The Big Party

Well, we did it. Succumbed to 4 year old suburban peer pressure and threw a soiree for "Miss I Am Now 4"! By the way, everyone toodling around in a red minivan, sensible shoes, and loose fit jeans is doing it these days. So who are we to buck the system? Take a stand against obvious garish displays of commercialism and overindulgence, not us..not this weekend.

Ava and 13 of her very best friends in the whole wide world enjoyed all the perks that renting out a Little Gym can offer. Music, play mats, hide and seek, balance beams, uneven bars, gongo huge parachute, cake and of course presents galore. It was sheer bliss for the birthday girl. (Which made paying the bill completely tolerable at the end. )

In the old days, when Ava was about 1 and 2, ok and 3 I would have to be in hyper alert mode in these types of settings. She loved music classes and parties and playdates but she was shall we say...ummm...a little more agressive than most other children, and she had a little bit of a ummm...biting problem. So these parties and events were stressful as she would hold court tell everyone what to do, and promptly thump anyone in the head who thought it wise to challenge. I would fret and wonder where she learned this behavior...I would have to follow her around watching her like a hawk so some little kid did not get bruised in her path. (Remind me to someday share the nose biting incident where I am pretty sure an emergency room visit resulted for the victim.)

I remember my mom telling me, "I know it is tough now, but that little kid is going to be fine. One day she will be so confident she will be marching into situations with her head held high and never look back." Mom was right! She marched right into the party, greeted her friends and picked a game or two. Sheer delight, no whining, no clinging, no obvious bossiness. Ahhhh, so I sat back and enjoyed the ride. While some of the other children's parents had to manage the "stuck to adult leg" syndrome.

I don't know what I expected since this was our first foiree into Big Birthday Gigs. I have to fess up though, it was FUN. Big fun. She's growing up, I'm growing up.


Notice the black haired princess? I had to negotiate extra hard for that one. Apparently, most bakerys believe that princesses are usually blond haired and blue eyed. How naive.






And here she is moments before the big event is about to commence. She won the attire battle, opting out of the adorable birthday outfit I had especially purchased for said event. And for the third time this week, we present....butterfly jeans and pink tee shirt. It shall now be known as stinky butterfly butt.

Notice the purple bow? Her concession and birthday gift to me. We always compromise in our little corner of the world.