Her Birthday: From Uno to Ocho

Today is the day. The Little Ocho is the Big 0-8.

For last year's tribute, I went all sappy and put together a music video complete with Michael Bolton music and images of days gone by.

This year I'm going in a different direction.

With the Eight Days of Ocho Fiesta coming to a close, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at all of her majesty's birthday parties and watch the progression. I think you will see that we hit every milestone with appropriate fanfare.


The Big 0-1

This was a small celebration attended only by immediate family. I know there are many moms who go all out for the first birthday, but I wasn't one of them. I simply ordered a generic cake from Kroger and made everyone wear those ridiculous pointy party hats. I think we grilled burgers and then sat around watching Lydia devour her cake and waited for her to get it all over her. She eventually got it inside her ear and both eyes. Score!

The most notable story about this birthday is a fairly recent one. Once I decided to write this post I started gathering a picture to include from each party. That's when I realized I had absolutely zero photos of my child's first birthday. Zilch. Not one. I'm not sure which is the sadder commentary on my parenting skills; The fact that I don't have any pictures or that fact that it took me 8 years to notice. (Photo courtesy of RubyDooby)


The Blue's Clues Party (The Big 0-2)

Again, it was just family but with a little more effort. We had the character cake, plates, cups and gifts. (Notice Ocho is holding her Handy Dandy notebook)

My favorite memory of this party is the pigtails. Oh, how I miss the pigtails.


The Clifford Party (The Big 0-3)

This was my favorite birthday of all time. If we're going to watch old home videos you can be sure this is the video I will choose. First there is the hat. It was from her Mother's-Day-Out party but I insisted she wear it for our party too. This was also the year she was genuinely over-the-top excited about every, single gift she opened. Once the wrapping paper was ripped off she would jump up and down and scream "For Me??? For Me???" And don't even get me started on how cute her voice was back then.

Three was definitely the toughest age to get through. Maybe that's why God made her so stinkin' adorable back then. It almost makes me wish I could have frozen her in time. Then I remember the potty training and I'm over it. Moving on.


The Dora the Explorer Party (The Big 0-4)

Ahhhh. This was my shining moment. It was our very first "invite friends" extravaganza and I wanted to go all out. We held it inside one of those giant rooms with indoor slides and playhouses. Everyone got explorer hats and binoculars as party favors. The jungle-themed walls, however, were purely coincidental.


The Princess Tea Party (The Big 0-5)

This one goes in the "what was I thinking?" category. First, I was 8 months pregnant. Second, we had only been living in our house for 1 week. Third, I was also in the process of planning Handiman's surprise 40th birthday bash. And fourth, I was Eight!Months!Pregnant! But Lydia wanted a Princess Party and by golly, she was going to get one. So I called reinforcements. Namely, my peeps.

I posted a PICTURE from this party a few weeks ago for Wordless Wednesday that showed all the girls in their gowns. But I wanted everyone to see this one so they can appreciate the kind of friends I have. Namely, my friend Robyn. She and her sister Rhonda (who is the most talented artist and floral designer I have EVER seen) came over and turned our breakfast nook into the virtual tea party wonderland you see here. A few other peeps came to help serve food and supervise games. (Ya'll know I L-O-V-E U!)

My absolute favorite memory of this party is how sweet the girls looked in their gowns and tiaras. And how cute it was when one friend (who wasn't really into the whole princess thing) decided to come dressed as Woody the Cowboy. That was all kinds of awesome.


The Slumber Party (The Big 0-6)

Again, what was I thinking? In what can only be described as a moment of pure insanity, I decided it would be fun to have 7 girls doing makeovers in my kitchen, dancing in my bonus room and sleeping over all night long. And might I mention, two of them had never slept over anywhere before? Yes, it was a brilliant plan.

I must admit they had a blast and the structural damage was minor. And nobody went home in the middle of the night. Mostly, because I refused to drive them. Lydia counts this as her favorite party ever. Hopefully, she can live off that memory for a while cause it's not happening again for many, many years.


The Jump Zone Party (The Big 0-7)

Now, this was my kind of party. You throw a bunch of kids in a giant room filled with inflatables and let them beat the snot out of each other, all the while you're in a separate room talking to your friends unaware of the chaos just outside the door.

They played, they ate High School Musical cake, they gave presents, they went home. And I didn't have to clean up a darn thing.

This party was pivotal because it was the first time the Ocho's church friends and her school friends intermingled. She was a little stressed out trying to work both sides but I think it turned out OK.


The Eight Days of Ocho (The Big 0-8)

So, this year there was no party. But I think she's done OK this week. An amusement park, an indoor pool, her first manicure with Mommy, bowling with Daddy. a tea party at Grandmommy's, The art museum with Grandma and this weekend, two separate sleepovers. That makes 8 special things on 8 special days.

Happy Birthday Little Ocho! Being your Mommy is the best. With you, every day is a party. I love you!!