Hadley turned 4 today! I can’t believe my firstborn has been here for four years already. When they say time flies, they aren’t kidding. The past four years have been filled with magical adventures, endless laughter, lots of tears, and more love than I could’ve ever dreamed possible. To say Hadley is (one of) the light of our lives is an immense understatement. She’s a wild child with a heart of gold. She can turn any day into the best day ever and is definitely one of my mini besties. Let’s be honest, we celebrate her everyday (the girl runs the show at the Joy casa) but to celebrate another birthday, we needed a party.
A few months ago, I started pinning different birthday themes to get inspiration. I showed them to Hadley every few days to see which themes she was liking and help her decide which theme she wanted. Each time, she chose an Aloha/Luau/Tiki theme- and there were LOTS of good choices- so I knew she was set on a Hawaiian vibe. I went with “Aloha” and created the cutest invitations using apps on my phone (mainly, Rhonna Designs). For decor, we went with a pink and green color scheme, lots of pineapples and leis, and I created paper palm fronds with construction paper. We set out some fun (easy, DIY) games for kids: a ring toss with a game my mom found super cheap, a basket toss with these fun Walmart buckets, and hoola hoops from the Dollar Tree. We also had a selfie station because…#duh.
I think (and hope) everyone had a great time. I know the birthday girl did, which fills my mama heart.
Next up, for Hadley’s actual birthday (party was Sunday, birthday was Monday) we went to a fun place called Dutch Creek Animal Farm. It’s an Amish-run farm-zoo in Shipshewana, Indiana. Chris and I took the girls, and my sister, mom, aunt, and cousins came along. Hadley loves playing with her cousins and was so excited they could join us. This place was just a little over an hour away from our house and was amazing! Not only do they have the cutest farm animals set up in a petting zoo (mini goats, big goats, pot-belly pigs, rabbits, and ducklings) but they have all kinds of zoo-ish animals (peacock, camels, ostriches, emus, zebras) along with yaks, buffalos, yakalos (yak + buffalo mix), Z-Donks (zebra + donkey mix), Zorse (zebra + horse mix), long horn bulls, brahmas, llamas, and all kinds of other interesting animals that I’d never seen before. The best part of the trip was the wagon ride that takes you out amongst the animals and you can feed them by hand! It was amazing! The kids loved it but so did the adults. I took hundreds of pictures and videos. Some of the highlights are below:
The trip ended with a free pony ride for the birthday girl. She crashed out on the way home before we were even a mile down the road. We finished the day with pizza, cake, a few more presents, and more cousin fun. I think it’s safe to say she had a great day. And now she’s tucked in to bed, the day is technically over, and I’m sitting here reminiscing on the day, and the last 4 years, and how much she’s grown. It’s bittersweet. I miss my little baby Hadley and my toddler Hadley, but I love this Hadley oh-so-much, and I’m having the best time watching her grow up. I hope she knows how much she’s loved. Happy Birthday, sweet girl.
