Four!

Liliana had her fourth birthday over the weekend.

We decided to *try* to give her a surprise birthday party.  This produced drama on two levels: first, Daddy couldn't quite keep it secret.  I made several blunders (i.e., buying party favors when Lilie was with me), but thanks to a four-year-old's lack of focus, we managed to keep her in the dark. 

Second, there was Lilie's intense disappointment when we explained there would be no guests except (maybe) grandma for her birthday. 

"But we're supposed to have guests!  It's my birthday."
"Sorry, pumpkin - we thought you'd like a nice evening at home with us."
"Noooo!", she whined as tears started to well in her eyes.  "I don't want my birthday to be like Daddy's!  It's a kid birthday and they're supposed to be LOUD!"

We ended up redirecting her attention a lot, because of course lots of friends were coming over on Saturday.  Her cousins Brayden and Emily ended up arriving on Saturday morning, which was a wonderful surprise.  We took Brayden and Lilie to the store around 1PM and kept them occupied until everyone was at the house.

The surprise certainly took her off-guard, as you'll see in the video below.  The party was fun!  We had music, plenty of noise, a cakewalk and a pinata.  Katie found a cool 'photobooth' setup that came complete with disguises.  I think the kids had a great time.  I know I did!

Thanks to everyone for attending the party, and thanks to everyone for their gifts.  You all made Lilie's fourth birthday so very memorable!

Taken after midnight, this is the first sighting of our four-year-old Lilie.

We told Julian to 'look inspired'.

Nathan may or may not have tried to eat the mustache....

Cakewalk!

All we needed were some railroad tracks!

We'll leave you with two good quotes from this weekend:

"Lilie, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Lilie paused, trying to figure out why someone would ask such a question...
"Um... an adult."

We were eating lunch with the Golwitzers when conversation turned to feats of strength and speed.
"My Daddy is fast!  He can run faster than a broken-legged giraffe."