2 hours old...So amazing to look at.
1 year old. And only barely able to sport bow clips in her hair...But she sure knows how to make Tigger go!
2 years old, and loving balloons SO much.
3 Years old. She blew that candle out before we even finished singing!
4 years old!! What a giggle Daddy caught on camera!
Man. I'm a lucky mama. :D
So we did several things for the Munch for her big day, though not all of them happened on that precise day.
Because her birthday fell on a Monday, I was scheduled to work, but because Superman is now in Preschool, the arrangements of that work have changed. Now, instead of me being at their home at 7:30am, his mom brings him to MY home around 6:45 on her way to her work. Then I drop him off at his preschool a few hours later, have a couple hours to myself while the Munch rests, then we pick him up and head for his house to be there when the bigger kids get home from school. I absolutely love this arrangement so far...the days just fly by.
So, on with the story! On the 8th itself, Daddy inflated 4 yellow balloons, then walked into her room early in the morning singing Happy Birthday to her to wake her up. That's gotta be one of the best wake-ups a little girl can have! :) She was just all smiles and giggles and happiness. Since we didn't have to rush anywhere, I decided that pancakes, which are a rarity here since they take so long, even with a nice big griddle, were exactly what we should have for breakfast. More delight from the 4-year-old (although, ok, *technically*, she didn't turn 4 until 8:45am, and it was much earlier than that at this point). Then I tried something I've never tried before, and made a shaped pancake:
It's a lot trickier than it looks! I also realized, belatedly, that I should have made it backwards so the nice smooth side would face up on her plate...
But ultimately, she really didn't care about nit-picky things like that.
She was SO excited to have that '4'!
Also on this special day, we officially began school. She WANTED it badly, so I figured, let's get serious about this! Lesson planner and all, thankyouverymuch! :) Reading, writing, math, science, social studies, the works. She is totally ready academically for kindergarten at this point, even though emotionally she still needs time to mature. I've already seen vast improvement in her fine motor skills. It's fascinating to watch her learn!! And by the way, so you're not freaking out, it only takes maybe an hour for her to do all this stuff, and we split it up. :)
And for art, Tigger cookies! Really, just chocolate chip cookies dyed orange. But seriously one of the best chocolate chip recipes I've tried. They turned out perfectly, and the Munch and Superman loved the process (and the results). :)
So yes, we had a very, very good day on her birthday. :) But there was more to come...
The next day, the Munch and I took a train downtown. Daddy was working down there that day, and the plan was to meet up with him for lunch, then go to the Disney Store afterward to try to find a Tigger outfit as a birthday gift before a party we were planning with some friends. Well, the morning's plans changed a little...
We DID go downtown, and the Munch brought her beloved 'Salt' (a little stuffed cat that belonged to my nanny family. She grew so attached to it that they decided to give it to her) along for the ride. But the CTA, for once, was operating on a great schedule for us...and we ended up getting downtown a good half-hour or more earlier than intended. Which meant Daddy wasn't ready to meet up with us...
So we killed some time at a plaza statue near the train stop, and the Munch ran around and around in circles and got me a bit dizzy since I had to follow her closely between all those pillars--Tooooo many people downtown to just let her run free like I can in an actual park... She definitely had a good time playing around this thing, but I eventually got tired of being dizzy. I texted Daddy to let him know we were headed to Disney, and to meet us there.
The Munch was beyond excited when she saw where we were (I hadn't told her our destination), and ran around saying 'I want this, and I want this, and I want this.' I maintained control...we were there for something Tigger...But would you believe that the DISNEY store hardly had ANY Tigger??? I was so disappointed. It was all princess or Cars/Planes or Star Wars, with a little smattering of Mickey and Co hanging out in the corners. I finally found ONE shelf with 100 Acre Woods plush on it (no clothes whatsoever, other than baby onesies), checked the price, and found it surprisingly reasonable. So I dropped this Tigger into her arms, she just about did a jig, then had to show everyone around her what she was getting. We went to stand in line with this brand new, larger, just-for-her Tigger, and she was beside herself with glee. At that perfect moment, Daddy showed up. :) The cashier and I had a fun conversation about Tigger and Co (he likes Rabbit and Gopher best), he gave the Munch a sticker with all those various characters on it, told her 'thanks for stopping by the 100 Acre Wood', and we exited the store with an obviously very, very, very happy 4-year-old. We went to lunch then, enjoyed it thoroughly, and the Munch and I caught the train back home, where she proceeded to introduce her new Tigger to her old, and played with them prettymuch the whole rest of the day. So yes...our plans changed a bit...but I wouldn't have had it any other way. :)
Then Saturday came. We'd invited just the Munch's friends and their families for this party, keeping it relatively small this time around, with only about half the people as what we had last year. But a smaller party doesn't mean I don't have stuff to do or things to make! The Munch had specifically asked for a 'Yellow Tigger Party'. So I put my creative side to good use, and I am rather very proud of what that side came up with...
