Ali's Hawaiian Hula Birthday

My special little "Squeeker Bug" turned 5 years old today!! And is she excited about it!! It must be hard to be the youngest in the group - and I'm sure it doesn't help that she's a good 2 inches shorter than most her friends. When I came home from work this morning, Ali met me at the door and said, "Someone in this house has a birthday today. Know who it is?" When we went to the grocery store to pick up her cake (she ordered her own cake at the bakery- chocolate with chocolate fudge filling) she sang "It's my birthday! Today I'm 5! I'm 5! I'm 5! I'll never be 4 no more!" Up and down the aisles this went on until we reached the checkout and the cashier asked Ali if she happened to have a birthday today? Her Hula party that 4 friends from soccer and 1.5 cousins attended was the perfect ending.
Now at the end of the day I'm looking at the mess in our living room and wondering where the time went. I can't believe I have a 5 year old! Tomarrow we're going to the mall to have her picture taken so when I'm bewildered by my daughter turning 15 I can look back....

Big, Exciting News!

We are extending our family by two feet.

Addition to be completed March, 2009.

A Bike With Two Wheels

Yesterday Ali attempted to ride her bike with training wheels during our evening walk. She leans so heavily on the left training wheel that it will no longer turn. It was very frustrating for her and for Daddy who had to walk the little bike home. So last night she decided she was done with training wheels. Daddy took them off. I think that 'almost 5' is too young for a two-wheeler, but Daddy disagrees. He claims he was wearing a dirt track around his house on his bike by the time he was 5. I bet he was one of those little boys that was all activity, all the time. God bless his mother. Anyway, Ali was ready to strap on her helmet and have a go at it by 8am this morning. After Joe was off work and it was starting to cool off, we finally agreed to take her. You have to understand my hesitation - the kid still has stitches in her face and we're going to teach her how to crash a bike??

I can't believe how well she did on her first try!! Joe was such a great instructor! The first few blocks were about the basics of falling - always aim for the grass (as opposed to the street!) After she figured out how to pedal fast and steer at the same time - she rode a straight line for about a block with Daddy running faithfully beside her! Joe is so proud of her! And I am so proud of them both!!

Bummer!

What a day!! We went to the library this morning only to find out we were 2 hours early and the library was closed. So we decided to hang out at the park next to the library. It was a nice cool day (only 90) and we had nothing else going on. Within 10 minutes, Mia had an accident. A very wet one. And I didn't have any back up pants. So we made do with a diaper I had in the trunk and carried on. 10 minutes later, Ali falls off the monkey bars and smacks her chin on a piece of wood. I didn't see it happen, this is her account. It's an old fashioned wooden play structure, so I think it was on the way down that she hit her face. Anyway, she was screaming and bleeding all over and when I pulled her hand away, the wound was gaping in such a way I knew I couldn't fix it with a band-aide. She continued to scream all the way to the car (not because it hurt, but because she did not WANT to leave and she did not WANT to go to the Dr.). Then Mia starts crying because "Ali bonked! Ali owie! Ohhhh, Ali! No, no Ali!"

So here she is 4 stitches and 1 Happy Meal later. No more crying. She did okay through the procedure - screamed murder when they injected the lidocaine to numb it. When she calmed down and started talking to the Dr. about her birthday party, I started crying.... Oh, the drama. I'm sure they're used to it at Urgent Care. The worst part of the whole thing is that we can't go swimming for 7 days. Bummer.