Alice Turns 3!

Happy Birthday to Alice! Our big girl is getting bigger, and reminding us of it every day. This morning, she woke up and came into our room to snuggle. We bewildered her by singing "Today is Your Birthday" before she got under the blanket and snuggled down into my pillow. She asked if I could go make her breakfast while she kept resting. I laughed out loud, then rolled out of bed. It's her birthday after all, right? She requested yogurt and cereal.

It was a relaxed morning. Bobby left for his usual meetings and we got started on Alice's birthday dessert. Despite many not-so-subtle attempts to sway her towards choosing a birthday pie, Alice finally decided on a "yellow animal cake" and "rainbow ice cream." She did choose a round cake, though, unassisted. She settled on chocolate cake with yellow buttercream frosting and a generous helping of circus animal cookies. Pure, sugary joy. I don't remember animal cookies being fluorescent before. Anyway, Alice helped with every step, even deciding that she would prefer two short cakes instead of one tall cake. While the cakes baked, she took a luxurious bath with cherry-scented shampoo and a full-length mirror nearby (I can't thank our neighbors enough for loaning us that mirror! Alice is a total ham and can't get enough of herself, especially in the tub!) Here she is just after the bath when we finished decorating the cakes with cookies:

When we got home from church, Alice somehow stumbled across my stash of 3T summer clothes in her closet and picked out a new party dress to wear. Pink and flowey...no surprise. Then she placed the candles in her cake.

We ate dinner and played around until the Evanses arrived for dessert. Grandma Poulson surprised us with a birthday call and Alice surprised us with the news that she expected Grandma and Grandpa to be coming to the party that night. Uh-oh. We had talked several times about Grandma coming to visit after Baby Zurg is born, but somehow Alice thought that trip included her birthday party as well. She sobbed and sobbed when we broke the news. It made Grandma feel terrible, of course, but Alice's especially dramatic outburst was a clear indication of her fatigue, not any emotional trauma caused by Grandma's phone call. At least you know you're loved, Mom, and we're both eager for you to come visit :)

We wasted no time breaking into the cake and ice cream as soon as the Evanses arrived.

The Evanses gave Alice a neat collection of "progressive" animal puzzles that have 4, 6, or 9 pieces per puzzle and I finally gave her the rainbow bedroll thingy I made. Both gifts were thoroughly enjoyed by Alice and Will while the adults chatted the rest of the evening. It was a very relaxing and fun event for me. I could do birthdays like this any time :)

Perhaps I should take a few moments to ponder how my life has changed since Alice got involved? Or maybe this is the moment to muse about this amazing little person I've absolutely loved loving for three years?

Unfortunately, I'm not feeling philosophical or nostalgic at the moment. I do plenty of that on this blog anyway :) I did, however, gain yet another insight into this mother-of-two issue I've been mulling over. Today at church we sat next to our friends who have a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old. Then I watched Will and Kayla play at our house tonight. I knew both of those families pretty well before either of the 2nd children came along, and yet I can no longer imagine either family without their youngest child. Remembering them with only one child seems lonely, somehow, even when it was just right for the time. This revelation gives me hope.

Is it possible that I might remember these times with "just Alice" as somehow having missed something? Will all this turmoil about being a one-on-one mom to two kids melt away once my memory of "life with one" fades a bit? I doubt it's that easy, but I have hope now that it won't be impossibly difficult.

Phooey, I guess I was feeling a bit philosophical after all :)