90 Years Young

This past May, my dear maternal grandmother turned 90 years young. To celebrate this milestone, my family gathered in Brainard, Nebraska for a party over Memorial Day weekend. I know my mom was stressed about the details, but we pulled off the surprise, and the guest of honor was visibly moved. In fact, when she saw her children, grandchildren, and (most of) her great-grandchildren all gathered in one place, Grandma said that if felt like she'd "died and gone to heaven."

I only have seven first cousins. However, since my dad was an only child and my mom only has one brother, that means that all seven are siblings. I have so many fond memories of playing with "the cousins" on holidays and in the summer. Even though we didn't get to see each other often, when we did get together, it was as if no time had passed.

The same is true today. Everyone has grown up and scattered a bit (me most of all, I suppose), meaning that it is rare that we are all in the same place at the same time. In fact, I can't remember the last time all ten of us were together. So, it was very special that we all were able to be present to celebrate Grandma.

Jon, the girls, and I arrived in Nebraska the night before. We told Grandma we were coming to town because Jon had an Army course in the Midwest. This was true, but we didn't tell her that the real reason we were there was her party. It only required a small amount of sneaking around to get the cake and roses to the cafe the following day and a bit more coaxing to get Grandma there for lunch. But we did, and what a special moment it was to join the chorus of "Happy Birthday!"

It was a relatively laid-back affair, but prior to our buffet of broasted chicken (still not totally sure what that means), all of the great-grandchildren in attendance presented the Birthday Girl with a rose. The result was a beautiful bouquet...and admittedly a few tears.

When you're 90, you get two cakes

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating, drinking, playing (lots of shuffleboard), and catching up. Probably my favorite moment was when the cousins skipped out to re-create the infamous "stair photo" that hangs, appropriately enough, above the stairs in Grandma's house. The last time we took one of these pictures featuring the ten of us lined up according to age was 1995, so needless to say, some things had changed.   

Obviously that was not the only photo taken throughout the day. Jon was the unofficial group photographer and snapped lots of great shots. We even managed to get a giant group photo, which was no small feat. As we were organizing this photo, someone made the comment to Grandma that she was responsible for every person surrounding her: kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. What a legacy. Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma! We love you!

Elsa is FIVE!

Five...there is just something so significant about that age. Perhaps it is the fact that when asked how old she is, Elsa can now proudly display her entire hand. More likely, however, is that five means that kindergarten now beckons from the not-so-distant future. Whatever the reason, there was great excitement from everyone surrounding this birthday.

Elsa spent the past year in pretty much the same fashion as the year before with school, ballet, and playdates rounding out her schedule. That said, she has grown up tremendously...but in a sneaky way. It wasn't until I looked at pictures from a year ago that I realized Toddler/Preschooler Elsa has morphed into a full-on kid, right before our very eyes. Her hair is longer, yes, and she is taller of course, but she has also added some impressive skills to her repertoire, including sounding out words and riding a bike without training wheels, both of which she does with an endearing confidence.

Some things haven't changed, however, one of those being her love for all things birthday. For months, Elsa had been planning the festivities. This year's stipulations included a pink and purple butterfly cake for a butterfly birthday party. Fortunately, my homemade version of the cake was acceptable, and wearing butterfly wings with a butterfly shirt and skirt combo was enough to fulfill the theme.

A labor of love...just don't look too closely

Due to our schedules, we planned to have the requisite birthday party at the park the Sunday prior to Elsa's actual birthday. This was fine...except we spent the evening before in the ER with Lena, who had broken her collarbone on a canoe trip. (Side note: we made it almost five years without a visit to the ER, which is not too shabby.) Needless to say, it was a late night/early morning making final party preparations, but everything went off without a hitch, and the birthday girl (and her bandaged little sister) had a great time.

We had a few days to recover before the official day, and we did our best to celebrate with all of the Birthday Girl's favorites. May 10th fell on a Thursday this year, which meant that the festivities began early. Jon had to travel in the afternoon, so he took the morning off of work and was there to wake up Elsa, and more importantly, make her scrambled eggs for breakfast.

