birthday festivities for azalea

what a fun-filled few days we've had celebrating our girl! we had a bit of a wrench thrown into things when ashford woke up with a stomach bug on friday morning. on the bright side, i was very impressed that he made it to the toilet in time ;) thatcher hung around in the morning so he could take azalea to school at 8:45. ashford and i spent the day at home laying low.

friday night we had tickets for thatcher, me, and azalea to see a band called "the oh hellos". we bought the tickets back at christmas time and we were so excited about taking azalea to her first live music show. we play their music a lot at home, so she knows and loves it. vanessa had offered to watch ashford that night, but we didn't want to expose her to his germs, so thatcher decided to take one for the team and stay home with ashford, and gave vanessa his ticket. i felt bad he had to miss the show, but it all worked out. i had azalea take a nap after school because it was going to be a late night for her. we picked up vanessa at 7pm and headed to the UW district to the neptune theater. we got there before the doors opened, but we were towards the front of the line. we had general admission tickets and i wasn't sure what the layout would be. i knew there was a second floor balcony level, so i figured that was out best bet with a kid. i was so excited when we got inside and learned that the whole second level was auditorium seating! it was perfect!

 azalea spotted popcorn on the way in, so we got some for her and drinks for ourselves. 



the opening band was wildermiss and they were enjoyable. azalea was dancing in her seat - it was pretty cute. we bought ear protection for her and it was a good thing because it was a loud show! the oh hellos took the stage about 9:45pm. azalea was still going strong. the oh hellos were awesome. it was my first time seeing them live and vanessa's first time ever hearing them. azalea got a little tired/bored towards the end, but she was a trooper. it was a really fun night! i've missed going to concerts like we used to in minneapolis!

after going to bed at midnight, azalea was awake at 7:15 the next day. sighhh. thatcher and azalea ran some birthday party errands that morning, including picking up a personalized cake for her. normally thatcher would make one, but since we've had sickness in our house, he thought going the store-bought route would be better. we all (well, except ashford) traded off taking naps in the afternoon. i was so tired from the late night the night before. i just can't do those anymore. ha! we made homemade pizzas for dinner and played with the kids. it was a pretty lazy day and i didn't even leave the house.

sunday was azalea's kid party! we did some last minute prep in the morning and then headed there after lunch. we booked a party room at playdate seattle (indoor playground). both of my kids have birthdays during the time of year when you can't really depend on having an outdoor party, and our apartment is way too small, so an indoor playplace it was! last year we skipped doing a kid party, so i felt like it was a must this year. she was allowed to invite 8 kids. we had snacks and cake in the party room and the kids had a blast running around playing. the time flew by! all the parents stayed and a few younger siblings tagged along. it was a fun time! 

we ate leftovers for dinner and relaxed at home the rest of the night. azalea opened her party gifts. her friends got her lots of nice things. 

monday was her actual birthday. our girl is 7!!! of course she had to go to school, but she was thrilled to celebrate with her classmates at the end of the day. we got mini cupcakes for them to enjoy, and ashford and i went up to school for the celebration about 15 minutes before they got out.



 thatcher was home by 5pm. we made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner (azalea's request) and she opened her gifts from us and the grandparents (with grandma jan skyping in).

 she got a razor scooter from us, which was a big hit. then we sang to her and ate cake that thatcher made. 

we have cake coming out of our ears now! so much leftover from the various celebrations. i hope she felt loved on her special day. she is growing up so fast!