Happy Monday!
We had a great weekend, and it started off on a high note when we celebrated Lucy turning FIVE on Friday! It was a mermaid themed extravaganza, and judging by all the big smiles in her pictures I think Lucy had a great day!
I’ve got a LOT of pictures to share, so let’s get to it!
Lulu was so excited to see her decorations in the morning and couldn’t wait to get her picture under her birthday sign.

I wish I could take credit for this balloon arch . . . but I can’t. A few days before Lucy’s birthday, someone on our neighborhood Facebook page posted a picture of it and said they had used it for their daughter’s 7th birthday and that it was free to anyone else who could use it. Um, yes, please!! It fit perfectly with our mermaid theme, and Matty was kind enough to pick it up Thursday evening. It looked darling, the girls loved it, and I’m happy to report that another family in our neighborhood is picking it up today to use for their daughter’s 11th birthday! Our neighborhood is spreading the birthday love, for sure! . . . but hopefully not the Coronavirus!

We always start with sister presents, and the girlies were so sweet. Emmy got Lucy three baby Calico Critters and a set of triple bunk beds for them to sleep in. Lucy is obsessed with critters right now, so it was a hit!

“My Yeti water bottle!!!!” Spoken like a true Kissel!

Lucy has been asking for a motorized toothbrush for MONTHS! Now she’s got a Frozen one to keep that sweet smile clean and fresh.

And a Barbie unicorn that lights up and plays songs!! Could her day get any better??

Why, yes it can! This project involved two weeks of post bedtime painting down in our basement. The dollhouse was a gift to me in 1988, and we’ve lugged it around to each of our homes since we got married. It used to be the same color as all the wooden furniture, but I decided to give it a little purple facelift. All of the furniture is handmade and 30 years old, with the exception of the bed on the upper left side and one of the cribs . . . those were made a few months ago by our friend Stephanie’s super talented dad! And my mom made all of the bedding and cushions . . . complete with two doggie beds!

This was really a gift for both of the girls in honor of Lucy’s birthday, and they love it! You can see that Nemo made himself right at home. ๐

The furniture is sized for Barbie dolls, but the girls moved their Critters right in instead!

After breakfast bagels and some playtime, Lucy got her mermaid dress on and we headed outside for a special surprise.



We could hear the cars honking before we could see them . . . my mama friends are the best! They all got together and did a little birthday parade for Lucy!




I haven’t seen my friends in two months, so I think I was even more excited/touched than Lucy. It took every ounce of my self control not to hug each and every one of them! We had a great little visit and wrapped things up just as the rain started again. It was perfect timing!

The girls played with their dollhouse while I did my best to create mermaid scales to Lucy’s exact color and style specifications.



Thanks to an awesome gift from Aunt Donna and Uncle Jim, a wardrobe change was in order. Those Elsa boots are a favorite, for sure!

We are still social distancing (ugh!), BUT we are heading to the cottage later this week and Rita is going to be there too. We figured it’d probably be ok to have her over for Lucy’s birthday dinner, and Emmy Roses could not get enough Grandma snuggles! In fact, Ems requested that Rita bring a specific cozy sweater to the cottage so that Rita could wear it and Ems could snuggle her. Reunited and it feels so good!

The weather cleared up, and we were able to have dinner and more presents out on the deck. We feasted on delicious Buddy’s pizza and salad, and then it was time for grandparent presents. Look at that smile when Lucy opened up a camera that Oma and Papa sent her! They buy all of their grandchildren a camera on their 5th birthday, and Lucy is already in love with hers.

And Grandma Rita got her roller skates and all the protective gear to go with them!

After presents we did a Zoom call with all the family so that they could sing Happy Birthday. But first . . . Lucy showed off her new camera!

After dinner we went right outside to try out the new skates. Matty helped her down the driveway . . .

. . . and then she was off! She is a natural! She took off right away and loved every minute of it. There’s been plenty of falls, but no tears at all!

Just as we were about to head inside for a birthday bath, Lucy noticed that there was a letter “A” cloud in the sky. I’d say that was the perfect ending to a birthday that brought it’s A game, for sure!

Phew! And then we put the girls to bed and this mama plopped herself on the couch for the remainder of the evening.
What a fantastic birthday for our fantastic girl! We are so thankful to all of our family and friends for making Lucy (and us!) feel so loved on her birthday.
Have a great week!
XOXO
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