High Five!

My sweet, darling Sofia turned 5 on Saturday. For some reason it seems like a big milestone birthday. Looking back over the last 5 years, each birthday has seemed significant but for some reason this one feels bigger. So, we celebrated big this weekend by going up to the top of the Space Needle! 520 feet above beautiful Seattle on a clear day was a big treat!

But before the big trip up to the observation deck, we celebrated big at home, with presents....

A new pair of Toms just like mine were at the top of her list....

And a big Town Hall LEGO set from dad ensures many hours of fun... yes, it really says age 14+ on the box. They have been hard at work on it since Saturday!

And a lovely letterpress card from dad with the sweetest of sentiments inside!

Grandma fulfilled Sofia's wishlist at Hanna Andersson with colorful summer favorites! Anything in those signature red and white boxes is sure to delight!

I even scored a gift in honor of Sofia's birthday, my very first Little Shirley vase in Hot Tamale Red. They are darling, colorful vessels made right here in Seattle, and quite possibly my new obsession!

Next up was Swedish pancakes... Sofia chose a pinkish-orange color this time. Not very traditional I know, but she loves coloring her pancakes!

Every May the pink azaleas and rhodies are in full bloom in our front yard for Sofia's birthday. They remind us of the day we brought her home from the hospital. We call them her birthday flowers. We look forward to the bursts of color every year signifying another year of her life.

Next up, the Space Needle. It was so fun being a tourist in our own city. I highly recommend it. It almost had the same feeling of visiting the Eiffel Tour.... almost! It truly is quite extraordinary. And they are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Needle so it's in tip-top shape and the top is even painted orange, its original color, which scores big points with me!

Where else can you get views like this? Truly extraordinary!

Puget Sound in all its glory! 

And Lake Union...

We finished the day with dinner at one of our favorite spots- Olympia Pizza on Capitol Hill, per Sofia's request. It has special meaning for us because it is the first restaurant where we took Sofia on Father's Day when she was just 2 weeks old, and Geoff and I celebrated our 40th birthdays there last year. We were delighted that she chose it, and she was treated like a true princess by the wonderful staff!

Happy birthday my sweet and spicy girl! High five to the year ahead and to many more big adventures. I love you.