Cameron Nicole, we just adore that you turned four!

This child has been counting down to her birthday for the past 9 months!  No joke.  I remember getting to the 6 month mark back in the summer, then moving into fall when I could finally tell her that after Christmas, it would finally be her birthday.  Alas, we made it to January, past Gigi's birthday and then it was CAMI'S BIG DAY!

She chose a rainbow unicorn theme for her party and really, what's happier than that?!
It fit her to a tee, just like the rainbow shirt and tutu I found on Etsy.

In order to be as grown up as possible, she asked for a "girly lunch" at Chocolate Angel.

All three young ladies enjoyed their lemonade in real china teacups.

After a delicious lunch, it was time to blow out her candles.  Happy Birthday to YOU!

Everyone enjoyed the yummy strawberry cake that Aunt Lyndsie had baked...

and then she got to open lots of gifts, like this adorable apron and cookbook!

Thank you to all the special ladies in her life for making her first birthday party a big success!

We went straight to her Rainbow Unicorn birthday party at Pirates & Pixie Dust!

The room was decked out from top to bottom with the brightly colored decor.

The girls colored unicorns as we waited for Cami's guests to arrive.

They played Unicorn Bingo first, and then moved on to another fun game... 

the Unicorn Horn Challenge!

Hands on part of the party, for sure.

  

 I love how Lila was Nash's stand-in Mama the whole afternoon:)

Next up, the Dance Party!  Cami was pumped, to say the least.

A few of her friends danced...

but this girl was breaking it down the entire time the music played!  I love her.

The final activity of the afternoon was up next--making rainbow slime.  Why children love this so much, I have no idea!

The dance party and slime were Cami's two main reasons for choosing this party and she was super happy.  That works for me.

Such a sweet little group of friends.

"Happy Birthday, dear Cameron.  Happy Birthday to YOU!" Our family was just missing big brother--he had been invited to sit courtside at the Mavs game, and we let him go.

so he was busy chatting with Mavs Man...

and cheering on the Mavs with his buddy Caleb.  

After cake, it was present time!

This girl wasted no time opening her gifts, even though she was starting to not feel so good.  Poor girl was still smiling, but her eyes didn't look good.

We convinced her to take one pic with Memaw and Poppi...

and then one with Gigi, Maddie and Boom.  Twenty minutes later, she was running 101.5 fever and sleeping in my bed at home.  Stinkin' strep had struck again.  Boo!

This sweet girl ran fever for three straight days, including her real birthday on Monday.  Instead of going to the Dallas World Aquarium, like we had planned, we just stayed home all day.  In between bouts of fever, she asked to bake her cake with me.

By mid-afternoon she was still feeling alright. 

The big kids got home from the park, so we decided to seize the moment and let her open presents.  I'm so glad we did, because an hour later her fever was back.  Such a crummy way to spend your birthday, but I'm so thankful that we got to celebrate with her right before she got sick.

Cameron Nicole, we love you so very much.  You are the perfect combo of sweet and sassy!  You entertain us with your performances, love to sing and keep us laughing.  Thank you for being you.  I'm so glad that you were born!

 

Happy Birthday, Gigi!

The excitement doesn't end after Christmas.  We've got two very important birthdays to celebrate in January--Gigi and Cami!

First up is my precious mom's birthday.  This year, we celebrated at Maggiano's on her special day.

She chose a butter rum cake...

and had plenty of help from her youngest grandchild!

Happy Birthday, Mom!  You are so very loved.

Goodbye NYC! Stay cool.

 We loved everything about our girls trip to NYC.  Well, maybe except for the crazy cold weather and insanely long lines. Besides all that, it was AMAZING!

There's a reason this logo caught on so well.

Kristy was the MVP of the last day, when she volunteered to stand in line for us at Ellen's Stardust Diner.  She got there at 8am and by 8:30 when the rest of us arrived, we were almost at the entrance.  So great!

The Diner was super-cute, too.  All of the waitstaff are aspiring Broadway performers.  They bring you pancakes, but then break into song at a moment's notice.  Their talent was impressive!

Lila was a bit more impressed with her giant chocolate milk...

than she was with the Britney Spears song, but Kristy and I were dancing and singing along the whole time!

By the time we left breakfast, it was snowing pretty well.  Such a neat treat!

Stefani and I ran up to pack, while Kristy took the girls to the M&M store across the street.

So many colorful M&Ms!

Lila did the test and it said she was feeling the most like a white M&M...

 

which I suppose was fitting considering the day.

We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare.  These cuties passed the hours by watching it snow and seeing how planes are de-iced.

Alas, by mid-afternoon it was finally time to say goodbye.  Bummer.

We will no doubt be back!

As we flew into DFW, the sky was incredible.  We knew that just beneath this blanket of clouds was the rest of our family, who we couldn't wait to see.  We had so many stories to share and plans to make for our next trip to NYC.

Top of the Rock, Central Park, Tavern on the Green, Rockettes and Little Italy!

Friday was our favorite day of the whole trip. No long lines, great food and a fantastic show!

We kicked things off with going to the top of NBC Studios--Top of the Rock.  A jolly doorman helped set the tone for the day.  I was amazed at how friendly all of the NY people were that we encountered!

Hello, Empire State Building!  Lady Liberty is in the far distance to the right.

Somehow it wasn't too cold on this side of the building.  Amazing!

The Central Park side was a different story...

so we ran back to the other side.

Next up, Central Park!  Such a magical place.

It was chilly, but we were loving life.

These girls could have played on the big rocks for hours, I think...

but we had a reservation for lunch at Tavern on the Green.  Yay!!

It was just as beautiful as I remember.  There was even a fireplace where we warmed up as we waited for our table.

Fabulous place with these fabulous ladies.  We were on cloud nine.

These girlies remembered their manners most of the time...

but there was plenty of silly as well!

She might be half-grown most days, but I adore her goofy side as well.

The girls played in Central Park again, then we hopped on the subway back to Times Square.  

So many people were there, no matter what time of day!

An hour later, we had arrived at Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular.

As we entered the lobby, we were blown away by the Christmas Tree chandelier!

We found our seats, made sure our 3D glasses fit...

and then it was showtime!  Santa Claus opened the show!

What an amazing performance!

Every set was amazing, and they even had ice skating during it. 
The show was a huge hit with everyone!

We hopped in a cab and headed for dinner afterwards.  Calley fell asleep first...

followed by Lila and then Brooklyn.  Only little girls could sleep in a crazy cab!

Lila was awake by the time we arrived in Little Italy.

 

We had a delicious meal at Il Cortile and reflected on the greatness of our trip.  No way that we only had one more morning before flying back to Dallas!

 

I wish that we could have had time to explore Little Italy, but it was late and freezing. 
Guess we'll just have to do that on our next trip. We love NYC.