Sometimes she turns seven.

7 years old.

S-E-V-E-N

Seven years ago, my life changed forever.  For the better.

The night before her birthday, I cuddled in bed with her for our nightly routine of reading, prayers, chatting, tickle scratching and kisses.   Only, this night, she wanted to forgo the usual for a retelling of her birth story.

I spilled it all out for her….the excitement, the contractions, the happiness, the fact that I got stuck at 8cm (ouch) only to have the nurse check me  during a contraction (ouch) and feel a little hand grabbing her finger.   When I told Kaelan this, her eyes got huge and she looked at me. 

Who was in there? she gasped.

It was YOU, silly! I told her.  

We really should have that whole anatomy, where babies come from talk….not just yet, though.

She loved hearing about how the nurse pushed the little hand back off the head (really ouch), and BOOM, I was at 10cm and ready to push.  

Your drain was plugged, huh mom? 

Yep.  Your little hand was plugging my drain, and once it was free….you popped out!  

Yep.  Definitely need to schedule that talk.

She loves that story.  

I love that story. 

It was Chapter One is this awesome book we are still writing. 

 

 

The actual day of her birthday, The Prez was in Chicago on a business trip.  I knew he would be up until all hours of the night planning and setting up something special for her with me if he were home, so I did it all myself, so not to disappoint.

She awoke to herself buried in the traditional “balloon tomb”.   I also set up a great treasure hunt throughout the house and outdoors.   I attempted a balloon waterfall in her doorway, but as I began hanging them at 1:30 am, they started popping.   I actually spent 10 minutes on the floor hiding after one popped and she sat up in her bed to figure out who was lighting fireworks in her room. 

No, really.  She actually sat up and said, “Who is lighting fireworks?”.

She then flopped back down on her pillow and resumed sleeping.

 

 

The hunt ended back at her bed ( slipped it in there after she took off hunting) with a few special gifts.

 

The balloon waterfall…..minus about 15 popped balloons.

Wanna hear something really funny?   I noticed a balloon still inflated and tied to a long string attached to the back of Kaelan’s pajama shirt when she climbed out of bed.   I knew I didn’t tape any balloons to her, so I questioned out loud how in the world that happened.   Then she said:

Ohhhhh,   I got up to go to the bathroom last night, and I felt something behind me on the potty.  I thought I saw a red balloon when I looked down, but I figured I was just dreaming and sleep walking.   (Laughing)   I guess I did see one!

So, in case you missed that, YES she walked through that waterfall earlier that morning without even realizing it.  And YES, she somehow picked up a hitchhiker balloon in the process.  And YES, this all didn’t disrupt her sleep pattern in the least.

If she wasn’t so smart and awesome, I would worry that whole “stuck in the drain” incident caused damage.  Sometimes she worries me.

Customary birthday breakfast (she chose mommy muffins this year) and a surprise birthday humiliation ride.   She actually loved it.   People were honking like crazy on our commute.  

Sadly, I wasn’t real quick with hitting the car wash, so when people kept honking at me two days later, I had forgotten about the window messages and couldn’t figure out what people’s problem was.  I may or may not have made a few inappropriate hand gestures that week. 

I apologize.

All of that took place at an ungodly hour before school.   Whew.

After school, we picked Kaelan up and blindfolded her.  We drove to the nearest toy store and surprised her upon arrival with a purse of birthday money sent from relatives to go pick out what she wanted.  Fun!

I had to constantly remind her this was HER birthday when she kept trying to buy things for Seth.   We settled on giving him a few bucks so he could pick out a little something.  Sometimes she makes me beam!

The three of us grabbed her meal of choice (Pei Wei) to go and headed home for a wonderful evening of play, face time with dad (he flew in late that night),presents and cupcakes. 

Seven.

She was officially seven years old.   The night before, I had mugged on a a six year old, but that night,  I tucked a seven year old snuggly in bed.

Was there any difference?   Had she changed?

As I left her room that night, I looked back to see her swaddled in her favorite blankets with her favorite teddy.   My eyes saw the same little swaddled being I placed in a bassinet beside my bed the first day I brought her home.

Nothing had ever really changed in the whole seven years. Probably never will.

She called out to me as I tackled my way out of the balloon waterfall she had begged me to leave up.

Mom, I am really tired, so no fireworks, tonight.  Okay? 

Sometimes she makes me laugh.