The birthday chain was down to one last loop Saturday - the days of eager anticipation were over and the day long awaited for had arrived. Alida was so eager for her birthday this year,
and her birthday party. The week included all the fun of preparing for her special day (making a welcome sign for the door, decorating the front room, going to the co-op for Easter egg fillers and other party supplies, making cupcakes with Grandma, watching chicks hatch, seeing a little stack of pink packages appear in the front room, picking out her party clothes and those that Kali and Terah would wear, and occasionally hopping around the house exclaiming how she couldn't wait for her birthday and asking numerous times how many days until her party).
She was surrounded on her birthday afternoon/evening by 20 or so big and little people who all think a lot of her, as well as about 15 adorable fuzz balls! She heard how we love her spunk, creativity, humor, and good storytelling abilities. She got to run around outside with two baskets in hand finding plastic filled eggs with her friends. There was time for swinging and playing outside, most notably with her new soccer goal and ball (thanks Aunts K&S!). I think she was too excited to consume a lot of her planned menu of canned green beans, rice, lentils, black olives, chips and salsa. The ice cream seemed to slide down pretty easily, but she didn't make much of a dent in the quarter of her tiny round cake (that she had wanted me to serve her all of). I thought it was just that she often hasn't seemed to be much of a cake gal, but in the day or two since the festivities she has had no trouble downing several cupcakes at a sitting. So I'm back to my "too excited to eat a lot" hypothesis. She made it to her actual birthday (9:08 p.m.) but was pretty drowsy when I went to inform her that she was now officially 5 years old. She was sound asleep within minutes of being 5!
Like all our daughters, her entrance into the world was amazing and wonderful. After a day of canning cherries with Mom (thus the cherry trees planted in Alida's garden with the placenta that are currently in full bloom!), she arrived just minutes after we got settled in at RMH. And she, like Terah and Nora, was welcomed eagerly by her Daddy, me and an incredible big sister. That big sister, at this week's family meeting, suggested, in response to Alida's request for an allowance raise, that they switch allowance amounts. She noted that she wasn't really needing much money for things. What a kid! We encouraged her to reign in her generosity ever so slightly and in the end we agreed on them both getting $1.50/week (well, ok, Alida wants $1.51). So Alida gets a raise, Kali gets a decrease and Jason and I save a bit each week. All seemed happy with the solution, and I'm still in awe of Kali's generosity, and so happy with her contentedness in what she has. What an example for all of us!
Kali also gave Alida a very fun birthday present. She and Alida had shopped for puzzles for Grandma's birthday at a thrift store. Alida had seen a 100 piece puppy one that she wanted to get but others suggested Grandma could benefit from a more challenging puzzle. What Alida didn't know was that Kali then purchased it for her. She tucked a $5 bill in the box and wrapped it up. The surprise for Kali was that when Alida and Grandma put the puzzle together for the first time, it was not puppies at all but a white baby lion. Fun and surprising!
Alida's birthday falls at one of the prettiest times of year around here. The red buds are about to burst into full bloom and the girls are just chomping at the bit for the first red bud spinach salad. We are just days away! On the inside, we've got lots of little seedlings prepping for transplanting out. It's also the time of year when our walking iris shares its delicate flowers with us that last just one day. I thought it was special that on Alida's birthday there were 6 flowers (her age and 1 to grow on). Her life has added a lot of beauty to our household and we are so glad she's a part of our family!
The birthday chain was down to one last loop Saturday - the days of eager anticipation were over and the day long awaited for had arrived. Alida was so eager for her birthday this year, and her birthday party. The week included all the fun of preparing for her special day (making a welcome sign for the door, decorating the front room, going to the co-op for Easter egg fillers and other party supplies, making cupcakes with Grandma, watching chicks hatch, seeing a little stack of pink packages appear in the front room, picking out her party clothes and those that Kali and Terah would wear, and occasionally hopping around the house exclaiming how she couldn't wait for her birthday and asking numerous times how many days until her party).
She was surrounded on her birthday afternoon/evening by 20 or so big and little people who all think a lot of her, as well as about 15 adorable fuzz balls! She heard how we love her spunk, creativity, humor, and good storytelling abilities. She got to run around outside with two baskets in hand finding plastic filled eggs with her friends. There was time for swinging and playing outside, most notably with her new soccer goal and ball (thanks Aunts K&S!). I think she was too excited to consume a lot of her planned menu of canned green beans, rice, lentils, black olives, chips and salsa. The ice cream seemed to slide down pretty easily, but she didn't make much of a dent in the quarter of her tiny round cake (that she had wanted me to serve her all of). I thought it was just that she often hasn't seemed to be much of a cake gal, but in the day or two since the festivities she has had no trouble downing several cupcakes at a sitting. So I'm back to my "too excited to eat a lot" hypothesis. She made it to her actual birthday (9:08 p.m.) but was pretty drowsy when I went to inform her that she was now officially 5 years old. She was sound asleep within minutes of being 5!
Like all our daughters, her entrance into the world was amazing and wonderful. After a day of canning cherries with Mom (thus the cherry trees planted in Alida's garden with the placenta that are currently in full bloom!), she arrived just minutes after we got settled in at RMH. And she, like Terah and Nora, was welcomed eagerly by her Daddy, me and an incredible big sister. That big sister, at this week's family meeting, suggested, in response to Alida's request for an allowance raise, that they switch allowance amounts. She noted that she wasn't really needing much money for things. What a kid! We encouraged her to reign in her generosity ever so slightly and in the end we agreed on them both getting $1.50/week (well, ok, Alida wants $1.51). So Alida gets a raise, Kali gets a decrease and Jason and I save a bit each week. All seemed happy with the solution, and I'm still in awe of Kali's generosity, and so happy with her contentedness in what she has. What an example for all of us! 
Kali also gave Alida a very fun birthday present. She and Alida had shopped for puzzles for Grandma's birthday at a thrift store. Alida had seen a 100 piece puppy one that she wanted to get but others suggested Grandma could benefit from a more challenging puzzle. What Alida didn't know was that Kali then purchased it for her. She tucked a $5 bill in the box and wrapped it up. The surprise for Kali was that when Alida and Grandma put the puzzle together for the first time, it was not puppies at all but a white baby lion. Fun and surprising!
Alida's birthday falls at one of the prettiest times of year around here. The red buds are about to burst into full bloom and the girls are just chomping at the bit for the first red bud spinach salad. We are just days away! On the inside, we've got lots of little seedlings prepping for transplanting out. It's also the time of year when our walking iris shares its delicate flowers with us that last just one day. I thought it was special that on Alida's birthday there were 6 flowers (her age and 1 to grow on). Her life has added a lot of beauty to our household and we are so glad she's a part of our family!
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