5 years

in january when we were talking about birthday parties and themes alaythia threw tons of ideas out. when we were done brainstorming she stopped, looked me in the eye and said, 'i want a surprise party! i want to walk in the door and have everyone yell surprise'. and so we quit talking about it. every once in a while i would ask her, 'well, if you had a party who would you invite?' or while at costco i would say, 'if you were going to have a birthday cake from costco, which one would you choose?' and for activities i would bring up some activities we could possibly play if she had a party and she would give the okay or the veto.

and will my gathered information i sent invites out and planned a surprise party for alaythia's 5th birthday.

i must admit, i was on edge the whole time. i REALLY wanted this party to happen. i wanted to celebrate her and celebrate her big. but with little ones you just never really know what life will bring at you. but the day came and matt and i put our plan into action.

matt had mentioned to her weeks earlier that he wanted to take her on a date for her birthday. she talked and looked forward to this from the moment he mentioned it. so about 2 o'clock, on her actual birthday, they headed out on their daddy-daughter date.

as soon as they left isaiah and i went into full swing getting the house ready. we decorated the house, got dinner ready,

set up, cake out and when the time came, the several families we invited, gathered in the living room to wait for her arrival.

when she got home i told her to come into the living room so we could talk about her date and when she rounded the corner she came to a screeching halt when everyone yelled 'surprise!' i thought she might cry, but she didn't. she held onto my leg a bit until she got her bearings and then she was ready to party!

we had dinner, destroyed yet another pinata,

watched a slide show of her first 5 years of life (seen a few posts back), and opened presents. we ended the night well into dark, with several of the kids outside twirling glowsticks in the night.

it was a perfect night to celebrate my alaythia and all of her 5 glorious years. she is so full of life, she is a deep (and random) thinker, she is nurturing, joyful, determined and oh-so-ready for kindergarten.

i know i've said it before on this blog, but still, even after 5 years of life with her, i find myself staring at her in wonder. wonder at the gift that she is and trying to wrap my head around the fact that she is my daughter. she surpasses any ideas i once had and is such a rare treasure.