Cat-tastic Celebration

Make a wish!

Happy 6th birthday, Emma K.!  What a whirlwind of a weekend. Such fun and sweet moments to treasure. Not that there was an absence of poor choices or behavior that was the direct result of being overwhelmed, over tired and disappointed. It's hard to be little!

Saturday the 19th we woke up and had chocolate chip pancakes, as requested by you the night before.  You were so excited about your birthday that the humdrum of a mostly regular Saturday was too much.  You wanted to open the three boxes that had come in the mail and waiting to open the gift bag from us was excruciating.  Once you got to open the bag you were very disappointed to find only a poncho. "That's not a present!"  Reading the card and the horse and pony experience promise for that afternoon wasn't enough to break the disappointment spell. But you did almost smile!
Waiting until after lunch seemed impossible.
 We carved pumpkins, which you loved.  "I'm going to draw the faces on all the pumpkins. Daddy you can cut both of ours out. Mine is going to be scary."  When I told you I was going to do a cat face you said, " that's not spooky for Halloween." You helped draw the cat face on my pumpkin using the image from the iPad as a guide.  I had to redraw it on the other side because your attention to small detail was too tiny for me to carve.  So you drew daddy's pumpkin face and your own.

Scooping out the insides was gross but you did it anyway. "Look at how much I got this time! Mommy can I please use that fork? The fork works good."
Lunch time came quickly and you could hardly focus on eating from all the anticipation. Then we were off to the stables!  La Fleur stables is about 30 minutes away and we got there with time to spare. There was a horse in a corral right by the van.  You got right out and walked to the fence and were fascinated watching it trot and harrumph long the fence opposite.  We went inside and were happy to be out of the blustery, cold.  You liked looking at the framed horse and rider pictures on the wall. After waiting a bit we were taken through the mysterious double doors that led...to...the indoor stables and arena!

Grooming and not quite at ease yet.

We walked down the long stable hallway to the tied up ponies.  Annika was interested in the horse faces pressed up to the bars on either side. You pointed out horses you liked and asked what their names were. The young girls explained how to groom the ponies with the different brushes. You were shy to begin with and asked me to go with you to choose a brush and get

Riding the pony was neat. Your feet almost touched the ground.

started.  You lost your shyness quickly and liked grooming the ponies.  After a bit the ponies were untied and we followed them down to the arena. There you asked for your bike helmet and waited your turn to ride a pony. The other pony was hooked up to a small cart.
You had no trouble getting on the pony by yourself!  And your feet almost could touch the ground.  You were reluctant to show even a smile but never said that you didn't want people to watch you.  You rode the pony two different times and liked it a lot.
At first you didn't want to ride in the cart even after the girls said you could sit on the seat and not on their laps like the younger girls in the group.  But at the very last possible opportunity you changed your mind and climbed in.  It went pretty quickly and you liked it. You said you liked riding the pony better.  And that was without a saddle!  The pony names were Mouse and Minnie.

Apple Jack, the quarter horse, with one happy Emma.

We went back and you helped groom the ponies before they brought out the big horses.  Apple Jack was the quarter horse and Sport was the thoroughbred.  We followed to the arena and you waited your turn to ride. You went on Sport first and insisted that daddy help you get on.  Sport cantered around the arena, which is pretty quick for a first ride.  You loved it and couldn't always keep your smiles hidden.  It was so much fun to watch you.  I could easily imagine you taking lessons and becoming a horse rider.

That was so fun and fast that you didn't want anyone to know how much you liked it.

After riding you did more horse grooming and you and the other girls were quite surprised by how large of a poop the horse dropped.  Then it was time to go home. In the car we asked you if you liked the experience and what your favorite part was. "It was good. I liked riding the big horses."  It all sort of came apart when Annika started crying and wouldn't stop. "Stop! You are ruining my whole birthday!"
Tom and Karen stopped by before dinner to give you their presents. You showed them the pictures from the horse and pony experience and were quite pleased to be able to share it with them.  Aunt Susan came for dinner and we enjoyed homemade macaroni and cheese with peas.  You also showed Aunt Susie the pictures of your day. Aunt Susan's cheesecake with fresh raspberries was phenomenal. You helped decorate the top of the cake with some fun supplies Aunt Susie brought with her.

Decorating that delicious cheesecake with Aunt Susie.

Then came the plethora of presents. Both sets of grandparents and great grandma's plus Aunt Susie and some other random boxes were filled with clothes, toys, and even money and makeup (lip gloss). You were right in your element. You said some pretty funny things that I am kicking myself for not writing down!
You went to sleep happy and woke up the next morning just bursting with excitement for your friends party. It was a long wait but we all survived. We arrived at the Dane County Humane Society and found the room to be much larger than we expected as well all decorated!  Frannie was the first to arrive and slowly your friends showed up. Frannie, Tesla, Violet, Rosie and Ellie, Meghan, Daryn and Soren, and James were all there. Plus Miss Beckie came with a lovely bouquet of flowers! The cat visitor names Max was first. He could sit on command! Everyone got to pet him once before his owner took him away.

Then the group was off to see  behind the scenes; you were always the line leader. You saw loads of cats; you wanted to take them home.  And so many cute dogs enjoyed tasty morsels that you and your friends dropped down the feeding tube into the kennels. There were also smaller pets like gerbils and feathered friends, too.  Back at the room we had some juice and you and your friends colored cats or dogs.

Not a cat but it will have to do.

The best part was coming up! The leader took us all into a small room where you got to hold a corn snake, guinea pig and rat.
Okay, maybe the best part was coming up- cake and presents! You decided that a cookies and cream custard cake from Culver's was a fine substitute for vanilla cat cupcakes with custard on the side. (I still feel guilty that I didn't make them!) The cakes were a huge hit with everyone and you blew out all 6 candles in two breaths I think. Your friends know you well and got you presents that fit your talents and hobbies- lots of art projects. Then it was time to clean up and go home. You were sad that it was over but also very happy.
Since it was late(r) in the day we let you pick a restaurant for the last birthday celebration meal. We went to Monty's and had yummy food but no dessert. Instead you had some cheesecake when we got home.

You are such a great big sister! Here you are helping your sister navigate the Earth and Sun set-up.

Was the birthday fun really over then? No! Annika and I came to school on Monday for your birthday celebration at Toad Hill. We kept the Emma-isms very brief but shared some pictures of you doing fun things through the years. You walked around the sun 6 times and Annika crawled on the sun!  Then I hung around for a little bit while you showed me some work, and I read a pumpkin story to your friends. Before I left I made sure that your teachers knew what to do with the special snack. I made individual parfaits for you and your friends with the berries and yogurt of your choice- vanilla yogurt with raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. Plus there was a bag of granola for sprinkling on the top and some chocolate graham cat cookies. We brought three pieces of cheesecake for your teachers.
At the end of the day you were sad because the cat cookies were not served. But we took them back the next day and you got to share them with your friends.
Such a wonderful celebratory weekend for such a wonderfully sweet and beautiful girl! We are proud of you and love you so much. Happy 6th birthday, Emma K!