New wheels!

My dear Miss Alyssa turned a whopping four years old today. Oh my, where has the time gone! Seems like only yesterday I was sitting in the hospital reminding the hospital staff that I had a GIRL* and that - No, even though we didn't already have a name picked out we were NOT naming her Katrina**.

Daddy took the day off so we could celebrate as a family and boy what a celebration it was!


According to our family tradition, she got to decorate her own birthday cake. (Minus the chocolate frosting and the writing...)

We're not big party people around our house so we generally just have the Grandmas and Grandpas from both sides come over for a little cake and ice cream. My Aunt and Uncle arrived at my parents' house just as they were leaving for the party, so they piled in car and came over to join in the festivities.


Kenna just couldn't resist trying to help Lyssa blow those candles out!


Liam certainly enjoyed his piece of cake. It was gone in a flash! I think the cake part ended up (mostly) in his stomach, but I'm pretty sure the majority of the frosting was on his face.


He was also eager to help Alyssa with the presents. He managed to snatch a bow before she could shoo him away.


Reading the fun card the Aunt Tanya sent. There was an audible gasp when she saw that there was money inside...and stickers too! What more could a girl want?


And the finale of the presents - Mom and Dad finally broke down and got the kid some wheels. For some reason we have been reluctant (or too lazy...whatever) to get the kids bikes, so we decided that a scooter might be the way to get both the parents and the kids used to some extra mobility.


Liam immediately made a grab for the scooter while Lyssa was trying on her helmet. Looks like more than one kid might be getting wheels this year since they are already fighting over it. (SIGH.) I forsee many hours of enduring his screams while watching her ride it around.

After everyone left and we ran a quick errand, we let Alyssa pick where she wanted to go for dinner. She picked Arctic Circle based on the fact that they have a playground (and the fact that McKenna kept encouraging her to go there). Mom and dad were less than thrilled with the choice, but the kids enjoyed it.

After we read her new book and got snuggled into bed for the night, she told me that she had a really fun birthday.

Here's wishing you many more my sweet girl...


*There was another baby with the same last name born on the same day as Lyssa in our hospital. The other family had a boy. Somehow they thought that OUR baby was the boy. They had a blue card in her bassinet and one of the pediatricians even showed up for a pre-circumcision check-up. (That was disturbing in and of itself since we certainly didn't request the procedure.) We had to convince every doctor and nurse that came to check on us during our stay that we actually had a girl.

**Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans the day after Alyssa was born. Way too many people suggested we should name her after the storm. Like I want my child to have that kind of a namesake...