Audrey Turns Four

Audrey Turns Four

Album | Slideshow

Today was Audrey's 4th birthday. Well, technically her 5th if you count the day she was actually born. Wow. It's hard to believe we have a four-year-old.

Carol tells the story that when she was afraid as the mother of a newborn, she'd remind herself that someday Audrey would be 4 and that particular set of fears would be gone. Here we are.

Audrey had a fantastic birthday. Carol spent the evenings this week making cake layers and then was up late last night assembling it. She made a 5-layer castle cake with ice cream cone towers at the corners. It had chocolate windows and doors and drawbridge, with a big 4 on top. It was gorgeous and Audrey was thrilled.

I blew up a whole bag of balloons last night and made a big pile of them in the living room. We could hear Audrey exclaim when she came out of her room this morning. She and I and Charlotte played in the balloons for a long time this morning before the party.

Carol had invited four of Audrey's friends for a party at our house from 11:00-1:00. Ian and Andrew are children of friends from when we were all single. Ian was born 2 weeks after Audrey and Andrew is a little older. Harper is Audrey's best friend from pre-school. And Molly is the daughter of friends that Carol I know from our dancing days at the Century Ballroom: Cori and Mark. Almost all of them brought a sibling and a parent or two.

Carol made little snack bowls for each kid and we made quesadillas (a real favorite lately). She also made a "sensory table" like at pre-school. She froze toy rings into various molds (cupcake tins, bundt pan) and the kids could work to get the ring melted out of the ice. The balloons were also a big hit. For a while the kids were rubbing balloons on their heads and sticking them to the wall and having great fun.

At noon they all sat down for cake and the beautiful castle got destroyed. The house got a lot quieter all of a sudden. But even when the kids were at full tilt the house didn't seem as chaotic as it had during previous gatherings. Maybe I'm just getting used to it.

Then it was on to gift opening. Audrey's friends gave her some great toys and she loved every one. After that the party wound down with kid hugs all around. Overall a great success we think.

For several months Audrey has been asking for a princess vanity she saw in an insert in a Disney DVD. Carol and I debated because it's entirely plastic and we'd prefer to get her something more "real". But her desire for it was so unwavering we finally decided that we would go with her taste instead of ours. Unfortunately when I assembled it last night the central feature (princesses that magically appear in the mirrors) didn't work. So after the party, while I slept on the sofa and Audrey watched a movie and Charlotte napped, Carol went back to the store and exchanged it. I assembled the new one while Aunt Betsy (my sister Elizabeth) played with the girls.

We had a nice dinner with just us and Elizabeth, and then Audrey opened "family" gifts. Aunt Betsy gave Audrey a new princess dress (she long ago outgrew her previous one and Charlotte wears it now, even though it's pretty decrepit). Grandma and Grandpa gave Audrey some princess accessories and some cool new clothes. Then we finally unveiled the vanity. Audrey loved it. She wanted to take it to bed with her.

Charlotte got a couple of small gifts too because we figured she probably wouldn't understand why only Audrey was getting loot. In the end, Audrey did a pretty good job of sharing her new toys with Charlotte.

We think it's interesting that Audrey loves princesses so much because she seems like a tomboy at heart. But they are definitely her favorite thing at present. We just go with it.

It felt like we (mostly Carol) put a lot more energy into this birthday than any previous one. When kids are two they barely appreciate the concept of birthday. At three they're getting a little more savvy. But this year Audrey was very aware of when her birthday was and what it meant (both the aging part and the gift part). She's been telling us for months what she wants for her birthday. The vanity was a constant, but also every time she saw something she wanted she'd add it to her imaginary list. So the party was a lot of work (again, mostly for Carol) but it felt like it really paid off and Audrey enjoyed "her special day" (her words!). Thanks, Carol, for all your creativity and work!

We went to bed early because we've both been up late the last two nights. But my brain wouldn't turn off, so here I am at 12:45 AM finishing up this post. That's one thing off my list! Maybe I can go to sleep now. Good night!