Birthday Week Ends with a 4!

The week of birthday madness ends at midnight. I wish that I could show the photos taken at the party, but my card reader is still somewhere in the universe where I cannot find it (and my keys, all of them, have joined it), and I keep forgetting to buy one when I'm in a store. I did take a couple of pics with my iPod of Ella playing with a birthday gift.

There's something downright disturbing about your baby turning four. She isn't a baby anymore. She isn't a toddler. She's a big kid. The good news is that she is a cuddly big kid.

3 and 4 are my favorite ages. I remember when DeLaynie was almost four, and I kept worrying that I preferred DeLaynie over Ella. Now that Ella is at that age, I find myself concerned that I prefer Ella. I suddenly realized that it wasn't the person that I prefer but the age. It's the time in a kid's life when she is independent enough to play alone and with other kids, but not so independent that a mom feels unnecessary. I felt much better with this realization.

Oh No, She Didn't!

Yes. Yes, she did. Today my daughter DeLaynie turned six years old, which is theoretically impossible because yesterday she was a 6 1/2 lb newborn. I keep telling her that she has to stop this whole "growing up" thing, but she is so stubborn that she flatly refuses to listen to her mother. I have a feeling that she is going to continue her rebellious streak right into adulthood.

DeLaynie and Ella will have their combined birthday party on Saturday. They are both anxious for it to get here. I'm anxious to complete the preparations. I'm just glad that their birthdays are close enough that we can celebrate them together. I know that the day will come when they are no longer okay with sharing a party, but I have every intention to ride this train to the very last stop.