Six Years With Autumn Noémi | Raleigh Mom

Y’all. I can’t believe I’m writing this post. HOW is my baby girl six years old?! Autumn has been such a great big sister and has handled this transition into big sisterhood so well. We knew we wanted to do her birthday up big and make her feel special. We kicked off the weekend with a surprise birthday party on Saturday. Some friends of ours were so kind to let us use their fenced backyard as the location for the party. Autumn is a big Bruno fan, so we went with a Bruno/Encanto theme. Brandon spent most of the morning at our friends house setting up, while my in-laws and I hung out with the kids at home. If you saw my stories, you know I was able to sneak a last minute cake in and out of the house before the party. So stressful.

When my in-laws and I arrived at the party with the kids, everyone gathered in the backyard to surprise Autumn. Her reaction was…unexpected to say the least.

I guess there was an overwhelming number of adults there because Autumn looked surprised at first and then pulled my husband in and whispered, “I don’t know anyone.” It took her a minute to see the little faces she knows from church amidst the crowd of grownups, I suppose. But once she started playing with the kids, she was back to normal.

Most of the day was filled with water balloons and other water fun. Then we gathered for cake and to sing Happy Birthday to her. Autumn was a little nervous being the center of attention again, but she warmed right up with a little sugar. Brandon cut the cake and passed it out, but I think the kids were most excited about the cupcakes with little butterfly rings on them.

We ended the birthday party with a round of Pin the Rat on Bruno, which I thought was a fun idea. All the kids cheated. Everybody loved it.

Today, on Autumn’s actual birthday, I took her out for a Mommy-and-Me spa day. Of course, the day started with a visit to Miss Lisa’s salon Styles by Lisa Smilez. Lisa has been caring for Autumn’s hair for about 2 years now, and I love the experience she consistently provides for Autumn. She always asks Autumn how she wants her hair. By now, Lisa knows what I like, so she can talk Autumn down from a mohawk or some of the other random hairstyles she requests to have a happy medium. Having a snack at the end is Autumn’s favorite part.

After her hair appointment, we headed to North Hills for Autumn’s mani-pedi. Yes, we decided to be fancy. I booked her appointment with Paintbase online weeks beforehand. Mirla was very sweet and did a great job listening to what Autumn wanted. Autumn was fascinated to watch the whole process. I had painted her nails before, but it was a different experience for her to have her feet exfoliated and massaged. She picked out her own nail colors and everything.

From there, we headed to Claire’s to get Autumn’s ears pierced. I had asked Autumn last year about getting her ears pierced, and she didn’t seem interested. This year, though, she kept saying that she wanted to wear earrings like me. Leading up to her appointment, I asked how Autumn was feeling and she told me that she was nervous but excited. She also asked me not to take any pictures.

We got through piercing one ear and it hurt more than she expected, so she almost decided not to pierce the other. I asked Autumn if the piercing still hurt and she realized that it didn't, but she was afraid to have it done again. There were some tears and some negotiating, but Autumn decided to be brave and pierce the other side. By the time we walked down to the food court, Autumn was no longer in pain and had no regrets about getting her ears pierced. After we finished lunch, I took some quick shots of her outside of the mall.

We capped off Autumn’s spa day by heading home for birthday and cake with the family. This weekend was so needed, and I’m so glad that we were able to give Autumn some extra love and attention for her birthday. I can’t imagine how it must have been to be an only child for 5 years and then, all of a sudden, all of the focus is on your two younger sisters. It’s been a challenge for sure, but Autumn has grown so much and I’m so proud of girl, sister, and daughter she has become.

Hair: Stylez by Lisa Smilez

Nails: Paintbase Nail Bar