Birthdays and other milestones.

For starters, Lily ate a mango yesterday. Oh, and Eve rolled from tummy to back.
Anna turned six last Monday. She had a great party with a few friends last Saturday - we took them all ice-skating at the local rink and although some kids were more thrilled than others, I think the birthday girl was pretty satisfied. That's what I was shooting for. I seem to sit on pins and needles just waiting for Anna to tell me that things didn't turn out the way she had planned. Last year, I think her exact words were, "Mom, this was the party that you wanted, not the one I wanted." In response, I decided two things: 1. To give her exactly what she wants for her birthday party (within reason). 2. To give her no party the following year. That way we can suppress the "Me, me, ME! urge" that is so obviously associated with birthdays and fit the festivities into a reasonable budget.
Monday was a pretty normal day but we celebrated with just our family by allowing her to select our dinner menu (grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup), eat leftover cake and ice cream, and open presents. Personally, I think she's starting to "get" the fact that presents are always a let down. Even if you get exactly what you want, the high wears off quickly because it's just stuff. So we focused on the experience, played a game as a family and let the girls have their first sleepover downstairs in the family room, complete with sleeping bags, hair styling, and a movie to boot.