I sure know how to pick 'em.

Birthdays, that is.


If it's the second half of the year, and it's a major holiday, you can safely bet that we're also celebrating a child's birthday.


Labor Day weekend: Emily. (That one's not so bad, except when you're in elementary school, it's kind of a bummer to go to meet your teacher and immediately ask, "When can we bring birthday treats?")

Halloween: Katelyn. (Hard to have a party that doesn't involve costumes.)


Thanksgiving: Hannah. So far she has avoided having turkey on her actual birthday, but it's going to happen every few years.


This year we had one day between Thanksgiving and Hannah's birthday, but it still made it difficult to really focus on her that day.

We had her friends over for a party a few days early.


It was a tea party, and it was so cute, if I do say so myself. The girls painted tea cups, made fancy paper fans, dressed up, and sat down to the kid-sized tea table, where they were served mini cupcakes with sprinkles, and hot chocolate from a tea pot.




Doug makes everything fun! He poured the tea and served the girls with a "cockney" accent. "Would you like another spot of tea, my dear?" You should have heard the giggles! Later, as I drove the guests home, I asked them what their favorite part of the party was. One little friend answered, "The tea party. Your dad was so silly! {giggle*giggle}" And Hannah replied, "Yeah, he learned to talk like that because he went to Hawaii one time."

I scheduled the party for an hour and a half, and we finished a few minutes early. That's just about all I can handle!


Hannah asked for macaroni and cheese with hot dogs for her birthday dinner. So, on her birthday, we ate whatever left-overs we could find in the fridge (including mac&cheese w/hotdogs).


We didn't even make a cake until the following day. Hannah's all excited about yellow lately, so she had a lemon cake. I also bought some ice cream that I thought she would like. It was some sort of triple berry flavor, and it was purple. But after one bite, Hannah said, "It tastes like lipstick." My brother's review was that it was like eating a scented candle. I took their word for it, and just threw the carton away.

I'm glad Hannah's still young enough to appreciate meager efforts to celebrate her special day. But I still feel kind of bad for her.

And next month we'll get to do it again. Two days after Christmas is Lauren's special day!