How could I forget?

Almost two weeks ago, Lily celebrated her fifth birthday. This little doll mistakenly thought that she would be starting kindergarten, immediately. I had to tell her that she would have to wait another 6 months but she seemed appeased by the fact that she is now the oldest in her Joy School class. My parents drove up to visit for the occasion. I'm sure my parents wonder how I ever get along without them, I rely on them SO much when they're here! Mom and Dad graciously broke up fights, read to kids wandering aimlessly about in preparation for nap/quiet time, played games while I prepared meals and handed them snacks in the car so that I could drive without distraction. The answer is, the kids pretty much suffer in silence when you're NOT here, guys.



Anyway, back to Lily. She is such a joy! Lily is a unique little critter, I tell you. She has a sparkling personality and SO much confidence - as evidenced by her unbridled behavior in public. A social butterfly by nature, she invited several friends to her birthday party - for next year, that is (though she didn't bother to tell them so), leaving a couple of confused moms calling me up because they had kids frantic with worry that they were missing Lily's birthday party and hadn't yet gotten her a present. Her many admirers still managed to bring by presents later that day.

She specifically requested a "wintery" cake, complete with a snowflake. I did the best I could.



When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she plainly answered, "Candy." I obliged and added a few presents to spice things up a bit.


Here she is sharing her candy with Rachel.



She loved all of her presents, but her favorite was most definitely the outfit Grandma and Grandpa Egbert provided. She wore it six out of the next seven days. I had to pry it from her hands to get it into the washing machine at least once.



What I love most about Lily, which seemed especially pronounced on this particular occasion, is that she is a positive, content individual. On bad days, this manifests itself as laziness or complacency. But on her birthday I was so grateful that she savored every minute, that she wasn't ripping presents open left and right just to get to the next one, and that she was genuinely pleased when all was said and done. I think that all the fanfare was just bonus - she seems to be satisfied with whatever comes her way. As I said before, she is a joy.

Recently, we can't get her to flash a genuine smile at the camera - it turns into some twisted face with a pirate-sort of grin. I tried to mimic that in this particular picture. Turns out, I was the only one looking stupid.



Happy Birthday Lily!