We began the day early, opening presents before school.
David put a great deal of care into decorating his present for Mary. . .
Including a picture of the two of them . . .
Mary was a happy girl that morning.
It's not often that your big brother will spend the morning playing ponies with you. A birthday is a special day!
Later that day, at school, was Mary's Montessori birthday celebration. Love it. More meaningful than cupcakes and chaos. Last year I described it in more detail. But this year I took pictures:
Mary walks around the room and introduces each of her friends to us, naming each child one by one.
I tell stories about her and show beautiful pictures of Baby Mary. She beams with pride to hear me and her dad talk about her. Then her friends tell her that they love her, that they like to push her on the tire swing, that they are happy she is in their class. Her smile fills the room.
Then she takes the globe and makes the journey around the sun candle. Four times.
She shares a treat. Her friends wait patiently until everyone has been served.
Mary sits in the middle, in the place of honor. We sing to her.
She smiles.
Then she holds up the number 4. She blows out the candle. And then we eat, after Mary has taken the first bite, of course.
And what better way to end a celebration than with a dance party? Mary gets to pick the song, "Wiggle Worm."
Then Mary gives her daddy a hug good-bye. (Greg rescheduled a meeting with some fancy-pants big shots so that he could attend. Look at this picture. Don't you think he's glad he did?)
What a happy celebration. (In case you didn't know, I love Mary's school. So does she.)
That afternoon, once David was home from school, we ventured to mall so Mary could build a bear. We're not really mall people, so it was definitely a special afternoon. Mary insisted that David get to build a bear too, since it was her birthday and she was the boss. They both enjoyed building their bears. A lot.
There she is, all finished.
By the way, Mary named her bear "Hello Kitty." And she has been lovingly caring for her every since.
That was that.
We ate dinner at the mall because our kids think the food court is like the most wonderful place on earth so whatever. And soon thereafter Mary crashed. Celebrating is hard work.
It was a happy, special day for a happy, special girl.
