Yesterday was Number 4’s birthday.
If you remember last year, I suprised her with a special day.
Yesterday she asked me if we were going to have another spa day and if I was going to pick her up early.
I told her that I wasn’t.
That we would celebrate when she got home.
She didn’t complain.
But I knew she was disappointed.
Of course I had something up my sleeve…
On Tuesdays and Thursdays the swim team practices at a boarding school in the town next door to ours.
Every time we go to that pool we drive through the downtown area, and Number 4 has fallen in love with it.
In fact, what she requested for her birthday was to walk around downtown New Milford.
What kid asks to do that?
That was easy enough to pull off.
So I surprised her and picked her up early from school again.
“MOM!” she squealed. “You did it again!!!”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“We’re going to downtown New Milford,” I told her.
You would have thought I told her we were going to Disney World.
“THIS IS THE BEST. DAY. EVER!!!” she yelled.
We stopped at the gas station on our way to town.
I got her a Coolatta. She thanked the girl behind the counter.
“IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!” she said to her.
We got back in the car and Number 4 took out a birthday book her class had made for her.
“Mom, this is perfect. The drive will give me a chance to read all the crap the boys wrote in my book.”
I just ignored that one.
We pulled onto Main Street and parked alongside the green.
We walked, holding hands, and checked out the stores.
We stopped in a toy store.
There were a couple people in there.
Number 4 caught sight of one of them and yelled, “ARE YOU EMILY’S MOM???”
The woman just looked at Number 4.
I had no idea who she was.
“Yes?” answered the woman.
“IWASINHERCLASSLASTYEARANDIWENTTOHERBIRTHDAYPARTYIT’MYBIRTHDAYTODAY!!!” Number 4 told her in one breath.
She looked a little puzzled as to why Number 4 wasn’t in school.
I explained to her that Number 4 had requested to walk around town for her birthday.
“Wow,” said Emily’s mom.
“I wish my kid would be satisfied with that for her birthday,” she said.
I silently thanked Number 4 for making me look like the Mother of the Year, and then we left the store.
We stopped into another toy store.
Number 4 asked if I would buy her just about everything she laid eyes on.
She narrowed it down to a charm bracelet and a jump rope.
“IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!” she told the cashier.
Next stop, ice cream.
I let her go crazy.
If it had chocolate on it, in it , or near it, she got it.
She asked if she could pay.
“IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!” she said to the cashier.
“Mom, I just love saying that,” she told me as the cashier handed her the change.
We sat by the window and ate our ice cream.
It took approximately 3 minutes for Number 4 to completely crush her cone.
There was chocolate everywhere.
“MOM! I’M JUST NOT A VERY TIDY PERSON!” she said to me.
We finished up and headed out to the next destination.
A real jewelery store.
Number 4 had never been in one, and she was in awe.
We walked inside, and Number 4 said hello and then yelled “IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!!” to the horrified saleswoman working inside.
I shrugged at the saleswoman and then put my arm around Number 4 who was covered in chocolate and touching everything, smearing her fingers across every glass case.
Number 4 knew it was my birthday the next day.
“Mom? Is there anything in here that costs $9? I want to buy you something!”
I told her to save her money, but she wasn’t letting up.
“HOW MUCH IS THIS? HOW MUCH ARE THESE? HOW ABOUT THIS?”
I finally showed her the price tag on a pair of earrings that looked like they could have been made out of some wire and paper maché by Number 7 the day before in preschool.
It said $117.
“ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN DOLLARS???
WHAT A RIP OFF!!!”
On that note, I grabbed her arm and we left the store.
We walked around the green and passed this church.
“MOM! LOOK HOW BIG THAT CHURCH IS! GOD MUST BE REALLY BIG TO NEED A CHURCH THAT HUGE!”
She asked me to take her picture on the steps, appreciating the enormity of the columns.
We walked a little bit more,
and then we ended up back on the green.
Number 4 lay down in the grass.
“Mom, I just love this place!
Can we make this a birthday tradition?” she asked.
So much love and gratitude and joy from such a simple thing.
“Definitely,” I told her.
She jumped up, gave me a hug, then grabbed my hand, and we walked back to the car.
Another birthday success.
And a new tradition for us both.
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I read your blog all the time, I just wanted to say what an awesome kid number 4 is. Happy Birthday to you both!
Just found your blog. This is the cutest post. Happy birthday to number 4! Her comment about the class birthday book made me laugh out loud!
She is so freaking funny and awesome! I have an soon to be 8 yr old son, can we just arrange their marriage, because I’m so scared I’m going to get a crazy mean daughter in law and I want her for a daughter in law!! 🙂 LOLOL!