Celebrating Daddy

Andrew turned the big 2-8 this week.  Yes, he's so young!  For some reason, I really feel OLD.  Perhaps it's because, he still has two years before he even reaches 30 and I have already been in my 30's for almost two years???  Nah, that couldn't be the reason...

As soon as Arin heard that it was her daddy's birthday, she immediately started planning the party that she wanted to throw for him.  It was such a sweet gesture that she wanted to make her daddy feel special.  My little party planner insisted on decorations, cupcakes, party dresses for her and Ella, presents, and daddy's favorite food (steak).

Decorations: 
We hung a Happy Birthday sign on the outside of the door, so daddy could see it when he came home from work.

We made a birthday sign in the hallway that Andy could see when he walked into the house.  On each of the stars, the girls said something about their daddy.

 (*ahem* I just noticed I missed the s on things.  Ignore that!)

Then we hung several other paper stars throughout the house. The girls decorated these stars with stickers, regular markers and Do-A-Dot markers.  During dinner Arin asked her daddy if he knew why she hung stars all over the house.  He said he didn't know.  She told him, "Because, you are the star of the family!"  How sweet is that???

Presents:
Both of the girls raided the pantry to find presents for their daddy.  Arin picked an unopened box of PopTarts (in a flavor we had never tried) and Ella picked an unopened bag of Jolly Ranchers.  (This brought back memories to me.  One year on Father's Day, I didn't have anything new to give my dad, so I went around the house finding things that we already had.  I remember wrapping his comb and giving it to him.)  Both of the girls decorated gift bags with stickers.  Inside the bags, they put the presents along with homemade cards.

For dinner, we made Andy's favorite - marinated, grilled steaks.  We found this marinade recipe about a year and a half or so ago and we LOVE it!

1/3 c. olive oil
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. dijon mustard
6 minced cloves of garlic
pepper
Mix all of the ingredients together and pour over the steak.  Refrigerate for several hours (we usually do about six).  Remove from refrigerator and allow to come almost to room temperature before grilling.

We made red velvet cupcakes for dessert.  Arin requested blue frosting, since she said that is her daddy's favorite color.

Andy said this was one of his best birthdays.  It really meant so much to him that his girls took so much time to plan everything for him.