Birthday Parties Galore!

Between April 29th and May 20th we stay really busy!  My birthday is April 29th, then 2 weeks later is always Mother’s Day, then on May 16th my oldest child has a birthday and then on May 20th my youngest child has her birthday. 

That’s a whole lotta cake, ice cream, and wrapping paper! 

But it’s also a whole lotta fun!

Claire is turning 5 on the 20th. I am amazed at how fast Claire’s babyhood went. The oldest, Adri, seemed to stay a baby forever. The baby, however, seemed to grow up right under my nose without any assistance of mine what so ever. She didn’t nurse very long. She started sleeping through the night really early. She potty trained really quick. She learned to do everything really quick. She is the baby, and she is the most snuggly, most loving, most sweet child  - but she’s not much of a baby. She’s incredibly independent and very very creative. She just brought me a picture she drew of herself in which she is dreaming of her birthday party of cookies. She drew herself sleeping in her bed with her pillow and blanket and dreaming of all the cookies that will come to her party – which she said she wanted a lot of cookies and kids at her party with lots of presents for her because it IS after all her first party….   I think this is really funny and very bright for a 5 yr old to draw. I guess because none of my other children have been that pleasantly expressive in their artwork. Adri’s artwork remains the same as it was when he was 3. Ean’s artwork is always related to blood and guts. Hannah just draws flowers and such. But Claire – she creates artwork that has to do with herself and her emotions, dreams, wishes, etc. And I love it. But at the same time it makes her seem so grown up and that part I don’t like so much. 

**Sniff**Sniff**

Adri, on the other hand, is literally growing UP. I swear he’s grown a foot this past year. What I dislike most about that is he is eerily close to being at eye level with me and that really changes everything. I can’t say, “Look UP here at me RIGHT now – and I mean eye contact Mr.”  I am going to have to get me a stool to stand on when it’s time for discipline. He is growing up to be a very responsible child though. By the grace of God. And I can see that he’s changing 100 different ways every day. And you know what – I love it. Adri is the child who I thought would never outgrow his boyhood – but he is changing into a really cool adolescent and I’m looking forward to his teenage years. I know they will be rough – but they can’t really be any MORE difficult than when he was an infant and would scream for 6-8 hours straight. Through the night, of course. Same level of intensity as an infant but different dynamics as a teenager. Maybe I’ll “MAKE” him draw me a picture of what he wants for his birthday party. LOL!  That would be funny….

My birthday was great – I blogged about in on Facebook. Maybe I’ll post the post here. But basically I got exactly what I asked for AND had a great “Girls Night Out” the following Saturday. So that was cool. I have to say that 33 just SOUNDS SO much older than 32. Even 34 sounds better than 33. I don’t get it. But whatever – age is just a number. (Isn’t that what everyone in their 30’s says?) 

Well I gotta get back to my party planning. Sleep overs, cream stuffed cupcakes, video rentals, trips to GameStop, balloon decorations, cake planning, pink punch making and gift shopping awaits!