Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

I probably should have written a post on Friday, but I was still too in shock over the realization that I was now the mother of an eight year old. Cordy’s birthday was Friday and I spent the early morning just staring at her and wondering where all of the time went.

Eight feels so much more grown up than seven. She’s crossing that threshold into big kid now (I can’t even think of the word tween yet) which is both exciting and frightening. Cordy gained so many new skills in the past year and pushes for more independence, but at the same time she’s still so very innocent and unsure of the world.

We didn’t have an official party for her this year. She doesn’t really like parties. Besides, we had a big reunion of friends to attend on Saturday – including several kids she’s friends with – so we were happy to combine occasions and just bring a cake with us to the gathering. Then on Sunday we had family visiting, so Cordy had the chance to celebrate her birthday with them, too.

Instead of one day of celebrating, it turned into a weekend-long birthday extravaganza.

On Friday, after she received a few presents from us, we took her out to dinner at her favorite restaurant with her uncle and aunt. As we sat down and the server handed us menus, Cordy got her attention and brightly exclaimed, “Hi, it’s my birthday today, but please don’t sing to me!” She has never liked people singing to her – it’s a sensory issue she’s had since she was young. Singing to her usually results in her hiding under a table for awhile.

Thankfully, the server understood, and when the meal was done she quietly slipped Cordy a hot fudge sundae and a balloon with no crowd of servers to sing at her. And so dinner ended with everyone happy and Cordy still in her seat and not under the table.

On Saturday we made the drive up to northern Ohio to spend the day with friends. The house we go to is just outside of a small town, with lots of backyard to run and play in. What started as a semi-warm, sunny day quickly turned into rain for over an hour. After it stopped, the kids quickly ran outside again, ignoring the drop in temperature. (How do their small bodies keep from freezing?) It wasn’t long before we were all being ordered by the kids to come outside and see the amazing sky.

The kids were right:

As we marveled at the most beautiful rainbow I’ve ever seen, Cordy ran to me and said, “Look, mommy! The sky gave me a rainbow for my birthday! That’s such a nice gift!” She was right, it was a lovely gift.

On Sunday the festivities continued. Aaron took Cordy and Mira to Chuck E Cheese for an early lunch (another request from Cordy) while I straightened up the house. They came home just as family arrived to spend time with Cordy, and different family members cycled through as the day went on.

As much as she wanted her birthday to last forever, Cordy was also showing signs of overload by mid-day. She spent much of the late afternoon in the dining room working in one of her new workbooks while everyone else was in the living room, and later went to her room to be alone for a bit. I was able to coax her back down before dinner, though.

By 8:30pm, the house was finally quiet again. And I was exhausted. I’m still exhausted. It was great to see friends and family this weekend, but I’m looking forward to spending much of the next few days working by myself.

But Cordy had a great birthday, and that’s what matters the most. Happy birthday to the warrior princess!