Celebrate Turning 8!

Yesterday was my little girl's 8th birthday (sniff, sniff). I can't believe she's 8..seriously 8 seems so old...HOW did that happen?? She has been asking for months to have a sleepover party for her birthday. Paul & I were back and forth on it - I wanted her to do what she wanted for her birthday but at the same time - we already have 4 kids...did I really want 6 more in our house? After talking to another mom at Brownies I got the idea to do the party at a local Embassy Suites. It seemed like a great idea - the girls could play in the pool and tire out (ha!), the little kids could sleep uninterrupted and we didn't have to clean up! Winning! And, did you know Embassy Suites have really good weekend rates? Emma was crazy excited about the idea and could not wait until the big day arrived! And thankfully my bff, Erin, agreed to chaperone the party with me!

Finally it was the 12th! She's 8! She started the day with a Brownie Fun Day with her Brownie troop. She happens to share a birthday with the Girl Scouts so it was a fun morning celebrating. We had a yummy lunch and then she got her first gift, (finally) Dad agreed to ear piercing! We took the girls to the mall and Paul let Em and Lily both get their ears pierced (I'll do a separate post on this)! Very exciting!! After we got back home the kids could not stand another minute at home - they were ready to head to the hotel to swim so Paul took them over while Erin and I did last minute party prep.

Our kids got some fun time in the pool and then it was time for the friends to arrive. We'd invited 7 girls but 2 couldn't make it. We had planned to have pizza, presents and cupcakes then Paul would take the 3 younger children home. The girls seemed to enjoy dinner and Emma got some nice gifts (books! flip flops! Justice gift card!). Once Paul and the little ones left we got into our swimsuits and headed down to the pool. The pool was great - it had a fun water play area for the little kids, it was only 3 1/2 feet deep at the deepest point and there was a hot tub. Unfortunately the pool was sort of busy but the girls didn't seem to mind. Apparently we weren't the only ones who thought this party was a great idea! We swam for a while and then headed back the room. The girls got in their jammies, had some snacks, watched some TV and we painted nails! So girly and fun! Around 11:30 I made the girls go into the bedroom to get in bed. I allowed them to watch TV for a while in bed. At midnight I asked them to turn the TV off. That's when things got a little more challenging - you know there were some girls who wanted to go to sleep, some who wanted to talk, one wanted the light on, one didn't...blah..blah..blah.. We worked it out but those girls giggled and chatted for what seemed like forever! Finally at 1am (or 2am since I so brilliantly planned a sleepover party on time change night) I told them they had to quiet down and go to sleep. It just took a few more minutes and finally everyone was out! Unfortunately the sleep was short lived - Emma was the only one who got up but she ended up sleeping with me for most of the night. They were up and giggling by 8am. They were so cute all in the bed together! I had said an end time of 9am so we didn't have too much time to hang out this morning. The Embassy Suites includes a full breakfast so we headed down to eat. It took a while to get all 6 of them food but finally they were eating and parents began to arrive!

All in all it was a fun party. The girls were super sweet and I can't say enough about how well behaved they were and how well they listened. Their excitement was contagious! They were all kind to one another and generally fun to be around! I think we're all tired today but to be expected. Most importantly I think Emma has a great birthday!!