Look Who's 7!

Birthday Girl at a Horse Farm

Today our daughter is celebrating her 7th birthday.  She gets to choose the menus for all our meals today, so we've had pizza, pancakes, and sausage so far today.  She is also receiving lots of phone calls and Facebook greetings.  She cherishes the birthday cards she has received in the mail.  Our beloved mail carrier just delivered a big box from her grandparents.  Inside, she found an American Girl doll, Felicity's best friend Elizabeth, the corresponding American Girl book, and more American Girl doll accessories.  She is over the moon right now.

Birthday Girl with Elizabeth

She insisted that I photograph Elizabeth's earrings.

We can't keep up with the grandparents when it comes to gifts, so we reminded her that her party was her big gift.  Thankfully, we did include Felicity's formal ball dress in with her other gifts from us, so now Felicity and Elizabeth can go to fancy parties together.

Felicity in her ball dress

I remember my 7th birthday more than most of my other childhood birthdays.  My birthday fell on Easter Sunday that year, so my parents got me a pet bunny whom we named Peaches.  My parents did not expect that bunny to live so long, but she kept me amused for the next 7 years.  What I remember most about that sweet bunny was her benevolence.  She would flip her food bowl over so that the food fell to the ground beneath her cage where she shared her meals with the wild bunnies who flooded our backyard each spring.  Perhaps she just enjoyed their company.  I always wanted to free her from her cage so she could hop around with her new wild friends. 

Peaches even made friends with my Cocker Spaniel!

Oops, I digressed.  I merely wanted to note that I hope our daughter will remember her 7th birthday as fondly as I remember mine.

Some of our birthday girl's favorite things this past year have been books, anything American Girl, and horses. For Christmas, she got a new horse bedspread and horse pillow pet.  She received a handmade stable and multiple horse figurines that she plays with and stores in the stable.  She also received the American Girl doll, Felicity, who passionately rescues a horse named Penny in the book Meet Felicity, and the American Girl horse, Penny.  She is so fond of horses that by November of last year, I had already selected the venue for her birthday party and had purchased all the favors and paper products for the horse themed party we hosted this past weekend.  I have always loved horses and have dreamed of living on a horse farm myself!

Here I am playing with Penny and Felicity dolls! :-)

While waiting on all of the guests to arrive to the party, the kids enjoyed meeting and loving on a gentle, 40-year old mare named Strawberry.  Then the kids received a lesson on horse care and grooming.

Meeting Strawberry and receiving instruction

Grooming tools

Then they got to practice grooming techniques.

Each guest got to go on a few pony rides.

She asked for horseback riding lessons as soon as we arrived.

Our son felt overwhelmed and jealous at first when surrounded by so many girls who were there for his sister's birthday.  He complained of boredom and initially refused to ride a horse, a ride which we had already paid for him to enjoy.   Thankfully, his favorite teacher, whom he loves and admires, talked some sense into him, and he ended up having a blast during his horse rides.

Gifts!

Our family in our riding boots at the horse farm