Most of Amy's classmates were able to come to the party, which was really great. We also had our friend Nora there as well. It was incredible how well the kids listened to Instructor JP right off the bat as they began a mini-tae kwon do lesson. They did a few moves and played some fun games as well. All the kids had fun and the parents were amazed at the command JP had over the kids. Amy loved sharing tae kwon do with her classmates and was proud to demonstrate some of the kicks and things. After that, we moved on to cupcakes in the party room. Amy really wanted to help make the cupcakes, so we'd spent a lot of time making chocolate, yellow, and strawberry cupcakes which I frosted and Amy decorated (with some help from Tod and Reed as well). The party was a great success.
Now for the big day!! We had some appointments so we spent the day at home. Amy opened her gifts in the morning and was quite happy to get a shiny pink iPod, along with some other cool stuff. We made brownies in her brand new "Perfect Brownie Pan" and we relaxed.
Amy really enjoys listening to the "Absolutely Mindy" show on XM radio's Kids Place Live channel....they often have kids call in to request songs for their birthdays and generally make a big fuss. We knew we'd be in the car around 5 p.m., so I'd e-mailed Mindy to tell her it was Amy's big day, request a song and ask her to wish Amy a happy bday, and sure enough she did it! Amy was so thrilled to hear her name on the radio and Mindy talked for quite a bit about her, mentioning that Amy'd spent the day making brownies as well. It was super cool and I'm glad we were able to get that done! We were on our way out to Silver Diner to meet Poppy for dinner, at Amy's request (you get a free dinner and milkshake on your bday there). We had a nice dinner and then were able to stop by and visit with Kiki and Nikki for a bit. They gave her a super-cool iPod speaker thing that is cube-shaped, lights up and changes colors. So neat!
The celebrations weren't done yet, though! A couple of days later, we headed to Florida for spring break week. We spent a little time in Daytona before heading to Orlando to celebrate Amy's birthday. This is a trip that Mom promised to all the grandkids when they turned 5, and I only wish she'd been well enough to go with us. Amy was pretty sad when we told her we were going to Disney, because she knew that Kiki and Poppy wouldn't be there for her celebration like they were for Aly's and Reed's. But of course she was able to get over that somewhat and she had an amazing trip. We stayed at the Port Orleans Disney resort, which was really fun. The first day there, we headed for Epcot Center, the next day the Magic Kingdom, and finally we visited Animal Kingdom. The kids were really great, despite getting up early, getting to bed late, and doing what felt like miles and miles of walking. Just great. We were so happy that Reed was still into meeting the characters, since we were afraid he'd decide he was too cool for that sort of thing, you know now that he's SEVEN and all. But he enjoyed it this trip just as much as the trip when he turned 5....only this time he had to keep his distance from the princesses, who we somehow managed to completely avoid (without even trying!) on our first trip. His favorite character was Chip (of Chip and Dale, of course).
There were several special birthday moments at the park, starting with dinner at the Epcot Garden Grill. First, it was a neat place – the restaurant area actually rotates! Most of the food they serve is actually grown right there at Epcot, and you could really tell the freshness. While we had our family-style meal (selections of all you can eat food, one set for grown ups and one set for kids), we had visits from Mickey Mouse, Chip and Dale, and Pluto. At the end of our meal, they brought us the regular dessert but also brought Amy a special dessert of her own, a chocolate cupcake with Mickey ears on top, and they sang and brought her a card signed by all the characters. It was a pricey dinner, but so worth it! We had a great time.
Then the next evening at the Magic Kingdom, we had dinner at Cinderella's castle! It was really neat to be able to go inside the castle. The first thing we got to do was have our picture taken with Cinderella - and Amy had changed into her Cinderella gown before we ate, so they were both lovely visions in their blue dresses. Then we went up the stairs into the dining hall, which overlooks the park. I have to say that the dinner itself was less than spectacular (actually quite disappointing, given the extreme cost involved), but none of that mattered when we got toward the end of dinner. First, Amy got another yummy birthday dessert. Bonus! Then shortly after that, the princesses started arriving. They come in one by one and then wander around the dining hall greeting each table. First it was Snow White, then Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), then Jasmine (who Amy'd met earlier in the day, so she wasn't so keen on meeting her again - she refused to get her autograph since she already had it), and then Belle. Amy was just truly joyous the whole time, it was so great to see. This picture really captures how thrilled she was. It was so much fun!
That was about it for the birthday celebrations. She was very well feted on this grand occasion, and we're so fortunate that we were able to do all that for her. I hope she and Reed will both treasure the memories!
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