I never expected to be celebrating Erin and Halle's birthday during COVID - even in March and April, I thought for sure we'd be good to go by July. Alas, we are not. Things are still risky and crazy out there. So, we had to get clever and still make their day super special without a big party like we have done in the past.
I went hog wild on Amazon finding all things panda and bunnies (their two favorite animals at the moment) for a party. Luckily, lots of the stuff was so awesome! We kept everything about their day a total surprise so they had no idea what was going to happen all day. I had a little minor freak out the day before when they guessed they were going to have a Frozen 2 party and were SO excited about the potential for that... I had not planned on that nor did I realize that is what they wanted. I was worried they were going to be disappointed about the lack of Frozen 2, so I tried to gently tell them that it may not be in the cards. As usual, these kids were amazing and said "that's ok if we don't have Frozen 2, we can save it for our next party." Whew.
Amy and I stayed up drinking wine and decorating the night before their birthday until 1am and I think things turned out really cute!
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| Sign before a tinsel curtain in the kids hall telling them to wait! |
Todd and I were up early to get things set up and have some coffee before the fun began. We heard their whispers and giggles as they read the sign and got the clues that it may be bunnies and pandas. They were so cute - sister memories are the best.
It was like Christmas day - they were SO excited - running around the house checking everything out. Totally worth the late night. (who am I kidding - party decorating and wine drinking are pretty much my jam...) :)
We told the girls that this party was all about surprises that will last all day long. First surprise? Devlins brought them a special breakfast of animal (bunny and panda!) waffles! YUM.
Next surprise! We finally got to have Gramma and Grandpa in our COVID bubble since my dad is done working for awhile! HUGS all around!!!! The kids were so happy to see them.
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| Bunny and Panda necklaces :) |
Next BIG surprise? A ring at the doorbell and the girls went flying to the door. Strange man standing there. They look at me, confused. He says "Yes, I have a giant inflatable water slide to set up?" The girls: "A WATER SLIDE??? YYYYYAAAAAAAAYYYYYY" and run screaming down the hall to share the news. LOL. It was pretty dang cute.
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| We opened gifts one at a time thoughtout the day. It was pretty awesome to extend the fun that way. |
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| While her sisters are distracted... Lia FINALLY gets to check out the new stuff. :) |
Another ring of the doorbell, another surprise! FRIENDS! Brooklynn and Finley arrived to join in on the fun. I heart our pod people.
Another ring, another surprise! The Devlins arrive to join in on the fun and brought a HUGE box that Mike carried in as if it was very heavy (great acting, Mike) and the kids were so happily confused - "Mr. Mike, this isn't heavy, this is just boxes and boxes and boxes!!"
Box in a box gift revealed spending money to Amazon! They were PUMPED.
Water slide time!!!
After dinner, Mike surprised the girls with their very own magic show! This has been his COVID goal and he is getting pretty good!
I think the day turned out perfectly and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the day ended up for them. Slow and steady fun the entire day. The kids had a great day and felt loved all around. Thank you for everyone who made their COVID birthday special!!
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