Early this morning, far too early for a Sunday morning, a small body flopped down on top of my stomach and asked, "I'm heavier this morning, aren't I?"
What a difference a birthday makes! Yesterday (which was Aislin's last day as a five-year-old, as she pointed out a number of times), I had a little girl. Today she is all grown up, or at least she thinks she is.
After coming to terms with the fact that sleeping in on a Sunday morning was, once again, not a reality, I dragged myself out of bed to make the birthday girl breakfast. On the menu - chocolate chip waffles, fresh strawberries, sausage patties, and of course lots of whipped cream. Aislin was also very excited because she got to drink her orange juice out of a wine glass, and she got a vase full of pink carnations, per her specific instructions.
Declan wasn't in much of a mood to celebrate, unfortunately. He has a bad case of the flu, and has been running a fever since Friday. This morning it was over 103 already, and he was wiped out. This has been a really rough year so far - since Christmas, each child has had two rounds with the stomach bug, not to mention assorted colds and fevers. I'm starting to feel like a hunted animal, waiting for the next bug to strike. I can't ever remember them missing this much school.
Naturally Aislin couldn't understand why she couldn't open her presents right after breakfast - waiting is very hard, even when you're a grown up six year old. She had to wait though, party because her slacker mother hadn't finished birthday shopping yet.
Naturally we made the obligatory visit to Chuck E. Cheese - do yourself a favor and NEVER go there, if you must go at all, Sunday at lunchtime. Every kid on the west side of Albuquerque was there for a birthday party. Despite the crowds, the kids spent their tokens as quickly as we could make them, and we got out of there.
Aislin helped make her own birthday cake, shaped like a rose and covered in cherry icing and sprinkles. Of course, all she was really interested in was blowing out the candles and skipping straight to the presents. She got plenty to keep her busy for the rest of the weekend.
It's hard to believe how quickly my kids are growing up. I don't have any little children any more. Aislin will be going to first grade in the fall, and soon she'll stop telling me how she "hadded" to do something, or how she "catched" the ball. She's already almost too big to pick up and carry around, although she still wraps herself around you like a monkey. She's been telling me all day that there is a six year old in the house now.
But for now, my daughter is busy twirling around the living room in her fancy new nightgown, and before she goes to bed tonight, she'll put her face up next to mine and give me "butterfly kisses" by blinking her eyelashes against my cheek. She'll still be my little girl for a long time to come.