Little Munchkin’s Birthday

Tomorrow my daughter turns 3. It’s so hard to believe, and I was thinking the other day about how your children become such a part of your life, it’s almost impossible to remember what it was like before they were around. To the left is a picture of her almost a year ago. It’s funny how she had almost no hair.

Now, she has much more hair and a barrel full of personality. I asked her if she was excited about her birthday and she said, “I shake my booty!” and started wiggling her fanny (as pictured).

Tonight I was multi-tasking: waiting for the cupcakes to bake (she wanted princess ones, and I compromised with pink frosting and sprinkles), making treat bags for her class, and getting dinner ready. She came up and asked, “Mommy, can I help?” I set her to work putting bubbles, candy, and plastic swirly straws in the treat bags. I was pleasantly surprised that she managed to stuff all the treat bags on her own. She was thrilled to be helping, and it gave me a break. Often, I forget what the kids can do to help out. Works for me! She’s just going to have a classroom party at her daycare and then cake with the family at home. I’d rather avoid parties until she’s old enough to actually appreciate what’s going on.

When I look back on my birthday parties, the one that stands out the most is when I was eight years old. My mother let me invite 17 friends, and all we went roller skating. And man, did I ever think I was cool, skating to “Karma Chameleon.” Do you remember “Couples Only” and “Backwards Skate?” Then there was the Limbo.

What was your most memorable birthday party? What did you do?