The party favors, with a 'Tigger-iffic' poem that just sorta came to me:
Some candy to be bouncy,
Some jacks to help you trounce,
A necklace to make you flouncy,
And cats and frogs that pounce!
Then there was the cake...I totally outdid myself on this cake, and I have to pass along credit to my 2 friends who I made a couple of wedding cakes with...I would NOT have been able to do this cake without those learning experiences from you two! This thing had 2 layers of chocolate cake and 2 layers of yellow cake dyed orange to make stripes, with homemade peach jam in between each. (The jam was made at a friend's house a couple weeks before, and yes, it was a rather tall cake.)
The frosting was store-bought lemon--SO much better than regular buttercream, and I didn't have to worry about getting the right piping consistency, which is still a problem for me...and it was already yellow to boot! I dyed portions of it to make the other colors I needed.
For the Tigger part of the cake, I found a pumpkin carving template online, printed it off on cardstock in the size I wanted, and used a craft knife to carve out all the little etchings. Then I laid the paper down on top of the (chilled) frosting and used a toothpick and butterknife to mark the lines in the frosting. Remove paper, follow marked lines with black piped frosting, fill in spaces with appropriate colors, smooth a bit, and viola! A cake that even I can't believe I made. (And as you can probably guess, this picture was edited to remove the name...just fill in the blank yourself.) :)
The weather was a tad chilly, but not so bad that we couldn't enjoy the yard, and I filled up the Munch's wading pool with plastic balls and dubbed it the 'Heffalump Pit'. :) It was, naturally enough, the main attraction.
A big play slide made for more fun...perhaps this is Tigger preparing to slide down the words to get out of the tree he bounced into?
Then it was time for dinner...Apparently G can't believe the spread...or he just wants more candy or another cookie... ;) I made a fruit salad, cut up some of the Munch's favorite veggies and a watermelon, and also made 'Tigger tails', which were pretzel rods dipped in orange candy melt, then striped with black candy melt...and they were really, really yummy.
The main course was hot dogs (brats for the grown-ups) and a baked mac 'n' cheese dish that I've made for just about every birthday party the Munch has had...she loves mac 'n' cheese so much! I doubled that dish, but could have gotten away with just the one, as we had a full pan still left over after the party (but oh darn, I didn't have to cook for a few days afterward!).
Dinner was later than planned, so rather than waiting for tummies to settle, then having cake, then doing presents (as tradition and whatnot calls for), we just skipped straight ahead to presents so we weren't risking the 'tired children' syndrome that is so prevalent at young children parties. ;) The decision had the added bonus that the Munch's clothes were still clean for gift-opening time--this was not the case after we had the cake and ice cream. A few highlights from the gift time:
A great big her-size YELLOW beanbag chair from Grandma and Grandpa M. She could not contain her glee, letting out some very, very loud, shrill shrieks of excitement the moment she pulled it from the 'wrapping'--which was, rather creatively, a disposable round tablecloth taped into a bag form. :) We had known in advance what it was, so we made sure to have her open it first...it provided a perfect spot for her to sit as she opened the other gifts.
The very next item (and the item she'd actually wanted to open first), was the Tigger Movie, a gift from us. Funny thing is, she didn't know it was a movie, and shouted happily "BOOK!!" when she first opened it. She's since watched it, cried every 10 minutes or so throughout for one reason or another (bees chasing Pooh, wind snatching Piglet off his feet, etc), and then immediately wanted to watch it again. I think she likes it. :)
All done, and Daddy had me arrange everything around her--a doctor's kit, some puzzles, oreo cookies, a book cart, and a booster seat, plus cards and some cash...and that marvelous chair, which is light enough and has a handle at the top so that SHE can carry it wherever she wants.
After listening to this song for so many other people in the past month, it's finally HER turn to have it sung to her! She almost couldn't contain herself. I just love the joy she exudes for everything.
Blowing out the candles...At least this year she waited until the singing was done! But boy, she is not shy about going after that flame! It took her 3 blows--one for the center, and one for each end...and by the way, aren't those fantastic candles???? My nanny kids' mom found a set of 'wild print' candles at the grocery store when she was looking for a 'white tiger' theme for Sister Bear's birthday. Being that there were 4 tiger-striped candles among the set, I quickly snagged my own package! :) So perfect!
I have a 'better' picture (ie, one that's not blurry) of her after blowing the candles out, but I don't think it shows just how happy she was in that moment like this one does. :)
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