Charis' Birthday

After much ado...Charis had a birthday party! It was attended by Yia-Yia, Papa, Great-Grandma Fritz, Auntie M, Uncle Tim, Aunt Beth, Gideon, and Elise (and of course, Mommy, Daddy, Charis, and Judah). Uncle Jed and Aunt Lindsay had to cancel at the last minute. We sat down to Burgers with all the trimmings, Corn on the Cob (we eat a lot of that at our house in the summer), Grandma Donna's Bronco Beans, and Loaded Roasted Potatoes (because there wasn't enough cheese or bacon in the rest of the meal). We were also celebrating Father's Day, so the meal did double-duty.

Charis of course had little interest in food (an interesting side note: Judah kept pointing to my corn and saying "THAT!" so I handed it to him, certain he'd be frustrated by it and hand it back, and he proceeded to eat it all. There's a first time for everything!), and seemed solely focused on the good part: opening the presents. I didn't write down all that she got, but I can tell you that it included this book she's unwrapping here and a bunch of other books and art supplies (We love Color Wonder stuff, and she got a lot of it!). Auntie Moriah also got her a plastic pizza set.


Another favorite was this dollhouse. Formerly Moriah's, it not only folds up for easy storage, it came with every accessory you can think of: the essentials, like beds, tables, chairs, people; but also things like birdcages and topiaries, which are a must for the modern dollhouse. There is also a stable for the horses, so it's realistic. Here, you can see Moriah helping set it up and Judah, Charis, and Gideon just itching to tear it up. Mostly, Judah and Gideon wanted to be a part of the actual dollhouse, sitting on the second floor or standing on the front porch.

But the piece de resistance, the present we'd been talking about for weeks, was the DORA BICYCLE. We've been telling story after story about bikes--Charis asks for one almost every night at bedtime. So we've told her (as I think I've mentioned in an earlier post) about Mama and Daddy's first bikes, and we've also made up stories about Dora bikes that fly, disappear, and transport the user to the magical ExplorerLand with Dora and Boots and Tiko and the gang (where Swiper will inevitably try to take the bike, but we will stop him with a well-put "Swiper, no swiping!" To which he will reply "OH, MAN!" and skulk off). So when she actually SAW the bike, she was ecstatic. Thankfully, she still thinks it is cool.

Now, along with talking about the bike for months, we've also been talking about her cake--her Dora cake. My mother had purchased a Dora-shaped cake pan for us to use, so I planned
to try my hand at cake decorating for her party. But the day before, Abe and Shaun hacked into my kitchen ceiling, leaving behind them a trail of drywall and dust, rendering the kitchen useless for much of the day. Obviously, the Dora cake was out. But I promised her a Dora cake--what would happen if we didn't have one? I didn't want to find out. So while Abe's mom watched the kids for a while on Saturday morning, I drove around town in search of a substitute Dora cake, finally finding that I could order one (for pickup the next day) at Dairy Queen. Disaster averted. Sigh.

We finished the day (a 90-plus degree day) outside, with the kids splashing in the kiddie pool and many of us running through the benefits of another present, a sprinkler ball from Tim and Beth. And also seeking shade. All in all, it turned out to be a great day, and despite my worries from the day before, mostly dust-free!