Claire's Birthday Season

I know that there are families out there that can contain a birthday celebration to one day. In fact, I am sure that that is the norm. So, why is it that when someone in my family has a birthday- it turns into a birthday season? There are a few reasons to justify this insanity. For one, we always have a birthday party up at my parent's house as well as a party down here. Coupled with a party at the kids' school, and God forbid that their actual birthday falls on a day when they don't have school . . . this adds up to four birthday parties! It is crazy, but I must admit- fun!! This year was certainly no different as Claire's birthday season came at us with great anticipation and speed.

The first of four celebrations was up in Washington. We flew in on a Thursday night and sprang up Friday morning, celebrated St. Matthew's Day and then headed to Costco to get the food for the party on Saturday. Once we were done shopping, we headed to Laura's work to celebrate her birthday with her, too. We headed home, the kids napped, I stuffed the pinata, and then we all got ready to head to Laura's birthday dinner. (Laura likes to have a birthday season, too!) After a deliciously long three hour dinner, Claire decided she wanted to spend the night at Jill's house so I only had to worry about two kids that night! Woohoo! Once we got home and I got Matthew to sleep, I handed him off to Damien and started prepping the food for Claire's birthday party. We went to sleep, but not for long as Matthew decided to be fussy (maybe because of the rich pasta I had at dinner). Because my parent's house is still in the midst of a serious remodel, Jill and Brian were so kind to offer up their house as the party site! So, my Mom and I did as much as we could at her house and then headed over to Jill's to try and get the food/decorations ready before people arrived at 12:30 p.m. Somehow, we managed and things looked together once people started trickling in.

It was a great crowd. Tons of kids, fun adults to talk to, and plenty of family to catch up with! Most importantly, Claire was having a ball and so happy that her birthday was finally here! She chose a butterfly theme so she and the other girls fluttered around and enjoyed themselves. Meanwhile, Michael and the boys rough-housed in the backyard. It was pretty casual which was great because it gave us more time to just relax and enjoy the party. She got a lot of great things and I know she was so happy that it was her birthday and not Michael's (which she reminded me of several times!). A real thrill of mine was that my friend, Danielle- who I played basketball with at SCU and now lives in Gig Harbor, was able to make it and bring her Mom and two darling daughters. It was great to catch up and watch our kids interact. On a side note- for all you cookie lovers, she and a girlfriend started a company called The San Francisco Cookie Company. Click on the company name to visit their website!

All in all, it was a great start to Claire's birthday season. One party down, three to go!

The next party was at Claire's school. Because she only goes to school three days a week and her birthday fell on a day she doesn't go to school- we celebrated with her class a day early! She was really excited and even knew the outfit she wanted to wear to school that day (consequently, the outfit was a birthday gift from party #1). She told me that she wanted to bring white cupcakes with pink frosting and sprinkles. So, dressed in her outfit-of-choice and armed with a few dozen cupcakes, we ventured off to party #2. The Montessori school she goes to has a really neat birthday tradition. The kids sit in a circle and then the birthday girl walks around the circle and they sing "The Earth goes around the sun, the sun. The Earth goes around the sun. It takes 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days." They sang it five times- once for every year Claire has been alive. Each time they completed the song, the teacher asked Claire what she did when she was one, then two, and so on. It was really cute and again, Claire had a great party!

Party #3 was to celebrate Claire's actual birthday! I had every intention of making the whole day about Claire (as if she needed the attention) but things turned out a little differently. For starters, we had to get Michael ready and off to school. Then, I conned Claire into coming to my doctor's appointment so I could get some antibiotics for my ear infection. I told her we would go to Starbucks for a birthday hot chocolate and goodie and then we needed to quickly go to my doctor. She was okay with it, but definitely questioned how it fit into her birthday. Because I didn't have much help this year in terms of setting up and helping with the execution of Claire's party, I had to be super organized! Because of this, I had to take Claire from the doctor's appointment to Costco to shop for the food. I told her that we needed to go there to get her a birthday gift (which she still believes) but I desperately needed to get the food for the party! Once we left there, I asked her what she wanted for lunch and she happily chose Togo's (a great sandwich shop). We ordered sandwiches for pick-up and then brought them home for a picnic- as Claire had requested. It actually worked out quite well- as the kids enjoyed eating outside in the beautiful sunshine and it gave us the opportunity to give Claire her birthday gift.

Damien laid out a blanket and then brought out the food. We stuck a candle in her sandwich and sang her Happy Birthday and she was in all her glory! It was a nice, relaxing, pleasant way to truly enjoy Claire's real birthday and reflect on the wonderful five years she has been with us. Then Damien disappeared only to wheel out her new princess scooter. She loved it! She was so happy and started scooting all over the place. We stayed at home for most of the day until the BIG birthday event that was to take place that evening. It was a surprise for Claire and it will remain a surprise until I blog about it in my next post. The evening was incredible and we won't forget it any time soon. Claire fell asleep in the car on the way home from her mystery birthday trip and I couldn't help but realize how big she looked. Her long legs almost touched the floor of the car but her face still said 'baby' to me. Gees, it is hard to watch your kids grow up and to know that you can't stop time.

Last but not least, Claire's final birthday party happened that weekend at our house and it was a GREAT time. Everything fell into place (thanks to Damien's amazing help) and we pulled it off. Claire wanted a Tinkerbell party and a Tinkerbell party she got! Again, she had ideas about what kind of food and dessert we should serve and I really liked that she had input for me. There were a bunch of kids here running around and for the first time in all the years we have had parties at our house, the kids played upstairs while the adults talked downstairs. It was if we had all graduated from being tied down and finally we had some freedom to do what we wanted! (Note: Matthew is so little and not mobile yet so I barely realize that he is on my hip 90% of the day which is how I classify myself as not being tied down yet!)

The weather was perfect so we were able to funnel outside and have some more space to move around. As usual, we had a pinata and the kids all pulled their string at one time and released the waterfall of candy. I still can't believe how big all the kids have gotten. Seeing them crawl over each other and scramble for candy was something else! We opened gifts, ate cupcakes and cake, and then some of the family stayed and visited until late that night which was awesome.

When I stop and think that my Claire is actually 5 years old- I have to shake my head in disbelief. Just a little over 8 months ago, Claire was my youngest baby and now- here she is- such a big girl. I am so proud of her and the little lady she is becoming (attitude and all!). But I must admit that part of me longs for the days when she was my little little girl. I remember when she let me do her hair without fuss. I remember when I picked out every outfit she wore. I remember when I carried her around everywhere and remember when she needed me to get through every minute of the day. While Claire getting older makes me a little sadder- I welcome her new independence and love that she is really making an effort to be in control of her life. And while I will always be Claire's loudest cheerleader, I just wish I could slow time down a bit before she gets too big. Happy Birthday Claire Bear!