. As I added the second layer, she said it was a peanut butter and jelly cake, because it looked like a big sandwich to her.

Meagan frosting the top layer.

Yummy sprinkles!

The finished product. Bethany especially liked the balloon candles. Notice the swipe in the front of the cake, though? Meagan kept asking for a taste, and snitched one as soon as she could.

After we finished the cake, I got out some streamers and balloons and a big sign that said "Happy Birthday" and we all decorated the kitchen together. Okay, I mostly did it, but they got to choose colors of streamers, and they each picked out five balloons for me to blow up and where they should be hung. Bethany's were all in a cluster at the top of the hutch, and Meagan's were all on the blades of the fan, where I'd already put some streamers. When Nate got home, Bethany insisted that he blow up five balloons and put them up around the room. I think this was one of Bethany's favorite parts of her birthday. It's five days later now, and the decorations are mostly up still. She doesn't want me to take them down.

Bethany and her cake. She was so excited to get to blow out the candles.

Thar she blows!

This was one of her favorite gifts, a bowling set from her Aunt Brenda. She and Meagan played with that for a long time. Her other favorite toy is a dinosaur that walks and growls when you push a button on it's back. I didn't get a picture of it for some reason, just some video clips of the girls playing with it. Fortunately, Bethany opened that one first, and Meagan played with it the rest of the time Bethany was opening presents, and so she didn't feel bad that she didn't get any.

She also got the binoculars which Meagan is holding (but hasn't really played with them) and the 'birthday bear' she's holding. She loves her birthday bear, and has to sleep with it.

The outfit Bethany is wearing is a gift from my mom. It made me laugh, because I'd gotten the exact same one for Meagan just a week or so before. We'd been out running errands, and Meagan had an accident and I didn't have anything clean for her to wear, so I popped in to Walmart and grabbed something new. Now they match, and love it.