Grace's Cat Birthday Party

Oh, boy! There was a lot of anticipation leading up to this day for Grace!! She chose a cat theme, due to her love of dressing up like a cat. Doesn't she make an adorable cat? It just kind of fits.

There's nothing like the anticipation for your first friend to arrive!

First, we turned our friends into felines...whiskers and cat ears for everyone (they were bunny ears that I transformed)

Say "meow"!

Then they made shrinky-dink collars

What a happy girl to have so much company! Ivie is a very social girl

And we played pin the tail on the cat...along with some other cat games

And swung at a cat pinata (we've made it this far without ever having a pinata--I'm guessing now it will be a must-have at every party. Oh, well. You're only a child once.)

It was so ironic when someone looked outside and noticed two mysterious black cats in our backyard. We figured they came for the party!

Then we had a cat cake and (ice) cream. And as we ate, we went around the room saying all the things we love about Grace. She is beloved!

And, of course, the presents!

We Love Our Grace!

Grace is an absolute delight to have in our family. She is a peacemaker, and a problem-solver. She is quick to compromise. She has a very compassionate heart, so when she can do something to help others, she will. One day she took Millie's punishment for her, out of pure love and compassion. We all want to be more like Grace. She gets so much happiness out of giving gifts. She loves to draw--everyday. And her artwork is almost always given away (mostly to Daddy for his art wall). 

Grace also loves to enter the imaginary world of play. She loves her stuffed animals, polly pockets, barbies, and pet shops. She loves having playdates with friends so they can play with these toys together. If she doesn't have a friend over, she usually wants to be alone and uninterrupted. I love to listen to her characters talking with each other, because it reveals what is going on in her head. 

Grace feels her emotions very deeply, on both ends of the spectrum. But in general, she is a happy soul! She loves life. She loves anticipating holidays (it's the decorating she loves most), events, places we are going to, etc. Her questions aren't usually "why?" but rather "when?" She is bubbly and energetic. 

Grace is a finisher. She knows how to start something, and then plow through until it is done. This is most evident when she is doing jobs. She is a great cleaner, because she usually doesn't complain or put it off. She just gets to work and gets it done quickly. We know when we ask Grace to do something, we only have to say it once, and she will get it done usually right away.  

Grace is very affectionate and loving. She often has big hugs and kisses for mommy and daddy, and tells us that we are the best in the whole world. She loves laughing and dancing with Millie. She finds humor in the cute things Claire says, and looks at me with a smirk of delight. She absolutely adore's baby Ivie. She is the one who has given Ivie most of her nicknames. She plays and plays with her, getting Ivie to laugh so much of the time. 

Grace is exceptionally smart. Although she is still in preschool, she is reading the Book of Mormon each night and doing math computer games each day. She has very insightful answers to gospel questions we ask her. And she has a quick mind to remember what she has learned. 

Our newest discovery about Grace is her love to perform. She loves to sing (we just got her and Millie into the Bountiful Children's Choir) and she plays the piano. And she wants to learn to play the flute someday. When she performs, she gets SO into it. She goes above and beyond with actions, and facial expression. When she is singing, she steals the show! She acts as if she is the only one up on stage, and isn't afraid at all to perform with all she has! It's so adorable. 

There's so much more I could say about Grace and what we love about her. She is complex, yet simple.  Once you have made it into her heart, she will love you forever. And once you have met Grace, you can't help but adore her!