Tag: Panda

Adventures

Five!

A HOUSE WITH CHARACTER

The baby of the family turned five Sunday and we celebrated with pandas, gymnastics, and donuts. Snowy weather prevented my parents from bringing the most adorable panda cake pops made by my mother so we settled for donuts. The kids had a blast running off energy.

One of the most fun parts of being a mother is watching as our little one’s personalities develop and grow. I am forever surprised and amused by how different two sisters can be. They are both so very lovable in their own ways.

The girl is excited to start kindergarten in August. She loves ballet, Calico Critters, her heart blanket, and, of course, pandas. She is sweet, funny, and sometimes a bit stubborn.

She ended a wonderful birthday with some big sister snuggles. Soon we will be taking a family vacation to Washington, D.C. to see real pandas. Anyone who knows our girl knows what a big deal that is! Happy birthday to the little one who makes our family complete.

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Adventures

Four!

A HOUSE WITH CHARACTER

We welcomed our youngest daughter’s fourth birthday with not one, but two celebrations. It felt like the right thing to do given all the cancelled plans, sadness, and disappointment 2020 brought for so many of us. So while we were celebrating our spunky four-year-old, we were also celebrating the fact that we were celebrating something. Does that make sense?

First we had a small party with a few friends and family members at my parents’ house. Of course the theme was pandas, and my mother did not disappoint with the super adorable panda cake. My daughter insisted on eating a piece of cake entirely covered in black frosting, and I wasn’t even about to say no.

Then we were off to Washington, D.C. for some history lessons, a chance to see real pandas, and, of course the American Girl Store. I have been an American Girl fan since the 1980s and having never been to one of the actual stores, I was in heaven. The panda viewing didn’t pan (pun intended) out due to the National Zoo still being closed until mid-May, but we still had a great trip.

If there was ever any doubt that I married the most patient guy in the world, my husband endured almost three hours in the ever-so-pink two-level store and bistro without so much as batting an eye. It was over-the-top girly gloriousness. That’s the only way to describe it.

We ate lunch followed by a dessert of pink and white birthday cake. The girls’ dolls had their hair styled and nails painted. Then we shopped. If you think American Girl dolls don’t have cat litter box complete with fake kitty litter, a scooper, and plastic cat poop, you’re wrong. Of course that’s one of the items the birthday girl chose.

Happy birthday to this sweet, stubborn, funny, panda-loving girl. She makes our family complete. We can’t wait to see what the next year brings.