Bailey's 4th Birthday...

Tomorrrow our little Bailey Marx will turn the ripe old age of four. Zip...and the time flew by. This is a great age for kids because four fingers are much easier to hold up than two or even three. Claude, Papa and I journeyed to LaGrange to have a family celebration for Miss Bailey Marx.

Bailey wanted a 'unicorn' birthday. Bailey LOVES horses. Especially the white ones. So it is natural that she would want a unicorn cake for her birthday. Andie, loving all things that are 'food art', found a My Little Pony cake that could be adapted very easily to be a unicorn cake. 

When we arrived Andie was finishing up the icing on the cake and Michael was finishing picking up the toys.

Hayden and Bailey were so very happy to have old people to play with. Papa stretched out to watch and catch little naps as he could. Hayden brought in his pretend light sabres for him & Claude. I like the second picture of Hayden and Claude because it looks like Claude is actually trying to use the Force on Hayden. Oh my... 

Bailey entertained me with a tunnel and all it's possibilities. The tunnel's final role was as the entry into, in Bailey's words, "The most perfect dog house I ever made!!

Michael headed out to pick up our barbeque dinner and the kids pulled out their Leapster's to calm down a bit before dinner. Hayden was such a great little host. He taught Claude how to play a game and enjoyed watching his Grampa play with the Leapster.

Michael returned with the food. Hayden brought in the special plate Andie made at a ceramics class for the celebratee to have their cake on. He placed it at the head of the table for Bailey. She was very happy to take her seat where this special plate was waiting for her unicorn cake.

Andie had Hayden help her get the cake ready to be brought in. Hayden carried in one corner to help Andie get it to the table. We were all ready to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Bailey. It took a few tries but she got all the candles blown out.

Now, here is a picture of just this cake before it was candled or cut. It was just a beautiful cake.

Bailey wanted the part that would have been the cheek of the horse. Hayden wanted the eye with all that sugary decoration. It was not only a beautiful cake, it was also delicious.

Michael had Hayden help him set up the gifts in the family room for Bailey to open. Then the rest of us joined them in the family room. Bailey started out in the big chair and eventually moved to the floor. Hayden would hand her a gift. She would tear into it, thanking the giver after the gift was opened, then Hayden would quickly give her another to open. Bailey loves to open one gift and play with it and then open the next. This system with Hayden helping kept the show moving and then the kids played with Bailey's birthday gifts.

Bailey received lots of fun gifts but I'll just share a few here.  Andie and Michael gave her a DVD about how to do ballet. It came with a ballet barre and mat. The mat has the positions for your feet in the four or five positions that most of ballet is done in (according to the DVD). Claude and I gave Bailey a new leotard and practic tutu.

One of the funniest moments was Bailey placing her doll in the baby carrier she got. The carrier had straps to hold it up like a basket. Bailey would put these on her shoulders to wear like a backpack. That would work just fine, however, watching this poor doll flop around and be upside down at times while Bailey tried to wrangle it on her back was just too funny. Makes one very happy they play with dolls to learn these skills.

Bailey's big gift was a horse, not a real horse, but a big stuffed horse she can pretend to ride on. It was so much fun watching Bailey and Hayden play with this horse. Pictures don't do it justice but here are a few pictures to get the feel of their fun. Papa got a huge laugh out of watching Hayden combing the horses mane. At one point Hayden licked his hand and wiped it on the hair to get it to stay in place...wonder where he learned that trick!! Papa was in stitches.

Now, I have to explain this one. It could be titled "Children's Ingenuity". Right after the kids saw the horse they kept trying to figure the best way to get on it. Eventually they would realize you could step up on the footstool and get on. And lastly, they got the hang of putting a foot in the stirrup to get up on it. But at first, it was great fun to see them try to figure out just how to get on top of that horse without someone lifting them up and setting them on top. In one of their earliest attempts, Hayden set on the floor at the back of the horse and Bailey sat on his head as he tried to lift her up to get on the horse. Such a caring brother for his younger sister. Here is a picture:

It was soon 2pm and time for Hayden and Bailey to have quiet time as well as time for us to get Papa home to let Tiny, his little dog, out. We said out goodbyes and got hugs around and pointed the red Buick toward Georgetown and then Sadieville. It was a really fun little family party for Bailey. Happy Birthday little one!!