I realize we could have just done one party for the month, instead of three, and called it good, and honestly that would have been easier. But it's really important to me that we celebrate the kids as individuals - that has always been the case, but even more so as they gain more and more siblings. I want to make sure that they know they are seen and known and celebrated as unique people and particular gifts to us, not just one of the crowd. Your birthday is the last day on which you should feel overlooked!
But also, with the girls' birthdays so close together, it was just logistically simpler for out-of-town family to only come once, so a third party was in order.
As usual, I served taco bar. I am nothing if not efficient/orderly/boring/predictable. Taco bar is my favorite for guests because most toppings can be purchased ready-made, so all I have to do is cook the meat, and because people can make them according to their own preferences or food sensitivities. And who doesn't like tacos? After lunch, we dug into some birthday treats. First up was Juni's cupcakes, and then Penelope's brownies, both kindly made by my mom.
After snack, we opened presents. The highlight of the day was Penelope's new guitar (and Callista's new pretend coffin. Don't ask why she thinks that's so fun).
In all, it was a great day, which was then followed by a great night - Ophelia slept all the way through the night! We got to church on time (dare I say, EARLY) on Sunday and the little girls did so amazingly well through the service that I didn't need to leave even once to nurse the baby or discipline a squirrely girly. The kids are learning more and more each week how to sit still and quiet for a longer stretch of time than they're used to. They're doing such a great job.
After church, Todd always makes us lunch, which is just so sweet.
This week we didn't get as much school done as usual. I had to call off read alouds because some house projects came up. Luckily, we did make some progress and even got the yard cleaned up, which was a long time coming. A friend came and even removed a bunch of our trashy lawn junk/broken toys, and we took a couple of loads of leaves to the compost site. I had the boys move a bunch of landscaping bricks to clean out the leaves that had piled up around them, and then rake and move them all back, and then bag up the leaves. They were so exhausted they were all falling asleep on the couch at 4:30 p.m. Then the next day, they asked if I had any more bricks I wanted moved! Apparently they had a good time.
Rocco: "You know how Penelope has a business growing flowers to make money? I'm going to start my own business, too. I'm going to design bugs. Here is my first one."
The frame is made out of an old pizza box, and this might possibly be the best thing I've ever seen in my life. I will 100% buy any and every bug he ever designs.
Yesterday morning I did all my grocery runs - first to the Azure drop, where I got some chicken feed, peanut butter, sugar, hand soap and ten pounds of raw cheese. Then to Aldi, then to Walmart.
Today's agenda includes making birthday meals (boiled eggs and bacon for breakfast, grilled cheese and chips for lunch) for this beautiful birthday girl.
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Penelope is relentlessly Penelope. She is so funny and so smart. She has more creativity in her little finger than most people possess in all. She loves to craft and draw and write stories and spin tales for her and her siblings to act out. She is learning to bake, and loves it. She often will bring a little sister into the kitchen with her to include in the fun. She is fantastic with the younger kids, and is so responsible. I often leave her in charge of the littler ones if I have a quick errand to run, and I will frequently come home to not only find everyone happy and well cared for, but the house picked up as well. She is amazing with Ophelia, and loves spending time with her. Once, it was time to put Ophelia down for nap, but when I went to get her, I discovered Penelope had beaten me to it, and Ophelia was snoozing soundly in her arms in the rocking chair.
She love animals and spends much of her free time these days playing with the chickens. She also has a stuffed dog named Oliver that is a favorite pal.
She is thoughtful and kind. She loves making people feel special, and knows just how to do it. I hope she knows how special she is to the rest of us as well!
She is twelve! TWELVE! I have loved these years with her, and look forward to getting to know her better and better as she continues to grow. Happy birthday, sweet girl!
And lastly, simply because I couldn't find a better spot to put these in the main body of the blog, but I also couldn't bear the thought of not sharing them, I send you on your way with these photos of Ophelia:
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