Lexie's Lowkey Birthday Celebration

Celebrating your birthday on a school day is fun!  You get greeted by the entire class, and your closest friends will be able to wish you a happy birthday.  But the downside of it is that you can't really do much on a week day.  By the time you clock out from class, more than half the day is already gone!  This is exactly how Lexie celebrated her 6th birthday yesterday.  Poor thing was left with no choice but to just make do with a simple celebration at Sugar Factory in Dubai Festival City.

I know Lexie was looking forward to a fun afternoon spent with the family so we chose the most whimsical restaurant we could think of that is closest to our home.

Lexie has always been fascinated with Paris ever since she stepped foot in the city of lights last summer.  When we got seated to our booth in the restaurant, the first thing the birthday girl noticed was the drawing of the Opera Palais Garnier Stage which was the last thing she's seen before leaving for CDG airport.  She even highlighted how lovely the boxes are in the balconies -- the very same ones she had physically been to when we were admiring the Opera's theatre area.  The restaurant's vibe is that of an American Brasserie with Parisian elements.  The art deco styling is love!

We ordered a plate each of Spaghetti Mix Seafood Newberg and Prawn Penne Louisianna Style 74, a Meat Factory Pizza and The Signature Sugar Factory Burger and added a goblet of Berry Bliss which we loved!  It looked like a magic potion with a dash of bright color and sweetness, and surprisingly, it was really good!

I also made sure Lexie got served a nice dessert so I picked out The Brownie, a gooey fudge brownie sandwich with vanilla ice cream in the middle and topped with candied walnuts drizzled with hot fudge sauce.  The Sugar Factory Team were so sweet they delivered it to our table with a fancy sparkler and birthday message on the plate.  

After our meal, the wonderful birthday doll asked where we'd go to next for more celebration.  When we said we'll head home after our early dinner, she replied with a "that's it??!!!" that made me and hubby feel guilty so we promised we'd take her to Legoland and Motiongate over the weekend.  

We capped the day off with a special birthday cake ceremony at home.  Dear daughter requested for a homemade chocolate cake and I happily obliged.  She was so happy she actually planted a big kiss on my cheek and thanked me for making her a cake she super loved!  My heart just melted.  

Avery's 3rd Birthday

I  can't believe our youngest child turned 3 this week!  Where has time gone?  It's as if we just blinked and poof, he's now a year older.  Our baby is surely growing so fast.  I honestly can't keep up!

To celebrate Avery's milestone, I baked two dozens of his favorite banana muffins and placed some animal toppers to decorate it with.  My trusty cupcake tower which I got from Manila was pretty useful for the occasion.  So colorful and celebratory!

We also waited for Avery to turn 3 so we can get our family our own Dubai Parks & Resorts Annual Pass.  We are super thrilled that we finally have our own passes to access all the parks -- Legoland, Legoland Water Park, Motiongate & Bollywood.  For their promotional price of AED 525/person, I really think that is quite a steal!  And we are super happy we now have a place to take the kids when they're bored!  Wee!!!

We collected our annual passes at Legoland so each one of us got to keep a cute Lego ID card with an iconic lanyard to boot.  Thankfully, I had the sense to get our online-bought annual passes activated in Legoland Guest Services!  We activated our cards at the Legoland Water Park which was where we really wanted to spend the day.  Our birthday boy even got a birthday sticker the moment we passed through the turnstyle gate.  So sweet!    

We all then got changed to our swimwear, slathered on sunscreen, rented a large locker & scrammed to get to the water.  The kids were so excited, I tell you!  

The most fun part for Avery was the Build A Boat section where he squealed and giggled building his boat and testing it in the water.  He had loads of fun watching his boat move!  

Lunch was at the Bricks Bites for some pizza, chicken nuggets and potato wedges.  It was all a blur as the older kids couldn't wait to head back to the water so quickly.  

By 5:00 pm, we called it a day.  We took a few snaps of our birthday boy before finally making an exit.  

What a great way to celebrate the birthday of a little boy we love ever so dearly!  The family had a fantastic time, and we will definitely come back.