Cora's 5th Birthday Celebrations

We're really stretching out Cora's birthday celebration this year. Not quite as long as last year, but we had multiple parties spread over a week. Cora loves parties and hanging out with people, so she has been having the time of her life with all of the family and friends and get togethers.

The weekend before her birthday, we had a joint birthday brunch with my aunt and uncle. We reserved the pavilion at a park near us so we could enjoy the outdoors and the kids could play at the nearby playground. It turned out to be really cold, so we were all celebrating their spring birthdays bundled up in our winter gear. We didn't let the weather get us down and we all ended up having lots of fun. We had a similar menu that we had at the birthday brunch last year (bagels, hard-boiled eggs, fruit salad, etc), but added in smoked salmon, parfaits, and coffee. I was able to make the day-of prep a lot easier by scheduling a grocery delivery and panera pick up early in the week.

Cora's actual birthday was during the week, so I took some time off work so we could take a little trip to the zoo and have lots of together time without feeling rushed or stressed. We brought some of our favorite cookie cake to share with her class and she asked me to make her a birthday shirt for her about an hour before school. She loved getting to share a treat with all her friends and getting to wear a crown for the day. 

We spent the afternoon just the two of us while Ida and Ben napped. As independent as she is, she always enjoys a good momma snuggle and uninterrupted chat with me, so it was perfect. That evening, my parent's had our family over for dinner. Cora picked the menu of spaghetti and angel food cake with strawberries. The girls loved running around with their cousin and enjoying the nice weather.

Saturday, we had a tiny party with a couple school friends and our next door neighbor. Cora loved running around with her friends and was so excited to have them over to our house. It started to drizzle towards the end of the party and Cora jumped at the chance to show her friends her room... until she realized that having that many people play with all her stuff made it a little messy. My mom said she saw her pulling toys out of her friends hands and putting them away because she wanted to keep her room tidy. We had a fun time and after everybody left, she told me "I wish my birthday could last forever!"


See some of Cora's past birthday celebrations here: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th