A Day of Celebration

We are big believers in celebrating around here, so we took advantage of every moment of Issa's special day. Somehow, she sweet-talked Daddy into letting her open her gift before school.
We are headed to the beach this weekend! She really wanted to go get some more shells, so we gave her a shell collecting pouch and a big vase to put them all in when we get home. It's become a bit of a tradition that our gifts to the kids are activities, and we are really looking forward to the day trip!

Issa's school also believes in celebrating birthdays. The snack rules still apply, though, so no icing allowed. They have a list of special treats, and Issa chose fruit kabobs. We decided we should make them look like flowers:

They were really fun! The kids loved them. But...by the time we made 20 of them I was a bit tired of grapes and watermelon:

The school has a really neat ceremony. They lit a candle to represent the sun, and Issa held a globe and walked around the candle five times, one for each time the earth has gone around the sun since she was born. Her friends all sang, and then they ate their flowers. It was hysterical to listen to a room full of little people munch watermelon and giggle.

I came home from the ceremony to finish Issa's cake:

It's not my favorite cake but it was exactly what Issa wanted. She was thrilled!

After dinner out, we came home to sing and enjoy cake. Issa needed to dance:

For those counting, this is cake 4.

May all her wishes come true...