Another birthday is done and in the books. I think she had a great day, which is disappointing to me because I aim for the girls to view their birthdays as super special all the way through, and instead I think I threw too much at her in an attempt to make it comparable to Emily's. I didn't want her to feel shortchanged...
Anyway, Audrey woke up to the house decorated with purple balloons and purple streamers, much to her delight. I had in mind to give her a purple sparkley tiara to wear that said "Birthday Princess" on it, but it didn't arrive in the mail until after I got home. I also had to go to work on her birthday :( because of company-wide day-long meetings that occur once every 8 weeks. But I was home by 3:15 and we enjoyed the rest of the day. Audrey also got to go to her "library preschool" (storytime) with Amanda, who said that Audrey was really participating and enjoying it, all confident like she owns the place. Yeah!! Amanda also took the girls to McDonald's for lunch, and got them each a Happy Meal, "with a toy!!!"
After Emily got home, I discovered that Audrey had taken one of the basketball tickets that Travis ordered for a family outing this winter, and used Emily's scissors to shred it to tiny bits. I think that actually occurred several days if not weeks ago, and i just discovered it behind the piano that day. So, I had a fun puzzle to do, since of course she most finely chopped up the end with the barcode on it. When Travis got home, I wrapped presents, and she opened them, and Emily cried about them. "But I wanted a globe and a beanbag AND a hippity-hop!!" *sigh*. I had cleaned up the entire basement so she could have some space to use the hippity-hop, so we took her down there to try it out. I also got her a bike helmet since her current one is so old that it's probably not protective anymore. I turned out to be a good combination. Travis took lots of pictures of the girls, all wound up, and then we went out for supper at Panchero's, followed by ice cream at ColdStone.
Unfortunately, it was also bath night, and by the time it was Audrey's turn to brush her teeth, she was completely out of gas. She melted down into a little pile and howled. It was heartbreaking. I felt so terrible, because she won't let me help until she has completely burned herself out. I feel like she has to be completely broken, hit rock bottom, before she will let me do anything as simple as squeeze the toothpaste to the end of the tube for her. And then she'll let me do everything, so I washed her hair and helped her through the bath, dry off, get dressed, and snuggle into bed with her beautiful lips.
** Side note ** AUDREY IS DONE WITH BLANKETS!!! WOO HOOOOO!!!! We put chapstick on her one night, because her bottom lip was all chapped from having a wet blanket on it all night. Then I talked her up, telling her how beautiful her lips were, and I wanted a beautiful kiss before bed. Then she wanted her blanket, but I told her that her beautiful chapstick would rub off, and she wanted to sleep beautifully, like Sleeping Beauty. And she smiled, and went to sleep. No tears, no changing her mind, just beautiful lips and very smack-y bedtime kisses! She has asked for her blanekt a couple of times after that, but just during the day when she gets run-down (because she gets up at 6 AM for no reason and has given up naps!! I digress...). I just told her that her lips were healing, almost healed, so she should wait a few days. And she's stopped asking. She even saw them in the laundry, and I told her I was going to put them in Clara's room since they're baby blankets, and she agreed! I am SO RELIEVED. I don't even care that Clara either nurses to sleep or uses a pacifier to get to sleep. Whatever - I now know I am capable of getting a kid detached! I caught Emily sucking her thumb while watching Thomas on TV today, so she's got an orthodontic solution in her future. When she gets one loose tooth, I am not messing around. I'm scheduling her appointment with the orthodontist as soon as humanly possible at that point.
Sooo, back to the birthday! I actually had a more celebratory day with Audrey today, since I was home from work and Emily was at preschool. Clara took a 90-minute afternoon nap - twice her usual length! - so we had a lot of time to snuggle and do our nails and fold laundry, and sing songs. She was singing with her baby swing, which has Old MacDonald and Mary Had A Little Lamb on it, in two different keys. After one song is over, you have to go back and hit a button for it to play the other, and it just alternates. So she would start singing the other song before she'd go back to hit the button - and she'd have the right notes, for the new song in the new key. Now, that is the kind of thing that I can relate to, and just thrills me to see! What a great kid. If only I had a better way to help her when she starts spiraling downward, instead of just letting her go and waiting through her tantrum, then I would feel like an adequate parent for her. She is so amazing, and I love her so much! I hope I can be the mom that she deserves... I know that sometimes I am not. I'm afraid that I'm expecting her to be too much like Emily, and not realizing that just because some of the things she does are beyond her years, that she is only 3. How can she be so big and so little at the same time??
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