Harper The Explorer Turns 4 {almost}

Every year we ask Harper a very important question - "What kind of birthday party do you want to have this year?" Our little girl has a giant imagination and has already proven to inherit my indecisiveness, so we weren't too sure what might come out of that mouth of hers. 

Since October I've been asking that same question, "What kind of birthday party do you want to have this year?" and every time I received the same response - "I think we should have a Dora party!" She also instructed that we have party hats, a piñata and obviously, birthday cake. 

Once we had a firm answer on the theme I took to Pinterest to gather ideas. After shopping for decorations, I quickly realized Dora merchandise isn't quite as accessible as it used to be. For those of you who don't know, Dora is all grown up. Nowadays she's sporting long flowing locks and even has her ears pierced - talk about old! :) Her new show is on Nick Jr. and is called Dora and Friends which follows a school-aged Dora. Everywhere I looked, it was Dora and Friends. Where was the sweet, young explorer and her monkey sidekick, Boots? After I looked online, I realized I needed to take my search to Party City. They were Dora central! 

We decided to have her birthday party the weekend of Thanksgiving since December is busy enough! Mitch and I tried explaining to Harper that we were having her birthday party, but it wasn't actually her birthday yet. She seemed confused and replied with, "okay, so it's just a party!" Fair enough! :) 

I bought the party hats and mini piñata as directed. We made gift bags for the kiddo guests that looked like Backpack and were filled with Dora goodies. The cake turned out absolutely perfect and was Dora-fied by my Mother. (The cake is from Sam's Club. If you're ever looking for a 2-tiered fully decorated cake - they make them there and they're only $32!) We were ready to PARTY!

Some of Harper's favorite people joined us to celebrate her early birthday. She had fun playing with all her buddies and enjoyed opening up all the amazing gifts. She was so polite, thanking everyone after tearing open each gift and even offered up hugs. Our little girl is turning into quite a wonderful young lady and we couldn't be more proud. 

Happy early birthday, Harper the Explorer. May you wish big, and explore often!  

 

Earlier in the week we celebrated Thanksgiving. It's one of our favorite holidays because it's filled with traditions and family. Two of my absolute favorite things. 

Thursday morning we invited everyone over to our house for the Helleen Family Fun Run around Rice Lake. I've lost count on how many years we've been doing this. I think it might have been our 7th  Annual HFFR! 

The weather was kind to us this year since it was above freezing. As we headed outside to start our walks, jogs and runs the snowflakes were flying - it was quite festive! It's tradition after the run to come back to our house and stuff our faces with brunch and booze - so that's exactly what we did. 

Words can't describe how thankful I am for our families and friends (that we consider family). Everyone has been so kind, supportive and helpful throughout every stage of our adventures. We'd be lost without them - so thank you, thank you, thank you!

To continue with the Thanksgiving tradition, we headed to Bob & Deb's late in the afternoon to watch Football before dinner. My parents and Austin come to Helleen's every year for Thanksgiving too. Another reason to be thankful? Having both families under one roof for the holiday! :) 

Dinner was delicious, as usual. Harper even ate turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. This is a big step from her eating habits last year. She also had fun convincing Cari and Ashley to play Shopkins and Littlest Pet Shop with her. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty cute to watch. We even got to meet the newest member of the Dunnwald clan, Connor! He is just the sweetest baby boy. 

Another blessed and successful Thanksgiving has come and gone. On to Christmas! 

Just like every other year, we met up with Donahue's and Amanda Thursday night to get our shop on. I mean, we have to - it's tradition! Each year I express my love for Black Friday shopping. It's been a family tradition on my side since I can remember! The last few years haven't been the same since retailers started opening their doors while we're busy stuffing our faces at dinner. 

With the new Black Friday process, we usually start our shopping adventures around 10pm. Target is always our first stop and after that - we just go with the flow. This year our carts were filled with toys and knick-knacks for the kiddos. We bounced around Maple Grove all night and hardly waited in any lines. It was low-key and very successful. Around 3am we finally made it home with bags full of goodies. Thanks friends, for another fun shopping trip and lots of deals, deals, deals!

Until next time…

The Helleens