Riley Turns 4

 Well I'll say it every year but I can't believe Riley is 4...how time flies and how she is becoming such a big girl!

She got to celebrate her birthday with her friends at school on Thursday!  I had planned to make funfetti cupcakes because that's what she picked out but when we went to bake them I realized I had bought funfetti cookies...soooo we improvised and made cookie sandwiches!  They turned out so cute and she was so excited!

Jason has unfortunately missed all of Riley's birthdays...her first birthday he was deployed to Iraq, her 2nd birthday he was attending a course in New Mexico, and her third birthday he was deployed to the UAE.  This year was time for a change and time for him to be home on her birthday.  He cut it close though.  He graduated from AMMOS on Dec 16 and his parents helped him pack his room up until very late that night so he could be on the road first thing in the morning to make it home to celebrate with Riley.  She knew he was coming home on her birthday and she told EVERYONE "my daddy's coming home on my biiirrrtttthhhhdddaaaaaayyyy!" for weeks.  I knew that he wouldn't be home until late afternoon or early evening and in the mind of a 4 year old that would be forever so I planned a fun day for her and tried to keep her as busy as can be.  I made sure all my "chores" were done so I could just devote all my attention to her that day.  It was a GREAT day and here's what we did!

The morning started off with a yummy breakfast of her favorite..french toast!  I made it with angel food cake so it was extra sweet and extra special!  Of course we put a candle in the french toast and I sang to the birthday girl!

 I  had planned to let her open one present after breakfast and she opened her Princess Memory game!

 Of course she convinced me to let her open one more..how can you say no to the birthday girl?  She opened some special books from Nani...they are books personalized with her name and birthday in them...so fun!

 I let her pick out what she wanted to wear which was her easter dress and she wanted me to blow dry her hair straight so of course I obliged.  It worked out well too because I had a special surprise for her.  Ever since we had gone to Arkansas in August and she saw Ellie's feather in her hair she had been wanting a feather in her hair.  The girl who cut my hair didn't put them in and I hadn't found a place that did...until one of the mom's at her preschool was telling me about a salon that did them.  So I made her an appointment and that was our first stop of the day.

She was so excited and picked out two feathers for her hair...a purple and a pink!

She was so cute as she sat and got the feather put in..it took all of 5 minutes!

 And she has feathers!!!

 Our next stop was to get our nails done!  She loves getting her nails painted and she's always so cute as she sits patiently to let them dry.  Today was no different except she got to tell everyone it was her birthday!

 Pretty nails!

 Me and the birthday girl!

 After our mani / pedi trip we went to see the new Chipmunk movie!  I even let her get a blue icee along with her popcorn and candy!

We still had a little time to kill before Jason got home and since we had a pretty full morning I convinced her to take a little nap.  She fell fast asleep and about 30 minutes into her nap Jason called and said he was only 15 minutes away...let's just say he made great time and got in much earlier than I expected.  

So..when he got home he jumped in her bed and waited for her to wake up...actually he woke her up!  She was a little out of it at first but then she got so excited...it was so cute!

 Since it was still a little early for dinner we decided to go ahead and let her open all of her presents!  Let's just say our living room looked like the Disney Store when she was done!

 

 Rippen' them open!

 So..remember how she had been asking for a "real fishtail?"  Well when she opened her Ariel outfit she exlaimed "it's a real fishtail" so I think we did good!

She is such a hoot in her Ariel get up!

 After all the present opening we headed to Texas Roadhouse for her birthday dinner!  This place is always packed like a madhouse so we rarely go but I know they make a big deal out of birthdays and that's what we were looking for!

She took a ride on the saddle while they announced her birthday and she loved all the attention!  I think she loved more than anything having her Daddy home to share her special day with her!

 

 Happy Birthday to our sweet girl...you are something special!  We love you to the moon and back and can't imagine life without you!  You have such a ginormous personality; you are inquisitive, genuine, thoughtful, spunky, and hilarious!  It has been an awesome 4 years with you as the center of our world and we can't wait to see what the next year holds as you become a big sister and open your heart to having someone else in our house!

I decided to ask Riley a few questions on her fourth birthday and here are her answers:

My Favorite Food: Macaroni and Cheese; Cheetos; Fritos; Chips; Everything I want (haha)
My Favorite Sport: Throwing it in the basket (aka Basketball)
My Favorite Thing to Do Outside: Play Soccer
The best show on tv is: Cupcake Wars
Favorite Snack: Chocolate Coffee Bar (granola bar)
The coolest person on earth is: Daddy
My Favorite Thing to Learn About in School is: Jesus
The thing I do most awesomely is: Play Guitar
My Favorite Book: Rapunzel
If I could go anywhere in the world I would go to: Disneyland
My favorite color is: Pink
When I grow up I want to become: a Princess
My Favorite Cereal: The Bally Ones (Kix)
My favorite song is :"Baby" by Justin Bieber
My Favorite Thing to Eat for Lunch: Strawberries with Whip ("whoop") Cream
Best Friend: Maddy
What do you like to take to bed with you at night: Seraphina, Buddy, and Shouka

My Favorite Outfit: Sparkly Sweater and Sparkly Tom's
My Favorite Drink: Milkshake