You know, that event 15 days ago...

I know I didn't do a timely follow-up so in case you have been kept in suspense...yes, it happened. Madeline's fourth birthday came. And went. And it was glorious.

She loves being 4 years old and feels like an incredibly big girl. I knew she was looking forward to her birthday but I had no idea that it would be such a huge mental shift for her.

She thinks 4-year-old's are pretty invincible. I'd hate to pop that bubble.

The theme of her party was "Madeline in Paris" from the book series and my little Madeline loved it. We pronounce her name like "ma-duh-lynn" but on her birthday, she wanted to only be called "ma-duh-line."

She got what she wanted but I was also glad that her wish ended at the stroke of midnight. When she woke up the next morning, she wanted to go back to "ma-duh-lynn."

To pull off the party, I used a lot of ideas from this Madeline party blog. Obviously I did not use every idea, including but not limited to the adorable but expensive red luggage favors and hand-sewn outfits for every little guest. (Hello, no way.)

But Joe did make a cute sign for our front door, I made red, yellow and blue pom-poms (which were so unbelievably easy that I will now make pom-poms for every party from now until eternity) and I bought used Madeline books from Half Price Books for party favors. (At less than $2 for each book, it was way cheaper than loading up a plastic baggie with small toys and candy.)

I made a little school outfit for Madeline to wear (I know!!) and Joe printed out the prettiest book cover, in my opinion, to add to the decor.

We served French-themed food like ham and cheese croissants, Nutella, salami and baguettes and a fruit and cheese tray that looked like the French flag (blueberries, Brie and strawberries).

This might have been my most favorite party to throw simply because of the large amounts of Nutella. Do you think 16-year-old Madeline will still want to dress up an elementary schoolgirl just so I can put out Nutella?

Janna made a red velvet and cream cheese cake that looked like a hard with a red ribbon around it.

Let's just say we were eating pretty for days afterwards.

And since that was two weeks ago, a lot of life has happened since then but I honestly can't think of what else. I'm watching the delayed broadcast of the Indy 500 and there's only 23 laps to go so my heart is totally not in wrapping this up well.

(Yes, I'm one of those few annoying Indy people who avoids news and the Internet all day so I can watch the broadcast without knowing anything about the race. It's just how I roll.)

I'll catch you on the flipside.

Four

May 14, 2007

It's Madeline's birthday tomorrow. She'll be four years old.

I would pay big bucks to always remember every detail that makes her who she is right now.

Like the way she acts so grown-up and talks with her hands but how her hands are still pudgy like a baby.

 May 14, 2008

This kid who made me a mom is growing up before my eyes. 

I can't stop it but part of me doesn't want to anyways.

My little fine wine, she's only gotten better each year.

 May 14, 2009

She's psyched out of her mind about her birthday this year. 

She thinks the reason she can go to school is because she'll be four. 

She also thinks being four is the reason she doesn't need the "baby seat" in a sit 'n stand stroller.

 May 14, 2010 

Several months ago, new construction started in a spot we pass almost daily. Madeline loved to watch the construction progress and we realized pretty quickly it would be a restaurant.

She dubbed it "The Restaurant." It became part of our daily happenings to chat about what The Restaurant might be and how soon The Restaurant would be finished. Then the sign for KFC appeared and we told Madeline The Restaurant would have macaroni and cheese.

Her enthusiasm quadrupled.

The Restaurant opened last week and we're going there for dinner tonight. A certain almost-4-year-old needs some mac and cheese.

May 13, 2011

In case this picture isn't a big enough clue, she has picked "Madeline in Paris" as her party theme this year.

There's a strong possibility I love this theme as much as she does. 

Every year, I have the same birthday wish for Madeline and it still hasn't changed this time around. 

I pray she knows how special she is because God made her and He doesn't make mistakes. My wish is that she will always know that.

Happy birthday my Madeline-girl. I can't wait to eat some pink sprinkle doughnuts with you tomorrow morning.

Dancing queens

Yesterday we went to The Children's Museum with Addie and August and met up our friends Blake and Morgan.


After a fun morning, it was time to leave because all the kids were tired and it was most definitely nap time.


