Happy Birthday Hazel!

 Hazel's fourth birthday was on Saturday, December 1st.  Todd had drill that weekend, and Hazel's savvy enough with a calendar by now that we couldn't get away with pretending December 1st was a different day.  After a lot of thought, we decided to explain our situation to her and suggest we celebrate her birthday the following Saturday instead.  She was all for it.  I love that she cared more about having her dad with her than she did about celebrating on the actual day she was born. 

We still took care to make the 1st a significant day.  I still called her "birthday girl" and gave her extra attention.  I made homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, per request. 

She went to a friend's birthday party, and I wasn't sure how she would take that.  Other than one sad revelation after the party that she had felt like her friend was opening all of her presents, she took it like a trooper, running and playing, eating cake and having a ball with all the kids.  It was a superhero party, and I let her wear her favorite dress-up dress along with her cape and mask.  She was pretty stoked about it. 

When we got home from the party, Hazel wanted to ride bikes, and I said she could.  That in itself is huge.  We haven't been biking much the last few weeks because we've had visitors and rain, and I'm so big it's uncomfortable for me to corral Jack on Hazel's path and try to keep up with them. 

That night, we got burgers for dinner and had a movie night at the house before bed.  And that's all it took to make this little firecracker feel extra loved even though her dad was gone. 

Yesterday (Saturday, December 8th) then became Hazel's "birthday."  Todd's sisters Laura and Beany were visiting for the weekend, and they made Hazel feel like they had come just for her. 

 

Hazel woke up to streamers and balloons at her door and a pile of presents on the table.  We had blueberry muffins and sausage for breakfast (and steak for dinner).  

 Hazel had her first birthday party and invited a handful of her best buddies.  We were so glad they could all come.  I was especially touched by the handmade cards several of the kids made to go along with their presents.  Lots of love! 

The party had a dress-up theme, since that is Hazel's top obsession.  I made capes and masks for the boys and tutus and necklaces for the girls.  They were on and off throughout the whole party, but everyone took theirs home.  Hazel never even put her tutu on, but I can't really blame her, as she's more of a gown girl anyway, and she had just received several new additions to her dress-up collection that she wanted to sport. 

 We did a few crafts (that only the girls were interested in) and played a few games: musical chairs; balloon hot potato; Duck, Duck, Goose; freeze dance; Simon Says.  Everyone was happy to just run free and play with our toys, which was a relief, because we finished our planned activities twenty minutes before the end of the party!  Times like these, man, they make me wish we had a backyard! 

 Everyone had sweet moves for freeze dance, but I've got to say Nova had the most heart. 

 The cake was ... a step down from last years'.  It was very child-driven, so maybe that's why it turned out soooo much less cute than I had imagined, but maybe Hazel will remember and love it more for that.  I tried to be fancy and add some purple swirly detailing to the frosting, and Hazel got excited and thought it made it look like water.  Hence, she insisted that her featured princesses were all swimming.  Face down. 

 Note the double dress-ups you can see in this picture.  New Nana dress on top of new Jasmine dress-up. 

 

Todd was an incredible party runner.  He led out in most of the games, played with the boys when all the girls were busy coloring, and had the entire crew entranced by his dramatic storybook reading.  (You should have heard the silly voice he used to sing Down By the Bay!)  

 Our major worry for the party was lighting.  We got notice about a week ahead that our power company was shutting down our electricity to work on the power lines right at the same time we were having the party.  We borrowed a camping lantern from Jefferson's family, and Aunt Erika brought one with her from Oakland.  The lights were on and off throughout the morning, so we didn't sit in darkness the whole time, but it did make for some interesting ambiance.  Actually, not a single kid mentioned it, so I don't think they even noticed, but the adults sure did! 

Erika

Julena

 The Aunts did a great job of loving on Jack so he didn't feel ignored or bored or left out.  He got lots of love this weekend. 

Laura

 We sure are thankful Hazel (aka the little fireball) is a part of our family.  She is wild and creative, smart, curious, imaginative, energetic, and funny.  We love you, Hazel!