Erin's Special Day

Erin's birthday started off much like Jeffrey's.  Tom went in to work a little later and stayed home in the morning to make her special breakfast.  There's no way he could have gotten away with NOT making her breakfast.  She got special pancakes just like Jeffrey.  Then she got to pick 2 presents to open -- she chose two from grandma.

We'd made brownies the day before for her to take to school.  She was very excited to take them in to share.  She had asked to spend the afternoon at the park when school was over.  Unfortunately, the day turned out to be 50 and rainy.  Not much of a nice birthday.  I seems, somehow, that it rains every year on Erin's birthday.  So Jeffrey and I ended up picking her up from school at the end of the day, and taking her in to town to a new Bounce Place.  I kept it a surprise and she and Jeffrey had a total blast.  So, although we didn't get an afternoon at the park, there was quite a bit of bouncing and sliding.

I'd also offered to make Erin her favorite dinner at home rather than go out.  With all the rehearsals and plays the week before, we were all a little tired of eating out.  So I cooked her a big ham with cheesy potatoes and Brussel sprouts (her choice -- she likes them with vinegar).  Jeffrey had helped me pick out some super cute cupcakes for dessert.

So after dinner we finally sat down to open the rest of her presents.  She'd asked for a hula hoop and jump rope, so she was excited about those.  She had also asked for an iPod -- Tom and I weren't ready to get her that, but we did get her an MP3 player.  I'd had it charging at her computer and had pre-loaded it with some of her favorite music.  So rather than wrap it up, we made a little treasure hunt for her to find it.  She had to follow clues that led her to the basement.  She's been really excited about it, and also got a new CD (with Fireflies song on it).  Add in a bunch of craft kits, several new books and some Zhu-Zhu Pets and we ended up a great birthday.

Also,  Erin had asked for a hula-hoop.  I figured she'd seen some friends with one, or maybe played with one in PE some time.  Turns out, she can do this . . .

So, all in all, Erin's 7th birthday ended up being a great day.  Cold rain and all.