As we were walking out, Jenn took her kids to the bathroom and Madeline and Addie were drawn to the blaring music from the Barbie exhibit.


This is what ensued when the girls found one last spurt of energy.





When Madeline dances, she thinks she is a Jazzercise instructor. In case you can't understand her, she is yelling, "BREAK IT DOWN. BREAK IT DOWN." over and over again.


This is exactly why I love being mom to a 3 year old. And, specifically, this 3 year old.

Kisses are better in sets

To me, she is:

Madeline

Madeline-Girl

Maisie

Lennie

Baby

Sweets

Sweet Cheeks

Babydoll

Girl-er

Munchin
Baby cakes

My daughter

I wasn't feeling good last night and was lying down on the couch. Madeline came up to me and gave me the Madeline Specialty: two hugs and two kisses.

I told her that made me feel so much better.

She gave me two more hugs and two more kisses. Then she said she could do this all night.

Me too, kiddo. Me too.

I think this covers everything

I'm not sure if another weekend could ever pack all the emotions and events we experienced the past three days.

In 72 hours, we:

• chose the Royal Wedding over sleep
• attended an emotional funeral, viewing and burial
• celebrated the birth of a new baby (his parents went from the family lunch after the burial straight to the hospital so, really, they deserve the trophy for most extreme emotions)
• rejoiced (and I cried, of course) as 246 people responded to open baptism at church
• raptly watched every minute of Celebrity Apprentice until it was interrupted (Good night NeNe!)
• and then raptly watched every minute before, during and after the President announced the death of Osama bin Laden.

You know how last week some people were like, "Who cares so much about the Royal Wedding? Who will actually get up and watch it? Quit putting Kate on every magazine cover! Quit running Datelines on the wedding!"

Yeah, I was not one of those people. 

For those of you who know me on Facebook, yes, the rumors are true. I attended a Royal Wedding slumber party. Since all my sister-in-laws were in town for the funeral, we spent the night at my in-laws on Thursday night. I woke up at 3:55 a.m. and since my eyes could barely open, I had to feel my way to the basement. But once I heard Diane Sawyer's melodious voice and took a bite of The Pioneer Woman's amazing vanilla scones, I woke up completely to take in the vision that was trees in Westminster Abbey and a tiny waist I can only dream about.

I know Joe still thinks I was crazy for not recording the wedding and watching it with the sun and all other awake living creatures. but I absolutely loved every minute, knowing my friends Will and Kate were in the Abbey at that exact moment.

Okay, so maybe that does look obsessive and slightly insane when written out but I truly did not regret it, even though we had a long day ahead of us.

Also, it's in my blood since my mom called me at 5:57 a.m. just to say, "CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING? SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL! THIS IS JUST LIKE CHARLES AND DIANA! SHE IS REALLY GOING TO BE A REAL PRINCESS!"

Clearly I have no other destiny than to get giddy over royal vows. It's my genes. And I am in no way making fun of my mom or another else who made such statements since I was saying them too when she called.

(And I woke Madeline up at 5:49 a.m., right before Kate got in the car. Does that put me over the edge?)

Since this deserves more than just a blip on this super-serious news blog, I have to discuss the end of bin Laden. While so many people were thinking of the funniest Facebook statuses and tweets, all I could think was, "OH MY WORD OH MY WORD OH MY WORD THIS IS AMAZING."

But if there was ever a moment to be thankful for social media, it was at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night. Joe was in charge of Facebook and CNN and I handled Twitter. We read the latest updates and best lines to each other.

My favorite ones were:

• Got Bin Laden AND interrupted Celebrity Apprentice? Win for Obama all around.
• USA to Britain: we see your royal wedding and we raise you bin Laden.
• Obama: You know it, I know it, Chuck Norris did it.
• Rethinking many aspects of my life after realizing I found out Bin Laden was dead via Kim Kardashian's twitter feed.

It's been fun, ya'll but I'm kinda ready for some mediocre emotions, chips and salsa and Whale Wars. 

Also, Madeline finally settled on a birthday party theme. And the heavens opened, clouds parted and I heard angels singing. Just thought you'd want to know.