Happy Birthday Gabby!

It's now 10:55 p.m. and it feels like at least 1:00 a.m., but there are six screaming girls running around playing "Ghost in the Graveyard."  In a few minutes I'll convince them it's time for a movie.  Hopefully they'll fall asleep.  They're funny to listen to though.  (Note:  For those who know the sleepover rule in our house, this is a cousin sleepover, not a friend sleepover.)

Gabby's plan for the perfect party was to come to Idaho and have a birthday party with cousins on the farm.

So yesterday we packed our Durango full of kids and party supplies and drove to Idaho.

This morning we made "a red heart cake."  (Thank goodness for cupcakes.)

You don't want to know what I said right before this shot...  Apparently it didn't have the effect I was going for.

Then Joie said, "If you smile, I'll give you ice cream!"  Why didn't I think of that?

Then the party...  

It was a "Chip and Dip" party.  Gabby's only food request was chips and dip (and the red heart cake).

Chips.  Check.

Bowls filled with chips

Then the "dip" part of the party...nonstop water games...

 First, Twister with a twist...

Playing on a wet mat...

Courtesy of the water brigade.  

Right hand on yellow...water in the left ear.

Then on to dribble, dribble, drench...sort of like duck, duck, goose, only the "goose" gets drenched with a wet sponge.

 Then we dried it out a little with squirt gun races...

The little cars are propelled forward by the stream of water.

The winner of each game took home a squirt gun.

Then things got interesting (and I didn't get pictures on this part).

Everyone decided it would be fun to drench the birthday girl...  

But the birthday girl is pretty smart and didn't want to be drenched, and she was just too quick for them, so she didn't get wet.

But she did get tired of running away from eight other girls and what she thought was a birthday tradition she didn't understand...

So she left to go play with the cat at her cousin's house next door.

Then our phone rang.  Did we know the birthday girl was next door?

No.

But it didn't take long after that for her cousins to find her.  By then they were all water free, and the idea of drenching the birthday girl was forgotten...

And the party resumed later around mini pizzas...

Those red ones in the middle are sauce only pizzas.  Gabby's own choice because "I don't like meat or cheese."

Seriously?  She said she wanted pizza.

And I have photographic proof that she eats pizza, even the toppings:

But not today.  Today she consumed no fewer than three sauce only pizzas.

And a lot of chips.  

And cupcakes.

And presents.  We can't forget the presents.

And now it's 12:01 a.m. and they're watching Ramona and Beezus and there are partially consumed bowls of popcorn and a nearly empty package of Oreo cookies on the countertop.  

Awesome day.  

All day I kept watching Gabby celebrating her first birthday in our family, at her first birthday party, and feeling thankful again for the firsts.  

Especially I'm thankful for Gabby.  I'm amazed daily that I get to know her and listen to her speak and reason, and that I get to see her kind heart in action every day.

I love this girl, and can't imagine our lives without her.

Twenty-five more sleeps until adoption finalization...  Wait.  Does going to sleep after midnight count?

And zero more sleeps until her birthday, because it is now officially July 16th!  In about 7 hours we'll eat pancakes, then pack up and drive home, unload the car, and I'll go get her real birthday present from my office (where it is safely hidden) and I'm sure the evening will involve Indian food, and an Indian restaurant with the whole family (because right now we're also missing Tim, who was working today).