Celebrating 3: Part 1

We've had Kalina for 3 years now! Yay!

Here's the rundown of the festivities, which were to span several days for the sake of convenience:

For months now, Kalina and I have been discussing the fact that her 3rd birthday was forthcoming. We talked about party plans (each time, Kalina needed reassurance that there would be balloons and cake) and discussed which of her stuffed friends would be invited (all of them). The closer the date, the more willing she was to accept human friends at her party, but I still deemed it wise to downplay the fact that it wouldn't be just her and Mommy and an armful of cats. We both had fun getting excited and discussing frosting colors.

Friday the 24th rolled around, and presents started to arrive. We opened a couple from Grandma Jan and Grandpa Les, including a heavy-duty flashlight that can be dropped from five feet without incident! This particular toy was loved so much that the batteries died within 24 hours and yes, it has indeed survived a nearly five-foot fall.

At 5:50 a.m. Saturday the 25th, when I first informed Kalina that it was the day of her official birthday party(s), she responded with the wide-mouthed, exhuberantly happy look I've grown to love. It means I've surprised and delighted her beyond her wildest expectations, which is one of the greatest joys of being a parent.

We trooped downstairs to bake her birthday cakes. Yes, we would be making two of them--we doubled the recipe so as to have a fresh cake for each party. Yes, I'm a little crazy and yes, Kalina's a little spoiled, but to her credit, she helped. A few days shy of 3 years old, and Kalina can accurately measure baking powder all by herself. The batter just barely fit in the large mixing bowl.

I'd made frosting the previous night, but I let Kalina help me mix in the food coloring, considering the fact that color mixing is one of her favorite hobbies right now. I managed to avoid greeny-brown (non-chocolate brown, I should clarify) and we settled on bluey-yellowy-green, which, if you do the math, translates firmly to green. We probably would've had enough frosting to cover both cakes, except Kalina decided to be a bit liberal with the tastes since it is, after all, her own birthday cake.

Soon, we were headed out the door to Kalina's Craft Party. Next year I vow we'll do a house party, but this year that's not an option. Instead, we booked a local drop-in craft place to host the eight young guests, complete with providing balloons, plates, cups, you name it.

What fun! Kalina quickly settled in to making a beaded bracelet, and didn't leave her seat until she'd also made a handprint on a keepsake canvas, mixed up colorful playdough, eaten pizza and chocolate Goldfish, drained a juice box and was called over for cake. The other kids, who Kalina barely noticed, fared the same. Not that we don't appreciate mixing at a party, but the giant craft table made the party manageable for our still-a-bit-shy little girl.

And what did Elise do during this time? Fortunately, Daddy was on duty and the store had an Exersaucer (the owner's daughter being two weeks younger than our own baby--the two are good friends), so we don't think she ate anything dangerous, nor did she seem to have pulled anything over on herself. The poor baby emphatically pointed and grunted toward the gift table for at least 15 minutes, but was not allowed near it for obvious reasons. Just a few more months, Baby, and it'll be your turn!

Kalina happily took her place for cake time, smiled as she was sung to, and took about eight tries to blow out the three yellow candles she'd carefully placed. She then proceeded to eat the top off her own slice of cake.

On the way home, Kalina agreed that she'd enjoyed her party. The best part? The cake! The child will go anywhere for cake.

We then had a few hours to chill (or frantically clean the house so it only looked a little bit messy, and frost the second cake) before Grandpa and Aunt Nancy arrived for the family party. Kalina opened a few birthday-party presents and layed around, but certainly did not nap. We were a tired bunch, but our guests cheered us up with story and playtime. Hot dogs--Kalina's favorite--further revived us all.

The second cake was every bit as delicious as the first, and by this time Kalina was able to expertly blow out the three pink candles she'd chosen. And next time, I'll make Kalina's cake purely out of frosting as the girl has learned to avoid anything that doesn't have icing on it. We opened a few more presents, saving some for her actual birthday on Tuesday.

On Sunday the 26th, both girls slept in. Apparently it takes two birthday parties nowadays to get Elise to sleep until 6:00 and Kalina until 6:40 and to nap as well. I guess we'll be doing a lot more celebrating.

And then, Daddy brought home the big present: two white mice! Perhaps with the aid of a magic marker we'll ever be able to tell them apart, but Kalina was adamant that they both be white with red eyes. We've named them Maisy and Mousey. Daddy has decided that the one who's out and about is Maisy, and whichever one is hiding is Mousey. So far Kalina hasn't questioned his logic, but she has corrected us when we've supposedly gotten a name wrong. Maybe she sees something we don't?

The girl proved her ability to care for small animals today when she remembered the mice needed their supper while the rest of us were too busy to notice. We all watched as Daddy dropped in the food, and then Daddy and Kalina hurried out the door to go fishing. More about the mice, I'm sure, later--they'll make a lovely addition to our household and both girls are ecstatic about their appearance. A little too ecstatic in Elise's case.

Two more days until Kalina's actual birthday. We can hardly wait!