Happy (Belated!) 8th Birthday to R...

Alternative Title: I Have an 8-year-old and I'm Feelin' Old

Due to a host of mundane but relevant reasons we had postponed R's birthday party by a couple of weeks. We had celebrated with family, given her our gifts and made her a special dinner, but we decided to wait on having a birthday party with some of her friends until March 8th. In the wee hours of the morning of March 8th E woke up and puked in her bed. Needless to say, the delayed celebration needed to be postponed yet another week. R was very disappointed but took the news as well as could be expected.

Yesterday was the much awaited and anticipated birthday party with her friends and they all had a great time. All her friends are great kids and had me laughing over one thing or another during the course of the afternoon. They ate pizza, sculpted with Fimo clay, goofed off together, visited the rats, ate cake and ice cream and then R opened her gifts. A fun afternoon! Here are a few pics from the day:


Although we had no consistent "theme" to the party this year, R decided that she wanted reptiles on her cake. So, I made frosting grass (I'm thinking SPRING!) and put the little plastic guys on top.


R and A working with clay. All told they made three trays worth of little pieces of art that I baked and sent home with the kids in their goody bags. It was a huge hit!


Sculpting aftermath....


E had fun with all the big kids.


Pig pile!!!


Waiting patiently for cake.


Mom and the birthday girl.


Good cake...


...and ice cream!


R has matured so much in the last year. She is a book worm who loves nature and science and her reading interests of late have been adventure stories (Deltora Quest series, Andrew Lost books, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Spiderwick, etc...) as well as nonfiction books about a variety of subjects from the human body to the solar system to frogs and amphibians. Her classroom this year is heavily math-focused and she is proving to be up to the task even if it is not her most favorite subject. She can be a bit of a hot-head at times but she is beginning to get more of a handle on her feelings and expressing herself in a more constructive way. She is artistic and creative and loves to do anything crafty from making jewelry to drawing to creating objects out clay, paper, yarn, or anything else we have hanging around the house. She is a collector of rocks, sticks, and just about anything bright and shiny! Although she is quiet and tends to be shy in certain situations she has made some great friends is school this year.

It is hard to believe that it was more than 8 years ago that we brought home our sweet little bundle called R. She is not such a small bundle anymore (and growing taller by the minute!) but she continues to bring pride and joy into our lives and will forever be our little girl! Happy Birthday, R. We love you!