Birthday Party Morning! - 4yo [MOMLIFE]

She came in this morning as I was still sleeping. 'Mama!', she exclaimed, 'today is my birthday!'

I rolled over and looked at the clock. The time was exactly her birth date (month and day) by hour and minute. Girl's got impeccable timing, I must say.

It's not her actual birthday today but we're celebrating it anyway (early because I don't know when her sibling will arrive) with some friends from her new school and some from the neighborhood.

This will be the first time we celebrate her birthday as an actual 'party' with her friends. I didn't actually call it a 'party', though, because the word is too heavy for my comfort. Instead, I called it a 'playdate with celebratory cake'.

It's probably because I'm not hosting this get-together at a real venue like a kids' gym or indoor structured play place. As a single mom on a budget, I wonder what happened to those simple type of parties.

Personally, I actually think those super-organized, formal parties are kind of impersonal than the informal ones I grew up going to (not that I'm complaining or refuse to go to them, maybe I'm just trying to console myself :>).

But our party was going to be old school and at our home. There's something special, imho, when you invite someone into your home and share with them your personal space. It's intimidating, no doubt, perhaps making you more vulnerable, and it's probably more work, but there's something about it. It's inviting.

Last night we picked up her cake and started working on her pinata. I was originally going to make her a cake but without air conditioning in this heatwave, the oven heat probably would have killed my feet :> Good thing, too, because yesterday I unexpectedly had to go to the hospital, which ate a chunk of my day (more on that in another post).

I started writing this post this morning and have since had the party. The turnout was unexpected. More about it in another post!

For now, here are some pics from the other night— the night before we celebrated her birthday at school— another exciting momemt. It's good to be a kid, no? So many celebrations and good times :>

BTW, the hands on the hips thing? Totally her, not me. Not sure where she gets it but I'll take the confidence :> xo