Birthday Girl. . .

On May 17th, our little girl turned four years old!! She had been looking forward to her birthday for many months, usually saying something like, "Mommy, when I turn four, I'm going to _____ (fill in the blank). Her favorite line was letting us know that she was finally going to start chewing gum. At some point when she was a baby, we had decided that four years old would be the gum-chewing age. A friend of mine had done that and her explanation seemed wise. At four, kids know where the trash can is and they know how to throw away their wrappers and their chewed gum. I didn't want to have to deal with gum on clothes or couches or car seats, etc. The other reason we waited was because Emma was still sucking her thumb. For several months we told her that four-year olds don't get to suck their thumbs, but they do get to chew gum. Seemed like a deal for her! We were praying the deal would work and she would magically stop sucking her thumb on her fourth birthday. Since she had turned a year old, we had limited her thumb-sucking to naptime and bedtime only, but we were still hoping to completely do away with it. Well, much to our surprise, Emma completely stopped sucking her thumb sometime in March, a good two months before her birthday!! We had been traveling quite a bit in March and she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion more times than I can count. I guess lifting her thumb to her mouth was too much work. Needless to say, we were so happy!!

In this photo, she had just gotten out of bed and was still fighting a cold, but she was pretty ecstatic for her birthday anyway, especially because she walked into a living room full of pink balloons (thanks to her daddy)!!

We made cupcakes for her classmates and teachers. I frosted the cupcakes and Emma decorated them with sprinkles.

Kevin came home for lunch and we opened some presents (one present was a pack of gum!) He went back to work for a few hours and then took the rest of the afternoon off so he could come with me to Emma's school for her birthday party. We blew up balloons and used some decorations we had picked up in the U.S. I made chocolate chip cookies and cupcakes and then ordered some salgadinhos from Zelandia's, knowing how much the kids love the salty snacks!

After we decorated the party room, we heard Emma and her classmates coming down the hall. Emma's teacher was leading them and the smile on our little girl's face was precious. She was first in line and she could hardly contain herself!! The kids formed a trenzinho (little train) and wound their way through the hallways to the party room, where they surrounded the birthday table. Emma stood in the center grinning from ear to ear while her coleginhas sang "Parabens pra voce," (Happy Birthday) to her.

Daniel and Murilo are two of Emma's favorite friends.

I was pretty excited about the yummy Betty Crocker cupcakes I made. The homemade chocolate chip cookies were even better!! I couldn't wait to watch the little Brazilian kiddos devour the yumminess of American sweets! Unfortunately, I forgot that little kids, regardless of culture, don't really like to try new things, especially weird-looking sugary treats! I tried my best to get the kids to experiment something new, but the majority of the kids had zero interest in my cupcakes. Of the 50+ cookies I made, less than ten of them were eaten. (Emma later confessed to eating five of them!) My feelings were hurt. I had slaved away in the kitchen and nothing I could say or do convinced them to eat my treats! Fortunately, Emma got her fill and she was happy. I decided that was most important!! The teachers were more than willing to eat the leftovers, so we left most of the cupcakes and cookies at the school!!

After snacks, the kids sat in a circle while the teacher passed out gifts. Most of the kids brought a small gift for Emma. Each child was given their gift and then they took turns handing the gift to Emma. After they handed her the gift, they gave her a hug and a kiss. It was so sweet. The kids who didn't bring gifts were still able to give Emma a gift of a hug and kiss.

Professora Jayne and Professora Cris, Emma's teachers

Earlier in the week, Emma and I had put together little lembrancinhas (gift bags) for her coleginhas. While we were in the U.S., we found party favors at WalMart for super cheap. I loved spending that time with Emma. It was neat to see her get so excited about giving gifts away on her birthday. She certainly received quite a few gifts from her little friends! I think it was a really fun day for our daughter. At this age, she's remembering so much and I hope she can look back one day and remember celebrating with kids from another country.

After her party, we went home and waited for some friends. Leandro and Monica came to visit us from Porto Alegre with their two kids, Clara and Lucas. Clara had turned 4 just a few days before Emma, so we ordered pizza and had dessert to celebrate their birthdays. We always love our time with the Carrions; we only wish we lived closer to them. One day maybe. . .

Later that night, I laid in bed, reminiscing over the last four years. Can it be that four years have passed so quickly? Our daughter isn't a baby, nor is she a toddler anymore. She's a little girl and she's so full of life and energy and love. I am so grateful for the time we've had with her. Our lives have changed so much since she entered our world, and for the better!