The Hals Family World Adventures: Hannah's 3rd Birthday

Hannah loved her birthday party!

Happy 3rd Birthday sweetheart!

Hannah’s 3rd birthday - I decided to take an hour or so in the morning so I could be there when Hannah woke up and see her off for the day, she woke up sleepily and snuggily, but quickly came around and realized it was in fact, her birthday!!! She loved the Elsa banner and decorations we had for her and was excited to kick her morning off with a few presents, which she immediately wanted to either wear (the cupcake sprinkles dress I had ordered for her!) or put meticulously in her “pack pack” to take with her for the day. She had a great morning at school and then woke up from her nap to learn that her mommy was there with pink frosted cupcakes! (I also left work ask soon as I was done teaching my AP class, it was nice to have a fun excuse to ditch work). She finally got to enjoy the moment she had been looking forward to for weeks - when everyone would sing “Happy Birthday” to her! After that, I was really excited to tell her that we were going on a special “just Mommy and Hannah” outing and that we would be gone for an hour and then pick up Lily.

Daniel took this picture when she got to school - super excited that it is her birthday!

Pink cupcakes and a class singing to her, as promised!

Knowing it could be a disaster, but hoping it would be awesome instead (because I really did think she would love it), I took Hannah to a salon, that had special pink princess butterfly chairs to do a mommy and me pedicure! And she LOVED it! She did a great job and while keeping her hands still was a struggle - she did manage to do it! After they were done and we waited a little longer to let everything dry, we headed back to school to pick up Lily and then head home. Hannah triumphantly ran around school showing everyone her nails as we picked Lily up...both barefoot...because I had forgotten flip flops and with it being still quite chilly outside, I really wasn't willing to risk wrecking my pedicure by shoving my feet into shoes and I knew if Hannah put her boots back on it would be game over!

surprise princess pedicure!

excited for this to be the first of many mommy and me pedicures!

By the time we arrived at home, all dazzled up, but before we had opened presents or had cake, Hannah was already running through the house, arms outstretched, shouting "best birthday ever!!!!"

Hannah, newly 3, Lily 11 months

We ate dinner, enjoyed her ridiculous cake - it was pink strawberry inside, with blue vanilla buttercream frosting and a layer of chocolate buttercream inside. And then enjoyed opening presents - which she was thoroughly excited about. She loved her new Belle dress and princess nightgowns and was adorably touched that Lily had "bought" her a present, exclaiming "ooooh, thank you Lily!!!" - it was really sweet. And as suspected, the design and drill set was a huge hit.

Hannah with her crazy cake combination. Frozen color cake with pink inside and oh, yeah! some chocolate!

Before the night was over, but once she had opened her cake and presents, she was already confirming that it was “mommy’s birthday next” - not sad to have her birthday be over, but excited to shift the focus onto the next person’s turn. It was a truly humbling reminder of who our Hannah is.

she loved her design and drill set

We opted to have her birthday party at a place called the "Playseum" in Bethesda - a children's museum of sorts that had a lot of different "shops" and stations that children could work through, and also came with "playseum dollars" that could be used to buy different goods or services in some of the shops - including books, making lip gloss or soap, painting different items in the art studio, snacks, etc. Ultimately, it went wonderfully - it was a bit crowded and crazy at times, but overall, the kids had a great time and we managed to enjoy seeing our adult friends while the kids played in the different areas - and most importantly? Hannah had a blast and absolutely loved that story time was tailored to her and the "decorate your own cupcake" session that ended with, once again, everyone singing her happy birthday.