Elsa's First Ever Happy Derfaday!

It may have been the first weekend in three that we actually stayed home but that did NOT mean that we slowed down. Oh no. Saturday morning we were up at 6:30 am (I was counting on the kids to wake me up at 6, but for the first time ever they slept in so we had to rush) to get Ashagre down to Hollywood to have his dreads tightened at 8 (post coming, I promise), then we were back home for just a few minutes before we hopped in the bus to go buy the kids their first bikes. Today, we got to sleep until 8:00 (that's 3.5 hours later than I sleep on the week days - score), but then were up and going non-stop until just a few minutes ago when the kids finally settled in their beds.

You see, today was a big day. A day so big that our little girlie-pie has been counting down the days on the calendar since August when she got to witness Ashagre's foray into the world of the American birthday party. Finally, today it was her turn. I'm pretty sure it was all she had dreamed about. After breakfast she, as casually as she could, asked me, "Mommy my happy berfday?" (translation: do I get presents today?). I casually pointed my figure into our bedroom. As she turned the corner and her eyes first laid sight on the pile of presents we had pulled from closets and boxes the night before I thought she might float away. I think she lost her breath before she let out a shriek and starting cheering. It was her first ever berfday and it was really happening. I think she almost couldn't believe it. She asked me, "for me happy berfday?" before tearing out the room to tell daddy what she had seen.

After a feast of Elsa's favorite breakfast, and probably favorite food of all time, waffles and eggs, the four of us went outside to open the presents from Mommy and Daddy and all the kids' relatives that don't let living far away stop them from spoiling our kids. Elsa made a haul and Ashagre got some great gifts too.

A hand-made tutu from Aunty Tegan.

We discovered Elsa's love for drumming at a recent
school campout.

As I was helping Ashagre and Elsa with showers and lotion this morning before we opened the presents I spoke with them each individually. Brent and I were pretty worried that Asahgre was going to have a rough day. He can have a particularly hard time when Elsa is getting a lot of attention and he isn't, so we wanted to try and prepare him for the day. We also wanted to try and help Elsa understand how Ashagre might be feeling (remembering back to how she felt on Ashagre's birthday) and asked her to be a loving big sister.

Ashagre was amazing. Not once did he seem to get jealous or spiteful of Elsa. He truly seemed to just enjoy the fact that it was a day to celebrate. He let her have her time in the spotlight and played nicely with her when she would let him. WHEN she would let him. Elsa had a bit harder time. There were many a moment that we had to remind her that yelling, "No mine!" and grabbing things out of Ashagre's hands (down to the sprinkles we bought for ice cream sundaes) was not a nice way to treat her brother on her birthday. I'll admit it was definitely driving me bonkers, especially because Ashagre was really being so sweet all day, but I kept myself in check by remembering when I turned 6 or so and had to be removed from my own birthday nature hike due to horrible behavior. Birthdays do not generally bring out the best in people, especially those at a developmental stage that is still quite self-centered.

After the family presents were opened the kids got the chance to play with their new toys while Brent and I rushed to finish up cleaning the house and getting ready for the friend party at 3:00. Next year, we won't wait until the day of the party to prepare. The kids were so excited about their new presents and we had to make them wait to play with some of the presents that required our help because we were busy getting ready - no fun. Somehow it all came together though and I even was able to hop in the shower before people started showing up. There was quite the pack of kids - friends from school and the neighborhood - and a good mix of adults. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. One of Ashagre's best friends from school Marie, told her mom that it was one of the best days of her life. The two of them were adorable running hand-in-hand from the trampoline to the kids' room and back again. The kids had a blast on the trampoline and playing with Elsa's new toys. One thing we did do right was having the party on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone had school the next day, making it easy to wrap things up around 7:00 after the kids got their fill of chocolate chip cookie sundaes (Elsa hates cake). Of course, Elsa got more loot.

An adorable chef's costume from JJ. 

Check out the awesome wrapping job by Marie
and Sophia.

JJ remembered Ashagre too. He spent some quality
time with her while all eyes were on Elsa for round
two of the presents. It really warms our hearts to see
our island family embrace A & E so completely
(although we knew they would).

So that's it. We made it through the 2011 birthdays. Next year Brent and I are already talking about our gift being an experience rather than stuff - a camping trip or a day at a zoo or something special like that. We might also experiment with not hosting the party since it is so much work and doesn't allow us to really enjoy the day along with the kids. We'll see, we've got 10 months to figure it out.