From June 22nd:
Grace's birthday is getting more fun every year. I think this year was the first countdown. She would tell random people "I'm going to be five in __ days!" Five seems like a really big deal. That's 1/3 of the way to her driver's permit. Five seems like a bona fide kid.
The night before her birthday I hung a happy birthday banner in her room and then covered the floor with 100 balloons. I think the idea was good, but the outcome wasn't ideal. The balloons actually caused her to wake up almost 2 hours earlier than she normally does, so she spent the morning a little groggy and grumpy. Thankfully she snapped out of it, but we might consider a different decorating tactic in the future.
In the morning she kept saying. "I'm 5! I'm 5! I'm 5!" Perhaps she understand the importance of this first sort of milestone birthday as well, or perhaps she is just happy to be back even with all her buddies. Either way, this year was a big deal.
Breakfast was her choice - pancakes, bacon, eggs and smoothies. It is still strange to see her sitting in front of a plate with eggs on it.
Claire, who also woke up before 7 am, fell asleep again at 9 and missed breakfast. It gave Merrick and I time to spend just with Grace that morning which was nice. We had her open a few of her little gifts - new crocs, some leggings, and a pass to pump-it-up!
We decided that Pump-It-Up would be a great place to spend part of the day, so we loaded up and headed out. Claire hasn't been since before she was sick - she was 13 months old and couldn't enjoy it back then. Now she can climb unassisted through the obstacle course and flies down the slide. She was in H.E.A.V.E.N. Grace loved every minute too, of course, and was very intent on making sure the four of us stuck together the whole time. It was sweet.
On the way home from the bouncy houses, we took the girls to Panda Express - one of the many restaurants that Grace wasn't really able to eat at before her allergies cleared up. She loved that she could sample the dishes prior to ordering, and was a big fan of the orange chicken. I see many more meals at that restaurant in our future. It was a hit!
After lunch, both girls rested while Merrick got a little work done. We were glad Grace actually slept during quiet time since she had gotten up so early. Once they were both awake we headed downtown for a quick scavenger hunt and then dinner. We stopped in the Pearl just in time to snap a few pictures at 6:16 pm to commemorate Grace's exact birthday. Passers by probably wondered why we were posing, in the rain, in front of an ugly brick wall.
Grace chose Lebanese food for dinner and my parents were able to join us. There she opened the rest of her gifts - new undies, pj's, a bathing suit, and a real big girl Bible. We also told her that we were taking her on vacation to Black Butte! Though there are a few additional gifts coming, I think she was pretty satisfied with all of her new necessities. We don't have very many more birthdays that new underwear will be considered an okay gift. We have to take advantage while we can.
All in all I think it was a great day.
Happy 5th birthday, Big Girl. We sure do love you!
