celebrating seven

In our family, we typically throw big birthday bashes in the early years. For both girls we did them for the first six years before scaling back to small scale older parties. Last year was a special year because the girls were six and twelve (half and double), plus it was E’s golden birthday (12 on the 12th), so we did a big combo party. But once seven rolls around we let the girls choose a few friends and plan out their own special day.

F chose a pretty perfect afternoon, if you ask me. We met up with friends and saw the movie Finding Dory at the Chase (one of my favorite theaters). Then we walked a few blocks to Jeni’s for ice cream before spending a half hour or more browsing the shelves of Left Bank Books.

It was a perfect afternoon, and the girls promptly fell asleep in the car on the way home.

The weekend before was the great grandparent hand-off – we met them in the middle of nowhere Indiana, and opened some family gifts with them on the porch of a restaurant there. F got quite a few new books, some cute fall outfits, some legos, some Harry Potter figurines and checkers set. Plus that pogo stick I mentioned before! She also got the item top on her list this year – a travel neck pillow (in blue, of course). She’s wanted one since she first saw them in an airport gift shop years ago, but this year she was particularly enamored with them.

I’m calling birthday week a success!