Amara's 4th birthday dinner

Since Amara is pretty good at restaurants these days, we thought we'd treat her as part of her 'actual' birthday celebration--and go to a restaurant.  We don't go a lot--the girls don't have great attention spans, but having extra people there always helps!

I called around town and found out that Red Robin kind of makes over the kids, which is just what I wanted for her. She likes the Japanese steakhouse types too, but those can take long, and this is just up the street, and I'm pretty sure we haven't all been there together, so it was really fun.  The girls got mac and cheese and oranges, Beanie got chocolate milk, and Cora is mastering her straw usage in stride.

At our cue, the server had a bunch of girls come over and sing to her and give her a sundae and a balloon.  She was shy enough to hide between mommy and grandma but enjoying it enough to tell through her smile.  It was the perfect timing because they were starting to be ready to go--

They gave us a personalized balloon and ...

'almost' all of us were too stuffed for dessert, but grandma was smart and packed up part of her sandwich :)  Amara might have taken a bite or two, and shared with grandpa and daddy too.

As we were heading out, she posed with the big mascot--not sure if we were supposed to have her standing up there, but she looked so cute next to him.  I guess she's officially "this old," enough to appreciate cheesy restaurant party scenarios and I need to think about the ones close to us to plan better!!