Allyson turns Five!!!

Nicole was so sweet on the morning of Allyson's birthday. She decorated the kitchen downstairs while I was feeding Mallory.

She made arrows from the upstairs leading to the kitchen.

This was 100% Nicole. Although Daddy helped hang the signs.

And Daddy made Allyson's favorite pancakes.

Later that day she enjoyed a gymnastics birthday party!

(Warning: I took way too many pictures.)

Our good friend, Chris McNeal made her cake. She wanted it to look like her dog, Marrie who recently went to doggie Heaven. :(

Friends, Darcy, Nicole and Holland

Even Mallory got to spend some time in the baby foam pit.

Allyson's friend, Kyra, is sweet and almost as tiny as Mallory!

Mimi and Nicole

AJ

Kyra

Time for cake and ice cream!

Holland made her the sweetest card and gave her hand-picked gifts.

She got a Build-a-Bear from a friend... that was a big hit!

Probably her favorite gift was from our neighbor, Blake. A set of four horses, one of which looks like Copper, the horse she's been riding recently. Both girls adored this gift!

AJ and Hunter gave her a dog that looks - and yaps - like Marrie. :)

For favors, the kids got medals and little trophies. Allyson handed them out.

Chris' husband, James, finally got to meet Mallory. 

 

Daddy got me some roses as he often does to commemorate the job I did bringing the kids into the world!

Once we were home, the girls played together with the horses.

 Later, as we got ready for bed... Mallory was playing and rolling...

And we announced we had one more special gift from Nicole. Something she had been planning and working on for a long time. (Mom was having a hard time finding the time to help her. In fact, I ended up having a babysitter help.)

The girls like the movie, "Despicable Me." In it, one of the girls loves unicorns. Nicole decided to make her a unicorn. We found a pattern and the sitter helped her sew it up. Well, it turned out a lot smaller than Nicole wanted. So she decided it would be a doll's unicorn. But now we had to make a doll. I knew we didn't have the time nor the expertise to make a doll. Fortunately, she was happy to find one of their old dolls that had been put away for a while. This was a favorite doll Papa gave them a long time ago. So, the old doll and the new unicorn handmade by Nicole using some scrap fabric I had at the house.

Probably one of the most special gifts ever. Allyson loved it and has plays with it.

We also gave her some pj's I was saving for Christmas. But it was Ariel wedding dress/nightgown. And it fits her now and I know she's going to love it. So, I figure, why wait? She about lost her mind with happiness. 

It came with a crown, too.

Loaded down with her new bear, old dolly, and more...