Much to my utter shock, my little baby girl is turning 5 this week. Today we had her birthday party: monkey themed (of course), and the first one with friends. It could not have been more perfect!
The morning was a true practice of patience: she could not WAIT for her friends to come and she would check the door every 2 minutes to see if they were here yet. I had a lot of mom anxiety that no one would come, but luckily they all arrived right on time!
As requested: the same exact monkey balloon she had 2 years ago, plus a monkey tattoo that she made sure everyone received upon entering the party.
First up: a rousing game of limbo.
Next, the girls looked for 24 bananas that were hidden around the house. They had a ton of fun running around to find them, and then lining them up to make sure they had them all!
After that, the girls made monkey puppets. Right away Kate asked if she could be the one to tell everyone how to do it, and she did a great job as "teacher"!
The girls then put on a puppet show, which was quite entertaining (and made me once again wonder in awe how her preschool teacher has 15 kids this age every day!)
Next was a game of "number walk", where they ran around on numbered monkeys until the music stopped. Once their number was drawn, they got to pick out a lipgloss...
...which they then ran up to apply in the bathroom, a glimpse into the teenage years.
Kate then opened presents.
Her best friend, Willow got her a Build a Bear monkey, which was obviously a hit.
Finally, it was time for monkey cupcakes made by Aunt Alisha and the singing of "Happy Birthday".
When I asked her what she wished for she said, "Summer".
My wish was that my baby girl goes through life as happy, kind, and excited as she was today.
Before the party started, I was in tears that Kate is already five. But as my mom reminded me, each year is better than the last. The last five years have been better than we could have ever imagined, and I can't wait to see what the next year brings.
