Anna's birthday

Just a quick post tonight, guys. Anna had a great birthday. She loved the cake (that character is Uniqua, her favorite from The Backyardigans). At her school there is a playscape that only children 4 and up can play on, and she got her first taste of it today. Apparently other children yelled at her about being only 3, but one of the teachers said, "Today Anna turned 4, she is invited to play on this playscape." She told me, "I liked the slide, Mommy, and the blue stairs, but I'm afraid of the monkey bars." I assured her that when she is ready, she'll be able to do the monkey bars, too.

I made her spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. She had requested it for a birthday meal a few days ago when I was going to the grocery store, but I guess today she had birthday remorse. As I was mixing the beef, breadcrumbs made from Lisa's yummy bread, dried oregano from Uncle Buck, and a homegrown egg, Anna said, "No Mommy! I want meatball soup!" Meaning the cheap kind in a can. I told her we didn't have any, so she went into the pantry and rustled up RAMEN NOODLES. "I don't want spaghetti, I want THESE kind of noodles! I want to make them NOW." Fortunately, I was able to stall her, and after a pre-dinner trip to the park, she was hungry enough for the homemade meal. She did enjoy it, and fortunately did not request the 10 cent noodles.

I can believe I birthed this baby 4 years ago. I keep having the ridiculous thought that someone could've gone through high school in that amount of time. Or vet school, for that matter. I told her this morning, "Happy birthday, Anna. I'm so glad you were born 4 years ago today." And she said, "Thank you, Mommy, I love you, too!"