New Year's Eve is always a special day for our family, because it is also Emily's birthday! We had planned her party for just after lunch, so we spent the morning cleaning the house and putting up decorations.
We did our traditional "streamers around the dining room", and Emily thought it looked great.
It's hard to believe that our little baby is turning six years old. It's so true what they say about having young children: "The days pass slowly, but the years fly by". Emily was just a two-year-old toddler when we moved to Maine, and it almost seems like yesterday.
As we got closer to party time, Em got more and more excited (of course). She was really bouncing off the walls.
We had tried to invite some of her kindergarten buddies, but they were either out-of-town or we just couldn't make contact, so we decided to make this just a family party. Emily didn't seem to mind.
Grandma, Pop Pop, Nana, Uncle David, Uncle Seth, Aunt Sara, and the cousins all arrived to help us celebrate, so it was a pretty full house.
Nana had worked very hard (and consulted with Emily) on the birthday cake, which was toted in by Uncle David....
...and it was perfect!
By the time everyone had assembled for present-opening, it was impossible to contain Emily's excitement.
She got some great gifts, all of which she liked....
...and then she decided to open the giant package from Mom and Mama that has been sitting on top of the hutch all week.
It was just what she wanted (and what she asked Santa for): A skateboard!
You could tell she was envisioning herself throwing down ollies (or whatever they're called) at a skatepark soon.
Next up was the big box from Grandma and Pop Pop....
...it was a Hot Wheels race ramp, complete with cars! Emily wanted to play with it immediately, so Pop Pop got right to work....
...and he had it together in no time.
This racetrack was a big hit, as Em, Kate and the cousins raced the cars down it over and over.
Everyone also tried out the skateboard, which is a Fisher-Price "Grow With Me" model. It has an optional handle, and the wheel trucks can be moved in and out to give it greater (or less) stability for beginners.
Everyone quickly found out that riding a skateboard is much more difficult than it looks.
After presents it was time for cake. We all took a minute to admire Nana's work of art....
....and Mom read aloud the poem "Now We are Six" by A.A. Milne, which was sent to Emily in a birthday card by her Great-Aunt Marilyn....
....then we sang the birthday song....
...and Emily blew out her candles.
The cake proved to be not just good-looking, but delicious as well....
...which is how a birthday cake should be. Thanks Nana!
And there was even enough for seconds, much to Kate's delight.
After cake it was time to play more with Emily's presents....
...socialize over coffee....
....have a concert in Kate's room....
...and of course enjoy some good ping pong competition.
The nice thing about ping pong is that almost anyone, without much practice, can play decently....
...and it's multi-generational!
The party was a lot of fun--thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate Emily's birthday today!
After the party Emily wanted to really practice on her skateboard, so Mom cleared out some space in the basement and got her all padded up.
She did pretty well!
She's picking it up really fast, and can't wait to try it out on the driveway in the Spring.
Happy Birthday Emily Jane!
