Y: Yearly Celebration

After much planning and speculating and waiting it's here! Finally!! The most anticipated day of the whole year! Who will be invited? What will the cake be like? What will she wear?? No, I'm not talking about William and Kate's Royal Wedding. Although there is that. I'm talking about Corinne's birthday! And I may be prone to exaggeration at times, but THIS is not one of those times. If there was ever a girl who loved her birthdays, it's Corinne. She looks forward to it all year long. And it's not about the presents--ever. Truly, I sometimes wonder if she's pleasantly surprised on birthday morning to find gifts waiting at her breakfast plate. Kind of like, "Oh yeah. And presents, too!" She just loves the whole day! I have to admit that I do too. It's starts at bedtime when I tuck her in and say, "Good night. Sleep tight. Don't fall out of bed when you turn 11 at midnight!" (I started saying this years ago. Now the kids roll their eyes at me and give me a "Mo-om!" So of course I'll never quit.) I, and sometimes siblings, wake her in the morning with that song from "Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses". And just yesterday I realized we have another tradition. I asked Corinne if she wanted to get up really early to open presents before Matt and Nicole left or wait to open them at dinner and she said, "No. I'll open them at dinner, except for the one with new clothes so I can wear them to school." I stood there like a guppy with my mouth opening and closing. I had no comeback. She was right! There was a new outfit sitting in my closet ready to be wrapped. But SHE didn't know that. I guess that's the downside of tradition. You sort of give up the surprise element. No matter. It was still a lovely morning of cinnamon rolls and singing and new clothes. She left for school with a whole day ahead of her--much to her delight!

(Click on the link to hear our Barbie Birthday song: YouTube - The Birthday Song . Cute huh! Now you'll have to watch the whole movie to see what happens next!)