The entire crew escorted Elsa to school, where her class serenaded her with "Happy Birthday." Special occasion rules dictated that we pick her up early, and the guest of honor selected Railgarten for lunch. For those outside of Memphis, Railgarten is a restaurant/bar/ice cream parlor/playground/concert venue within walking distance from our house. It's awesome, and we promise to take you there if when you come visit. Elsa was more interested in swinging and climbing trees than eating, but when it's your birthday, you can do what you want.

Hot and sweaty, we returned home to open presents (Elsa), take a nap (Lena), and pack (Jon). After dropping Jon off at the airport, Elsa participated in the mandatory sheep photo shoot. I swear, that thing keeps shrinking; it gets smaller and smaller every year.

Yes, I know this is a more zoomed in photo, but still!

As the Birthday Girl and her sister were too busy playing at lunch, their left-overs provided dinner, which we ate picnic-style while watching a movie, per request. We rounded out the evening with more cake and a final rendition of "Happy Birthday." 

Elsa received many books for her birthday--thank you, family!--but the one we chose to read before bed was Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!, the final selection from Books from Birth. Quite possibly the best thing about Tennessee is that every child is eligible to receive one book per month through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. As this was the last book, there was a brief note from Dolly to the "graduate." As I read it, I was surprised at how emotional I got. Up until that moment, I was completely wrapped up in the excitement of all things birthday, but then I suddenly got choked up at the realization that my baby is FIVE (again, not sure why that is such a big deal...but it is!).

No doubt the year ahead will be an adventure, but for now, we'll continue to bask in the birthday glow. Happy 5th Birthday, Elsa!

    

Lena is TWO!

Once again, we have a two-year-old in the house...and Lena is every bit of two. Her vocabulary grows by the day, yet as Jon has astutely observed on multiple occasions, she still has "more feelings than words." It's difficult to not catch her contagious exuberance, and it's nearly as challenging not to laugh when she throws herself on the floor in frustration.

Lena has continued to grow by leaps and bounds--physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. You'd think we'd know what to expect, but Lena often surprises us with her new words, incredible balance, and yes, even funny jokes. She worships her big sister, but can also hold her own whenever Elsa tries to take advantage of her older sibling status. Since the day she was born, Lena has always been a lady who knows what she wants.

This year, she even knew what she wanted for her birthday: cupcakes. She has quickly picked up the excitement surrounding birthdays at our house, even breaking into her own version of "Happy Birthday to You" any time someone lights a candle. She got to hear multiple renditions of the song on her birthday and broke out into a huge grin each time.

Lena's birthday--January 19th--fell on a Friday this year, so the festivities began early as Big Sis still had to go to school. Sleepy as she was, the birthday girl still enjoyed her birthday decorations and the scrambled eggs she got to have for breakfast. Mom doesn't make scrambled eggs, so it was quite the treat.

Dressed in her sparkly birthday skirt and headband--and paired with R2-D2 socks--Lena helped drop Elsa off at school before accompanying me at Stroller Strides, the mommy-and-me exercise class we've attended pretty much since her birth. After class, we celebrated with a little party with our exercise friends.

We picked up Elsa at school and headed to a lunch meeting, which we followed with a much-needed nap. (Thank goodness because I still hadn't frosted the aforementioned requested cupcakes.) We had just enough time between the nap and dinner with Dad to have a requisite photo shoot with Mike the Sheep (Elsa finally gave him a name).

Birthday "Silly Face"

We knew it was a futile effort to ask Lena where she wanted to eat dinner, but we tried anyway. Once we figured out that she would say (an uncharacteristic) "yes" to every suggestion, we gave her the option to have either Jon's favorite restaurant--pizza--or Elsa's favorite--hamburgers. Lena chose pizza and "hot cheese," so we had a yummy dinner and then came home for cupcakes and presents (thank you, family!).

We continued the festivities the next morning by hosting a birthday brunch with a few friends.

Birthday Brunch Monkey Bread

Both kids and adults had a lovely time, leaving us all with that warm, fuzzy feeling that only community with others can bring. Overall, we had a fun, laid-back, satisfying birthday celebration.

Happy Birthday, Little One! Bring on the "Terrific Twos"!