The Birthday Recap

We planned a low-key birthday for Brooke followed up with a family party in a few weeks. Brooke had school on her birthday and I wanted to do a little something special. Her school has a no-treat policy for birthdays, meaning I couldnt send along cake or cupcakes for a classroom celebration.

Instead I decided to put something special in her lunch. I ran to the store and realized I could purchase a single bakery item. Why? Because her school has a no-nut policy, and the bakery cannot guarantee that their items are nut-free. So, I roamed around the grocery store for about an hour feeling sad and panicked. Until I came across Jell-O Mix-Ins. Pudding with sprinkles! Perfect! I thought that little treat would be perfect in her birthday lunch and that we were all set.

Unfortunately, her and I were not on the same page. She woke up in the morning and proclaimed her excitement for: all the decorations, presents, and blowing out all the candles. I had not exactly planned any of those things, and found myself in a Monday-morning-frenzy. I got Brooke dressed and off to school ...

And then ran to the grocery store to pick up balloons, cupcakes and decorations :) I dropped off the goodies and told the sitter that her and Ryan had a project - make a grand welcome-home for the birthday girl. And, they did! The front door had streamers and decorations...

And when we walked in Ana had personally decorated and cut out all the letters for "Happy Birthday". Additionally, they decorated most of the house in streamers. Brooke was psyched.

She got to make her own pizza for dinner, and while that was cooking she opened up a few presents. After dinner she got to blow out some candles on a mini-cupcake ... and then we went out for ice-cream!

I'd like to say the kids patiently waited, but that wouldnt quite be the truth.

However, once the ice-cream arrived (Brooke chose "birthday cake" as a flavor!) we had a good 10 minutes of silence.

Even the little guy was content. It was bliss!

Uncle Brad came and met us for ice-cream, and both kids got to show off their new Oberweis balloons and ice-cream covered faces. Then, we rushed home as fast as possible to get our ticking-time-bombs into bed. It was a whirlwind day and Brooke was both overwhelmed and exhausted, but she hadnt had any time to really explore her presents. It made it a bit challenging to get her into bed, but there was one motivation. Ryan got Brooke a butterfly Dreamlite for her birthday and the kids were dying to see it work.

Mom and Dad were a bit leery about this gift, with the worries that it might keep her up at night playing, and we were right ;) She spent a good 20 minutes playing with it in bed. Then she called me up and said "I dont know how to sleep on this thing." Though it looks like a stuffed animal, it has a hard shell ... and she was trying to use it as a pillow. When I explained it had to be next to her instead of under her, she seemed to get it and was quickly asleep. She woke up at 2:30 with her usual coughing fit, and I then heard her pressing the button on her dreamlite for another good 15-20 minutes. Not a surprise, she overslept this morning and we had to rush off to school in a panic :)