The Birthday Report...

I can't believe I'm mother to a four year old! Jeff and Amelia spent the weekend camping with his folks, but got back in time this morning for a full day of celebration.

We started by going to Amelia's favorite breakfast place, where the staff (one guy in particular) adores her and treats her like royalty. They bought her abelskivers and mint chocolate cake. We made sure there was ham involved to help her cope with the day's festivities.

Next stop, a long-anticipated manicure and pedicure. We had been thinking for a while of what Amelia would love, and settled upon a memorable experience. I told her a month ago that she would get her nails done, and she has been SO excited. She kept announcing to people in the restaurant that she was getting a manicure and pedicure. The event did not disappoint, and she sat perfectly still waiting for her nails to dry. We let her play at a children's store nearby, then she conked out hard for a long nap.Queen for a day...
Yep, that's Jeff in the background, joining in the festivities!

We woke her up and went out for a sushi happy hour, followed by the second most anticipated event, now a tradition: the SKY TRAM. We parked downtown and walked to where the tram is. She soaked up every minute the ride, took in all of the scenery, and announced to everyone that she is a traveler. Then, it was home for a bubble bath. Whew! What a day for a little girl. It was really nice to just have a day full of family fun!Waiting for the Sky Tram to come pick us up...

I love this picture!
Happily returning home, all birthdayed-out.

It's That Time Again...

Birthday Season! Yesterday it was my mom, today it's my cousin, and Tuesday it will be Amelia. Mine comes a week later, then we take a little break, move to Germany, and celebrate Jeff in August.

I've been thinking hard about what to do for Amelia this year. Of course there will not be any new "stuff" added to the mix. She doesn't really play with toys anyway, and doesn't seem to enjoy working with art supplies yet. But what she lives for is a good story. I tell her one true story every day as we're driving to preschool. She is obsessed with snorkeling and food stories, but also loves to hear about travels in other countries. Jeff tells her a story about every other night at bedtime. She cannot get enough. I'm not sure what took me this long, but I finally went to the library and got her the Mrs. Pigglewiggle audio book for her to listen to in her room whenever she wants. Such a big hit! She goes up in her room, sits in her little rocking chair with a blanket across her lap, and just listens.

So, for her birthday, I'd like to ask family members and friends who are interested to record a story as an audio file and send it to us. You can either be reading a story, or telling a story of your own. She will be getting a little iPod for her birthday with stories on it, just in time for the long airplane ride. Of course, it's too late for most people to get something to me before her birthday, but if they trickled in over the summer that would be so great too!


I am looking forward to writing a longer post about her soon.