Monday, August 13, 2012

Birthday Bash(es)

How can you possibly celebrate a 3 year old birthday in one day? Especially when the  mother of the 3 year old comes for a line of thinking where every conceivable activity in one's birthday month is "for your birthday"? We started the party-ing on August 3rd and we're still going strong . . . I think I am having as much or more fun than anyone involved! 

I feel like memories really start at 3, especially when jogged by pictures and videos. Karis's delight in daily things and her wide eyed discoveries are so amazing now, it's been delightful to introduce her to some new adventures on her birthday week. 

We started on a Friday morning with a first-ever (well, since she was a napping-all-time-time-in-the-car-seat infant) trip to the Mall of America. I'll always remember walking around the first floor (after finding awesomely on sale replacement crocs), she would turn to me once in a while and say, "Mommy, we're at the Mall of AMERICA!" Legoland left her speechless. The amusement park rides, courtesy of Trev's coworkers, left her completely enthralled (and left Trevor a bit green, such a sport of a dad!).

We planned out the whole "actual birthday" and Karis seemed to enjoy every minute . . . a brunch of bacon, donut muffins, and watermelon star-shaped cutouts fueled us all (my parents, brother and his girlfriend joined the whole day) for our first stop: Hyland Park, aka "Chutes and Ladders". She walked up over the hill and said, "It's HUGE!". She got played out and soaked, just in time to head to Chipotle for lunch. Then nappers (of course), grandma painted her toenails, and then we headed to Snuffy's for burgers. The evening ended at gma and gpa's hotel with some pool time and then popcorn in bed while watching the olympics and playing with her new dollhouse. Whoa, life is good.

The party continued the next day with parents and my bro's girlfriend's family, we had a blast at M's pool with her 2 nieces and 2 nephews and their families - Karis is still talking about it every day. They even put candles in her post-pizza brownie. The most exciting part of that evening for Karis was sitting by her friend Maize, they stayed at the table for over an hour! 

Monday found us at the hotel again with popcorn in bed, and that evening included pizza again courtesy of our amazing neighbors. Tuesday was a neighborhood block party, Wed. a birthday-ish bbq with friends. Thursday really "cut the cake" as they say: we went to an outdoor concert in downtown Hopkins that was an Elvis impersonator. Karis: "There are a LOT of people here!" Indeed, and many of them were donning Elvis t-shirts. Karis got comfortable after a while and got up to dance a bit - priceless! Friday found us driving to Carver County Fair (love fairs, brings back such good memories of the ND State Fair). Karis was surprisingly not interested in the animal barns ("go back out"), but loved her 10 minute turn on the bouncy house . . . and the ostrich burger we shared for dinner. Yes, ostrich. Oh, and the highlight was perhaps the dum-dum sucker she got in a commercial building. Oh, if only it would always be this simple. Soon she will be asking for the cowgirl hat and to play the games where you spend silly amounts of money to try and win stuffed gorillas. 

This weekend we kept the party going with Trev's family who came to town . . . bodies in motion stay in motion . . . we are still going . . . 

I definitely had some emotional moments, just thinking about the miracle of life and that we have this gift of intricately watching Karis's unfold. 

Psalm 139: 13 - 16
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderful made; 
your works are wonderful, 
I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place, 
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 
Your eyes saw my unformed body; 
all the days ordained for me were written in your book 
before one of them came to be.








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