Celebrating Jade

Despite my urging her to stop growing, Jade turned 7 years old on April 30th.  She is a beautiful girl with a sweet, considerate personality.  Sometimes I’m amazed at how full of light and truth she is.  As a resolute rule-follower, she often tells me things I shouldn’t be doing:  letting Ridge ride in the basket at Target because clearly there is a sign on the seat showing that it is not allowed; telling me Ridge shouldn’t have had cookies at the church cookie social because we were told “no nametag, no cookies” and I didn’t write Ridge a nametag… the list goes on. 
Jade is sweet and thoughtful.  She is often making cards or pictures for someone or activity books for Ridge.  Last night she excitedly planned and executed Family Home Evening all on her own.  Once at school a boy dropped his books and papers coming back from the library.  As others passed him laughing, Jade chose to go help the boy pick up his things.  Another time a girl was being excluded at recess, so Jade decided to play with her instead of be with the group. 

Jade loves reading, gymnastics, drawing, friends, and nature.  She is great at math (frequently scoring 100% on her tests at school), but claims science is her favorite subject.  When we are outside, she would rather pick wildflowers, collect bugs, or ride her bike than join the rest of us playing hockey or soccer. 
She is surrounded by boys at home, on our street, in class at school (17 boys, 7 girls), and in class at church!  Seven-year-old boys are rowdy and she gets fed up with them not following the rules.  That is why she doesn’t have a crush on anyone.  She would simply rather play with the girls who aren’t going to cause trouble. 
Although Jade can be very helpful with chores and her brothers, it’s not always roses.  She definitely can give me attitude when it comes to something she doesn’t want to do.  She can also get very emotional about things that bother her or hurt her feelings.  That’s part of being a girl, I think!  Mostly though, I’m so grateful for the considerate little lady Jade is.  She really is a wonderful, wonderful little girl.  I love her so very much!

This is a little bit of what Jade has to say about herself:

On the day of Jade’s birthday, Cody worked it out to work from home.  We needed to do a car repair and I had to go to the dentist, but it also worked out great so I could go into Jade’s class without the boys! 
  
The class sang to Jade and then she chose someone to help her pass out the cupcakes I brought in. 
 
It was no surprise when she chose Ava, because Jade had already informed me days before that that’s who she would pick.  They washed their hands, passed out the cupcakes, and then we took a walk through the school delivering cupcakes to the principal, gym teacher, librarian, art teacher, etc.  Each one gave Jade a birthday surprise like a sticker, pencil, or bracelet.  It was pretty cute! 
  
Jade’s teacher apologized it wasn’t really a big deal and only lasted a few minutes.  I didn’t mind at all!  It was so enjoyable for me to see my girl in her element with her classmates.  Plus, Jade was beyond thrilled that I was there, so it was certainly worth the visit!
At home we did things a little backwards.  With Cody already there, we opened presents right after school.  That way Jade would have more time to play with them on her birthday. 
 
Jade is really into her American Girl doll she earned last year.  She squealed with delight every time she opened something for her doll.  After opening several American Girl items, she exclaimed over and over that “this is THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!”  She was really spoiled because I had found a 60% off deal last year and saved the items away until her birthday (and so did her Grandma R.). 
 
After playing with presents for a bit, we had Jade’s requested dinner of Pesto Pasta and raspberries, followed up with cake and ice cream. 
 
I love making cakes for my kids.  It really is so much fun for me.  When Jade saw her cake after school, she was giddy with excitement and told me, “it was the best cake EVER!” You know that made me like making cakes for my kids that much more!  The cakes take time, but I love seeing how happy and excited they get.  She often tells me I am the best cake maker.  Of course, I know that is not true.  I am certainly a novice when it comes to cake decorating, but I enjoy it so I suppose that’s all that matters! 
 
 
That night Jade was thrilled to go to bed wearing her new matching pjs with Isabelle!

In talking with one of Jade’s school friend’s mom (who I am also good friends with), we learned both our girls would love to go to the American Girl Café for their birthday.  For me, it was a great option.  It would be cheaper than a party and easier than planning one!  Plus, I knew Jade would love it.  That’s what we call a win, win, win!  We decided to find a Saturday in between their birthdays to go.  This past Saturday—May 16th—was the day! 
American Girl sent us invitations to to use, so I mailed one to Jade and her friend, Kayla, to get them extra excited.  Instead of spending money at the “doll salon” they have at the store, I told Jade I would help her do Isabelle’s hair. 
 
Jade wanted to match Isabelle for the special day.  She was planning to wear her Christmas skirt, because that’s their only matching outfit.  During one of the play dates we had with Kayla months ago, I gave the girls a quick sewing lesson, letting them help make a simple skirt for their dolls.  Long story short, I made a last minute decision to make the girls matching skirts for their big day.
 
Needless to say, Jade was so excited about the entire thing!  She told me, and then later Cody, “I can’t believe I’m going to New York City with only my mom, my friend, and her mom!”  I think she felt really grown up. 
In fact, I know both her and Kayla thought they were so grown up walking around New York City!  They wanted to walk by each other and pretend they didn’t need grown ups with them.  Really though.  My baby girl IS so grown up.  Too grown up.
 
When we approached the American Girl Place, I quickly started recording video to capture their reactions when they saw it.  I’m glad I did. 


 
Kayla and Jade are such good little friends, with similar interests.  The girls even take gymnastics together every week.  Plus, Kayla’s mom, Danielle, and I have become good friends too. 
  
We arrived at the café a little bit early.  We took the time to browse the store and take pictures. 
 
As we were seated for lunch, the day just kept getting better.  Jade again thought she was so grown up to order from her own menu “that looked like a book.” 
 
The dolls were seated at the table too and all the girls received crowns to wear.  We even noticed the girls’ outfits coordinated with the store’s colors: pink and dark pink. 
After appetizers and drinks, the girls’ lunches of choice were brought out.  Jade was pretty enthused by her tic-tac-toe pizza.  On the table was a box of questions.  We took turns selecting one, then each of us would answer.  It was a fun way to interact with the girls and learn new things about each other!  I learned that Jade’s biggest dream is to see fairies.  I guess maybe she’s not too grown up after all.  
The dolls also received a cup and plate to “eat from” that the girls got to keep.  After lunch, a beautiful cake was brought out for the birthday girls. 
The waiter even lit the candles twice so Jade and Kayla could each have a turn blowing them out. 
 
Jade had three top, front teeth missing and one extremely loose, so she was having difficulty eating.  We boxed up her cake to take home.  Her tooth fell out at the grocery store later that afternoon, so she shared her cake with Ridge after dinner that night. 
The girls also received a birthday goody bag with a book, shirt, toy balloon, and toy cupcake for their dolls.  It was extremely cute!  The entire thing was so much fun!!
After their birthday lunch, we let the girls browse through the store.  They had given each other birthday money to spend there.  Plus, Jade had been doing chores to earn enough money to buy a dog when we went to the American Girl store.  Jade had saved enough money to buy the dog (who she named Sparkles), and with Kayla’s gift to her, she was also able to buy a leash and collar for the dog.  She was elated! 
The day was still young when we finished at the American Girl store.  We decided to head down 5th Avenue to Central Park.  I’d never been there this time of year and it was green and beautiful!
 
Jade and Kayla climbed the big rocks and played at the playground until we pulled them away. 
The day celebrating our two seven-year-olds could not have been better!  It was such a special time with just them and us moms.  We had such an amazing and fun day with these cute girls!!  They, of course, were in heaven all day too.  Jade made sure we all knew, “it was the BEST birthday EVER!!”