Bridgett turns 5!

An event is coming up in our family that has been talked of and planned of for months and months and (long, exhausting) months. It is Willa's fifth birthday in October. A second event, only slightly less important and slightly less talked about was Bridgett's birthday on August 31. I feel like we've had to patiently try to explain how many months/weeks/days/sleeps/years/etc. before these events for the past six months or more. It's exhausting. One particular funny time came at the pool this summer when Willa looked up at one of my friends and told her in all seriousness that her birthday was going to be in 100 years. Finally, FINALLY one of the long awaited days arrived.

Bridgett had a mermaid and pirate themed party at her grandma's pool. The highlight for Willa was the treasure hunt because in the hidden treasure chest were pirate swords for all the boys and, gasp!, mermaid tails for all the girls. Kim's girls had been begging her for mermaid tails for a while and instead of spending the money she thought she would experiment by sewing some. She got some swimsuit fabric and sewed a little thing for the legs, then left and opening for the feet to stick out and lined it with tulle. So, there wasn't a mono-fin or anything at the bottom, but Willa actually really preferred this homemade version because she liked having her feet free and it also allowed her to do a little waddle if she needed to walk somewhere. The originals turned out so well that Kim decided to make them for everyone at the party.

We had a great time and we were so happy to celebrate with Bridgett. The one thing I learned is that if you have eleven children, please do not leave eight of them (including several large teenagers) at a five-year-old's birthday party. Or, if you do leave them to swim, you ought to make sure to tell them that they don't get to hit the pinata, participate in any other birthday games or activities, and that they should make sure all the little kids get a piece of cake before they do. It wasn't super annoying but it doubled the size of the party and turned it from a small affair into quite the crowd. The parts that really got me was when Kim had to go get one of the mermaid tails off one of them because one of the little girls didn't get them and then when they got in line for the pinata so the little kids (including Bridgett) really only got one small turn to swing. I probably won't have eleven children, so this advice is lost on me, but if anyone reading this has that posse, now you know.

The birthday girl and several older kids in the background.

The party was on the Saturday before Bridgett's actual birthday, which was Monday. We have been so sad that Bridgett has started kindergarten and we are left without our best friend during the week. Luckily, Bridgett had a dentist appointment to get a tooth pulled and the dentist recommended that she stay at home that day rather than going to school. We were happy to drive out and spend the day after her birthday playing for hours. I got a little video of the girls dancing together. It's a little long, so don't feel like you have to watch it. They are just so cute together.