a peek inside the fishbowl

Sarah’s birthday weekend is officially over. Phew. Things are finally back to normal around here. I had coffee with Dani and Lucas this morning.

What a great way to kick off the week eh?

Look at her, isn’t she gorgeous? She JUST HAD A BABY PEOPLE.

Lucas was a perfect dream baby. Here he is, just barely tolerating me and my camera.

Would ya look at this handsome little guy? I think he liked me. (Or at least I hope he did, because I sure liked him.)

Birthday celebrations tend to stretch out over the course of a few days here at casa Fishbowl. It’s Sunday, and it’s still going strong.

Friday, Mark arrived home with a bouquet of balloons:

Friday was the actual day of her birthday so Sarah got to open her gifts. Emma got her a Webkinz mouse.

She loves all things mousey. This one is now named Teacup.

Here is the before shot of one of our gifts for Sarah.

Here she is opening it:

We got her some Playmobil. Mark and I picked out a cute forest set. It wasn’t until after it was wrapped that Mark realized the thing we bought was actually depicting a hunting scene. We’re not big hunters around here.

So we told Sarah the man was protecting the animals from his treehouse. (Hey, it turns out we weren’t incorrect. I just checked Playmobil.com and he’s actually a forest ranger. See?)

We also got her some new sheet music …

 

… for her little harp.

And a sweet little locket off Etsy that hasn’t arrived yet. :(

We asked Sarah what she wanted for her birthday dinner on Friday night. Her answer: sushi. And so it was. She brought her own chopsticks.

 Emma does not eat sushi. She ate a lot of fried stuff instead.

Here’s a tip, if you’re ever at MHK Sushi, order the fried bananas. You won’t be sorry you did. 

The big party was Saturday morning. Everyone came at 10:30. It was Ca-RAY-Zeee. Fortunately, Mark and I each popped a pre-emptive Advil.

Funny thing, at one point I found them dancing around the Elefun while Sarah played her harp. That was pretty much it for sweet and quiet activities.

I hid in the kitchen a lot of the time.

I secretly hoped they’d take it down a notch while they ate lunch. But that didn’t really happen.

How can nine little girls shriek and make so many fart jokes while they’re eating? Well, they managed just fine.

We did a lot of crafty stuff during the party, because Sarah really likes that kind of thing. They cut wings and spots for ladybag beanbags (tutorial coming!), and decorated flower pots which Mark then filled with soil and mini-daffodils. I was going to have the girls fill them with dirt themselves, but Mark turned to me and said “would you look at them? Are you sure you want them doing anything with dirt?” and since my answer was “no” Mark did it himself. He’s so smart.

This was the result:

And the birthday cake? It was a ladybug. Of course. But I forgot to take a photo of it. Here’s the best I could do:

It turned out really well, thanks to a very easy and yummy icing recipe from the local queen of cupcakes. (Thank you!!)

The kids all left around 1:30 and we were left with cake on the carpet and although I had a sick feeling that I would find red food colouring smeared on our cream-coloured dining room chairs I realized the only thing that was dyed pink was my own tongue.

The kids went home with their flowerpots and a little woven basket with an extra cupcake in it (which I accidently gave to a girl who is lactose-intolerant, whoops, so sorry!), some laybug antenna, and their little beanbags. For the most part Sarah enjoyed her party. I think she was a bit overwhelmed by it. So perhaps a better idea would be to have fewer people next year. Or have it in a bigger space somewhere else.

I, for one, took a 45 minute nap when it was all over.

The party continues today at Nana and Papa’s house. This time it’s hot dogs for dinner… by special request. Sushi and hot dogs. Go figure.

Oh Sarah.

I can’t believe you’re seven years old already.

I took a photo of you this morning before you left for school. You’re looking a little bit serious in it (which is unlike you) but I think it’s because I had just shouted “SEVEN!” and you were a bit taken aback by the volume.

I’ve been walking around the house talking to myself this morning. Perhaps I’m going crazy. I keep muttering “seven, seven, seven” and “I can’t believe it was seven years ago!” 

Last night I was remembering what it was like when your big sister turned seven. In my eyes she seemed like such a big girl at the time. SEVEN, I thought. That’s the big time! But you know what? You’re seven now too and you’re still my baby. I’m sorry to say that, but it’s true. I don’t think I treat you like a baby, but there is a special soft place in my heart for you because you are the youngest. You are my little girl, my only little girl. It’s just like there is a special spot in my heart for your sister, who’ll always be my big girl.

I love how you love to kiss and cuddle. If I had my druthers I could hug you all day. We fit well together, although your knees do have a tendency to poke me in the belly.

I love how artistic you are, your vivid imagination, and how you express yourself so creatively. You are smart and kind and generous. You are an amazing kid, and a good person.

I love you very much Sarah. I couldn’t imagine life without you. Our lives (and I think I speak for your dad too) are so much richer because you are here.

Happy birthday honey bunny.

p.s. I know I’ve posted this before, but here’s the earliest video we have of (what turned out to be) our little Sarah. ;)