Greta: 8 Years Old
She's eight! Every year, during the buildup and then the celebration of Lucia's birthday, Greta's birthday seems a million years away. She waits and waits. Finally, it came, and we celebrated her eighth birthday yesterday. She's been sick for days--fever and cough and throat, with two doctor visits and a strep test and lots of time breathing in albuterol through the nebulizer--but is on the upswing, so she was mostly able to enjoy her day.
She woke up to find a letter board in her room spelling out "Happy 8th Birthday Greta" then came downstairs to find a giant number 8 balloon and flowers. She (and Lucia) opened two presents right away--a new Fox Trot book and a Kit (American Girl) building set. She asked for crepes for breakfast. It was an insanely rainy day, but at eleven we headed out nonetheless to the Rahway Kitty Hall--a cat cafe in a nearby town. It was a great place. Lots of very sweet, playful kittens, plus toys and treats to entice them with. We played with the cats for an hour, then headed home.
There was a slight hiccup--Greta had requested sushi for lunch, but our two favorite sushi restaurants are closed until dinnertime on Sundays. Fortunately, I found another sushi restaurant that delivers, so we were able to get out of the rain and still have a delicious sushi lunch.
In the afternoon, the girls opened their birthday gifts from the Littells, and then we made popcorn and watched Maleficent. Andrew made Greta's requested dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. While it cooked, we carved pumpkins.
Then Greta FINALLY got to open her presents: her long-awaited suitcase and Google Home Mini, a new Maileg, slippers, the entire Phoebe and Her Unicorn graphic novel series, Cat Stax (a game), and sundry other items. The suitcase and the Google were her most exciting gifts.
We ate dinner, and then I brought out the cake, festooned with twelve tiny puppy figurines. The "cake gift," always the final and much-anticipated gift of a birthday. We sang. She blew out the candles--which, she said, is the moment she really turned eight. Happy birthday, sweet pea. I tried to convince her to just stay seven but she refused with a smile.
She woke up to find a letter board in her room spelling out "Happy 8th Birthday Greta" then came downstairs to find a giant number 8 balloon and flowers. She (and Lucia) opened two presents right away--a new Fox Trot book and a Kit (American Girl) building set. She asked for crepes for breakfast. It was an insanely rainy day, but at eleven we headed out nonetheless to the Rahway Kitty Hall--a cat cafe in a nearby town. It was a great place. Lots of very sweet, playful kittens, plus toys and treats to entice them with. We played with the cats for an hour, then headed home.
There was a slight hiccup--Greta had requested sushi for lunch, but our two favorite sushi restaurants are closed until dinnertime on Sundays. Fortunately, I found another sushi restaurant that delivers, so we were able to get out of the rain and still have a delicious sushi lunch.
In the afternoon, the girls opened their birthday gifts from the Littells, and then we made popcorn and watched Maleficent. Andrew made Greta's requested dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. While it cooked, we carved pumpkins.
Then Greta FINALLY got to open her presents: her long-awaited suitcase and Google Home Mini, a new Maileg, slippers, the entire Phoebe and Her Unicorn graphic novel series, Cat Stax (a game), and sundry other items. The suitcase and the Google were her most exciting gifts.
We ate dinner, and then I brought out the cake, festooned with twelve tiny puppy figurines. The "cake gift," always the final and much-anticipated gift of a birthday. We sang. She blew out the candles--which, she said, is the moment she really turned eight. Happy birthday, sweet pea. I tried to convince her to just stay seven but she refused with a smile.
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