My Baby Turns 7...

Hello Good Friends,
Recently, my eldest child Red, turned 7. While it feels like just yesterday I was blessed with a perfect little girl, I have to come to terms with the fact that as much I don't want her growing up and that I want her to stay little forever, its just not going to happen. I came to that conclusion with tears in my eyes but also the determination that I want to make these last few birthdays that my little girl will have before she becomes a teenager (shudder), as special as I possibly could. So for the last few months, as I have been "briefly" browsing Pinterest, I've kept my eyes open for different ideas that I could use for her birthday. I found quite a few ideas for games, crafts and such, that I liked but I wanted some ideas to make the actual day special just for her. Then Eureka!!!! I found this mom's (http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/04/birthday-traditions-for-kids.html) wonderful blog on how they make their girls' birthdays unique and special. I didn't use all of her suggestions but the ones I did do were a huge hit with Red.

I started off by making her day extra special and that she had no doubt in her mind that Mom was as excited as her for her birthday. Red and Dude (my middle son, who will be 3 in August) share a room, and since he tends to crawl into bed with me in the middle of the night, I made sure to move him first so he wouldn't ruin the surprise. Next I proceeded to blow up, what felt like to my poor lungs, a billion balloons, tied them onto streamers and then hung them up in her doorway.

I also attached balloons to our chandelier over our dining room table and had a present with even more balloons sitting on the table for her, just waiting for her to open first thing. Red thought that it was the greatest thing ever that she didn't have to wait till after school to open presents. The best thing about younger kids is that to them, the size of the gift and worth of the gift doesn't matter. Red received a sweet little necklace from her two little brothers that said #1 sister. She was so proud of it, that she just had to wear it to school.

Red loves pancakes and bacon, and would probably have them for breakfast every morning if she could. Sadly though, especially for Red, her mom is just not a morning person ( we tend to have a lot of pancakes for dinner though, which is when my brain tends to start functioning at full speed). Nevertheless, since I wanted to make the day special for her, I kick started my poor brain and my Red got her pancakes and bacon. I added a candle just for that extra special kick and my ever so grateful daughter called me weird and crazy. I knew she said it with love though, well that's just what I'm going to tell myself.

Considering, Red was awake way too early, we had plenty of time to get her all dolled up for school. I curled her hair, and put a pretty flower in it, she got dressed in a pretty skirt and we still had time to do a little fashion shoot to commemorate her 7th birthday. I felt all warm and fuzzy that I was able to send her on her way to school feeling very special and well loved.

 


The rest of the day was busy for myself and my boys. We were having a small birthday supper that night and she wanted her very favorite meal, sweet and sour meatballs. No time for browsing Pinterest that morning, I had to get my butt into gear. I had cupcakes to make, meatballs to make, her present from her dad and I to get from our extra sneaky hiding spot, plus a house to clean. I'm not too sure why I bothered with my floors, due to the fact that it is spring, we have no grass in the backyard and a dog, I definitely was fighting a losing battle with the muddy footprints. On top of that as well, my youngest had his 2 month vaccinations that afternoon. Thankfully he came through it like a brave little man and his needles never seemed to bother him. But I got it all done with plenty of time to spare. I even had time to start to put Red's dollhouse together but then my father-in-law and my grandpa showed up and I was more then willing to hand over that responsibility to them.

 

At the end of the day, my little girl was another year older (which I hate to admit, makes me another year older) but I had done what I had set out to do. I made her 7th birthday a day she will not soon forget. And so in closing I would like to leave you with a quote I found about mothers and daughters.

" The special bond shared between a mother and a daughter is the one place in all the world where hearts can be sure of each other. Like branches on a tree, we may grow in different directions but our roots remain one. And through the fury of the storm or the calm of the rainbow, we depend on each other for understanding and compassion. We will always share these moments, sparkling, like a star in our hand... keeping memories we have gathered through the years close to our hearts."