Maylan's 8th Birthday Bash!

Maylan's long-awaited birthday has finally come and gone and I think it was everything she dreamed it would be. Her birthday party was yesterday and it was the funnest party I've done for either of my kids yet. We went with a 50's theme, as you can see from the three kids dressed up below getting ready to go. She invited 16 of her best friends (12 came) and we had the party at Mel's Drive-In, a perfect atmosphere for a bunch of little girls in poodle skirts (and Brandon, who kept calling himself a "poodle boy").

As the girls arrived, each got a poodle skirt to wear. They loved twirling around in the courtyard outside of the restaurant.

Then we moved on to the hula hooping. Classic 50's fun.

Once inside the restaurant, we had a bubble gum blowing contest. Maylan's a pro at this, as you can see from the picture below:

The food came in little 50's style cars. Very cute.

Messy table, girls eating, chatting, and laughing.

I just made pink swirly cupcakes instead of a cake. They were much easier and turned out cute. We sang happy birthday and then moved back outside for cupcakes and presents because the restaurant was starting to get a little crowded.

Present time was a big hit, of course! After the party, we sent each girl home with a CD of 50's music. I was thrilled to find some CD's made to look like old fashioned records and they turned out really cute. It was such a fun theme and everyone seemed to have such a good time. Now we have her baptism to look forward to in a little less than a month!

Sunday was her actual birthday and she woke up to find this on our door:

Thanks to the anonymous friend who started her day out great!

We spent the rest of her birthday being nice to her and not making her clean up any of her messes. Grandpa and Lindsey, Jordan and Ella came over for dinner and more cupcakes. She had a great weekend!

And now, a few things I love about Maylan at eight years old, in no particular order:

She is so sensible and reasonable. She rarely gets upset because I can always explain to her why she has to act a certain way or do a certain thing and she understands. She tries so hard to do what is right and make us happy.

She is so creative. I would estimate that she watches maybe an hour or so of TV a week. She just doesn't have time for it. When she gets home from school, she and Brandon are instantly outside, riding bikes around the neighborhood, making forts in the bushes, drawing whole cities with sidewalk chalk, starting their own circus, etc. etc. I love that she is still just a KID and she still likes to play in her imaginary world.

She is so good to her brother and sister. I love that she is always willing to let Brandon into her imaginary world with her. They are such good friends and even though their occasional fights usually come about because Brandon won't do what she tells him to do, she is still so nice to him. She reads to him, plays school with him, helps him with his Webkinz, and is so patient with him. And of course she loves Marissa too and is so helpful with her.

She is a perfect child to be the oldest in our family. For an 8 year old, she is very mature and understands the world around her in a very intelligent way. She is responsible and caring and sensitive to others. She likes her "alone time" and will stay awake until 10 or 11 at night sometimes reading her books, playing with her stuffed animals, or just re-arranging the stuff in her room. Her room is always a mess and that is the source of most of our disagreements but I'm learning to live with it more. It's all part of her wonderful creative personality that I love. I can't imagine our family without her! Happy Birthday, May!