May 6

Daisy's birthday, part 3.

Today we had Daisy's birthday celebration. Usually we just do cake with family to celebrate, but Daisy really wanted to have a party at her favorite park and invite all of her friends from our Classical Conversations group. So over a month ago, she and I sat down and designed a lovely invitation. We printed out copies for the 8 other kids in her class, and handed them out.

No one RSVP'd.

A week and a half before the party, I got nervous and emailed all of the parents. Four immediately replied that they were out of town and couldn't come.

One said she was out of town, but her daughter would be in town and could come if she had a ride.

One never replied.

One said yes!

And one emailed to tell me that, though her son had his birthday in mid-April, they had decided that today was the only time they could celebrate, and his party had to happen during Daisy's party, and because they knew she was having a party, they had only invited one person from the class. 

I might have muttered a few choice words about that.

So out of 8 friends, only 2 came. Luckily, one friend came with 2 siblings. Even luckier, Amber and her younger 3 kids were available to come, too. And luckiest of all, Daisy loves her cousins and aunts and grandparents, and they were able to come. So the party happened, after all.

I say "party", but it was literally cupcakes and playing on the playground. I brought cupcakes, napkins, and bottles of water, and requested no gifts. It was perfect.

The playground is intense, and I don't usually take the kids here. Luckily, Gayle takes them here often during their Special Time with Grandmother.

Oh, that's just Amber, chasing after her 2-year-old who can scale the playground like nobody's business.

Lily chose her party outfit. Easter dress, Easter hat, pink leggings, pink striped undershirt. That girl.

She also squealed with delight when she saw Grandad and Grandmother arrive, and enjoyed her time with them immensely. That's Grandad spinning her on the seat.

Caleb climbed the wall.

Eli swung.

Miss Edie is well trained, and knows exactly what to do when a camera finds her.

Hello up there, Jace!

And then it was time for cupcakes.

Billy tried valiantly to light the candle while Chris got napkins and supplies.

Another dad even tried to hold up a blanket as a wind block, to no avail. We pretended the candle was lit and sang Happy Birthday.

(For posterity's sake, the friends in this pic are Brynn (from class), Noelle, Brian (from class), Micah, Gussie, Lily, Michael. On the other side are Daisy, Jace, Max, and Edie. Who knows where Caleb and Eli are!)

Happy girl.

Happy girl.

Happy girls.

Daisy was so glad Brynn could come!

Amber and I recently ordered handwoven wraps from a weaver, and they arrived yesterday. In addition to being delighted to see Amber, I was delighted to get my hands on my little piece of gorgeousness!

I only bought enough fabric for a pouch, so it should have been 1.5 meters. The weaver felt generous, though, and sent me 2.1 meters. It was just enough for a no-sew ring sling, which was fabulous because I was itching to try it out!

I think Eli approves!

And then the party was over! Our friends all left, and we had a quick picnic in the sunshine. 

Snuggling my birthday girl, who stole my cardigan. I had my new wrap to keep me warm.

Jenny and Aaron were there, and Aaron and Eli definitely bonded.

Grandma brought flip-flops for all the kids, and Eli was in love with his bright orange ones.

We headed home and put the kids down for naps. I did some quick grocery shopping before heading out for 6 back-to-back Mommy and Me mini sessions, rescheduled from the rain last week.

The weather was much better this week!

10 minutes into my last session, I got a text from Chris.

"We have a problem."

I returned home to find that this had happened: 

The giant oak tree in our back yard had basically split in half, smashing the children's playset, demolishing the neighbor's 10-feet-tall hedges, and ripping the neighbors' electrical box from their house.

We thank God that Eli had a poopy diaper, and Chris decided to call all of the kids inside to put jammies on. While he was inside, he heard a loud thump. He thought it was the kids roughhousing and was about to yell at someone, when he saw the real cause of the noise.

Someone could have died.

We are so lucky.

So. Now begins the process of determining what insurance will cover and how to get rid of a tree.

When we first bought this place, my friend Sara said, "Have you thought about how nice it would be if that tree fell on your kitchen? Insurance would have to replace everything!"

Turns out we aren't quite that lucky. Hopefully it all works out!