There’s nothin’ like returning home from a trip at 8:30 p.m. (after an unplanned, three-hour flight delay in Dallas), and beginning a balloon arch by 10 p.m.
There was a very late dinner and shower time thrown in there somewhere, before tossing exhausted kiddos in bed. But definitely no time to unpack or start laundry before birthday duty called!!
And when birthday duty calls…I ANSWER. (With a megaphone.) Because look who’s officially NINE YEARS OLD, TODAY!!!!
Ugh. UGH. UUUUUUUGH. My eldest is so OLD and beautiful—on the inside and out—and smart and happy, with the kindest heart in the world. I can’t believe this is her final year of single digits!! How have we been parents for nearly a decade already???
Time. Flies.
And it is certainly worth celebrating in the biggest way possible. In that subtle way we do birthdays—NOT. :)
Chica enjoyed her Harry birthday so much last year that she was torn between requesting another one, or going with an ocean theme. And though I can always put on some Harry fun (and there’s a lot of source material to work with!), I was thrilled she landed on ocean, as it was new and different for us. Woohoo!
My favorite moment of last night’s delirious decoration prep was when I sent the hubby upstairs to sneakily (since the kiddos were asleep) grab the necessary stuffed animals to make a pathway to the dining room. And he hysterically blocked out the part where I wanted him to collect only any ocean/water animals, tehe. Elephants and cheetahs don’t go with the theme, hubby o’ mine. ;) Eventually, he handled the task with perfection and flair, ha.
And we created our “waterfall” leading to the fun…
One of the tiniest items that I sort of threw into my Amazon cart on a whim ended up being the biggest hit! This inflatable sensory “ocean” with orbeez-like expandable beads and hidden sea creatures underneath. The kiddos played with it for ages.
The one and only birthday gift Chica requested was an Alexa for her room, as she just loves music, and the idea of being able to sync up with our downstairs Bluetooth, as well (and asking it to tell jokes or make funny noises, tehe).
So it was actually kind of fun to have free reign in selecting her two other gifts from us (we typically try to cap it at three), since she offered no suggestions.
She was wildly into the science portion of her school year that focused on space, so I thought she’d enjoy this cool projector, and it was definitely a winner!
It was inexpensive (from Tarjay) and easy to use with fun discs to change out images. We tested it out mid-morning in Little Man’s closet, hehe.
Despite going against the color-scheme of the ocean theme, Daddy picked up the coolest cake last night for the fun…
They call it a piñata cake because it has a hoard of hidden sprinkles inside that come falling out when you cut into it…
Super festive. And we remembered the number candle this year, tehe. Sometimes we forget!
By mid morning, the birthday girl morphed the ocean sensory toy into a component of a spa that she ran for everyone within the house. I have a lovely manicure she handled for me, as well. Whatever the birthday girl wants!
And this was our final gift to her—a telescope!
Again, just a random I came up with, since she had no other requests. The kiddos just lurv spying wildlife and other fun things out the playroom windows, and this one has a feature where you can secure a phone to the end of it and take pictures of the images you see. Super fun!
As usual, since we funnel our money into fun decorations and/or a family activity for birthdays instead of a party with friends (which they’ve never once asked for, hilariously), the siblings always receive a tiny little gift for the bday as well (read: they’re SPOILED. Ha.).
She was wildly into the science portion of her school year that focused on space, so I thought she’d enjoy this cool projector, and it was definitely a winner!
It was inexpensive (from Tarjay) and easy to use with fun discs to change out images. We tested it out mid-morning in Little Man’s closet, hehe.
Despite going against the color-scheme of the ocean theme, Daddy picked up the coolest cake last night for the fun…
They call it a piñata cake because it has a hoard of hidden sprinkles inside that come falling out when you cut into it…
Super festive. And we remembered the number candle this year, tehe. Sometimes we forget!
By mid morning, the birthday girl morphed the ocean sensory toy into a component of a spa that she ran for everyone within the house. I have a lovely manicure she handled for me, as well. Whatever the birthday girl wants!
And this was our final gift to her—a telescope!
Again, just a random I came up with, since she had no other requests. The kiddos just lurv spying wildlife and other fun things out the playroom windows, and this one has a feature where you can secure a phone to the end of it and take pictures of the images you see. Super fun!
As usual, since we funnel our money into fun decorations and/or a family activity for birthdays instead of a party with friends (which they’ve never once asked for, hilariously), the siblings always receive a tiny little gift for the bday as well (read: they’re SPOILED. Ha.).
But it keeps the household mood super festive and joyful, and…what the hay. It’s a birthday!
Little Man enjoyed building a little Mario lego set…
And Chicklet received the Harry wand she’s really, really been begging for, now that we’re getting further into the first book. :)
We’ve made it a recent tradition (like the past couple of years) that the birthday kiddo gets to orchestrate their personal Yes Day on their special day. It’s a sweet little bit of power that they love, and so far, their “demands” are always so sweet and manageable.
Today, in addition to selecting each of our meals (along with birthday cake for breakfast, naturally), Chica dictated:
- Home spa time
- Harry reading
- Video games
- Make-believe turtle rescue and rehabilitation
- A family move
- A trip to Five Below (with Nanna bday money)
- A late bedtime of 9 p.m.
- And sleeping under her new projector stars :)
I will absolutely be the first to raise my hand and confess that the birthdays in our casa are way over the top. I mean, despite never having big parties with friends, my kiddos are SPOILED.
And, yet. Sooooo many of my fondest family memories center around our obnoxious, themed birthdays, the decorations involved, the special love and attention (and power, ha) we shower upon our babies on their special day, and the JOY it brings to all of us.
I hope these are beautiful days for them to recall as they age, and I hope our birthday shenanigans, and the excitement they feel each year when it’s their bday month, will last throughout their lives. :)
Because, really: celebrating LIFE and the joy of it is what this whole crazy ride is all about!
Happy Chica’s 9th Birthday, peeps!
Over and out.
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