More birthdays...
May is a month of marathon birthdays. Aly's is the 15th. Kami's is the 24th. Heidi's is the 26th. I've already spoken of Aly's, so I thought I'd share briefly about a couple more of my beauties.
Kami's Birthday was wonderful. She turned 7. By the look of things, I think she thinks she turned 16. I loved her anticipation as she awaited the arrival of her invitees. She diligently cleaned the house trying to get it just so. She turned on certain lights, and then turned them off to see if the ambiance was as she wanted it. And then she waited at the window. She pull up a chair and just gazed out the window looking for the first car to pull in the driveway. I just watched her and waited for the first sight of a car. Sure enough, moments later, a car turned into the driveway and she came unglued. There was jumping and squealing until just before there was a knock on the door, then, all at once, she become composed as if she was taking it all in stride. Her friend walked in with a present and she quickly grabbed her hand and led her to the gift drop off point. Then, as if a dam broke, everyone started pouring in, parents and little girls alike. With every little girl added to the pack, there was a surge of increased excitement and confidence among them. They started moving about the house as a herd, Kami leading them to various places of fun. She took them to her room to showcase her wares. She then led them downstairs to see the dress up clothes and play houses and such. Finally, they ended up back up stairs just wandering around waiting for the last person to get there so that they could start the planned festivities. Finally, the last little girl arrived and it was time to begin the formal party, though things were pleasantly underway already.
Heidi had come up with a flip flop theme and the girls were going to do a craft whereby they would decorate their flip flop with sundry items of feminine flavor. Things like puffy pink, feathery stringy thingys, fake flowers, soft little balls of assorted colors, ribbons and bows...and my favorite...hot glue. I was the lord of the hot glue gun shooting little dabs of it on the girls flip flops so they could attach various accessories to their otherwise plane sandals. It was an hour of messy fun.
We then moved into the living room to open gifts. What I loved about Kami is that she was so serious about reading the cards before opening the gifts. The girls would watch her scanning the cards, looking at the pictures and reading the text. After she was done reading it, she would say, "I love it! Thanks for the card." I love that she cares about that kind of stuff.
She opened all her presents and everyone started playing with all the gifts. Dolls, make-up stuff, glowing balls, dress up stuff, etc. It was a riot. I just sat and video taped while Heidi took pictures.
After that, we gathered around the kitchen table and got ready to have some cake. Heidi had made a pair of flips flips for cake...huge size 18 flip flops. We sang Happy Birthday while Kami soaked in the moment, and then she filled her lungs with air and blew her brains out trying to extinguish the candles. It took two hearty tries, but she succeeded. The cake was cut and distributed and the girls proceeded to eat their hearts out.
I was eating at the table and I told all the girls that I felt like a girl because there were no other guys at the party. They laughed and their laughter only fed my desire to keep them laughing. They were calling me a princess and I insisted that I was, in fact, a Warrior. A warrior of epic proportions. They laughed and continued to call me a princess. To prove that I was a warrior, I told Kami to put war paint on my face. We didn't have any war paint, so she just stuck her finger in the frosting and covered my face with sugary cake icing...the girls laughed and laughed...Kami was having the time of her life. I took one for the team.
As the girls packed up and headed out, I was struck with how powerful the heart of a girl really is. How beautiful. How mysterious. It starts at such an early age, this unspeakable loveliness that fills the worlds with a delicate touch of creativity and tenderness. I love being in a house full of these creatures. Their spendor and majesty is sometimes more than I can bear, in a good way.
I love you so much, Kami Rose Holdridge. You are my firstborn. You are beautiful inside and out. I love being your father and holding you tight within my arms. Even this morning before school, we sat on the couch and just held each other. You kissed my cheek four times while we watched Lilo and Stitch. I felt every one and counted them with care. We were as snug as a bug in a rug. You are growing up to be quite a young girl...your mother and I are proud of you. I promise to be your "big daddy warrior" (like you used to call me) all the days of my life. I pray that your heart continues to open itself to the joys of Jesus. He is, by far, the greatest present you will ever get on any birthday.
I love you, Kamrose.
ps - I will write about my wife's birthday in the next installment.
Kami's Birthday was wonderful. She turned 7. By the look of things, I think she thinks she turned 16. I loved her anticipation as she awaited the arrival of her invitees. She diligently cleaned the house trying to get it just so. She turned on certain lights, and then turned them off to see if the ambiance was as she wanted it. And then she waited at the window. She pull up a chair and just gazed out the window looking for the first car to pull in the driveway. I just watched her and waited for the first sight of a car. Sure enough, moments later, a car turned into the driveway and she came unglued. There was jumping and squealing until just before there was a knock on the door, then, all at once, she become composed as if she was taking it all in stride. Her friend walked in with a present and she quickly grabbed her hand and led her to the gift drop off point. Then, as if a dam broke, everyone started pouring in, parents and little girls alike. With every little girl added to the pack, there was a surge of increased excitement and confidence among them. They started moving about the house as a herd, Kami leading them to various places of fun. She took them to her room to showcase her wares. She then led them downstairs to see the dress up clothes and play houses and such. Finally, they ended up back up stairs just wandering around waiting for the last person to get there so that they could start the planned festivities. Finally, the last little girl arrived and it was time to begin the formal party, though things were pleasantly underway already.
Heidi had come up with a flip flop theme and the girls were going to do a craft whereby they would decorate their flip flop with sundry items of feminine flavor. Things like puffy pink, feathery stringy thingys, fake flowers, soft little balls of assorted colors, ribbons and bows...and my favorite...hot glue. I was the lord of the hot glue gun shooting little dabs of it on the girls flip flops so they could attach various accessories to their otherwise plane sandals. It was an hour of messy fun.
We then moved into the living room to open gifts. What I loved about Kami is that she was so serious about reading the cards before opening the gifts. The girls would watch her scanning the cards, looking at the pictures and reading the text. After she was done reading it, she would say, "I love it! Thanks for the card." I love that she cares about that kind of stuff.
She opened all her presents and everyone started playing with all the gifts. Dolls, make-up stuff, glowing balls, dress up stuff, etc. It was a riot. I just sat and video taped while Heidi took pictures.
After that, we gathered around the kitchen table and got ready to have some cake. Heidi had made a pair of flips flips for cake...huge size 18 flip flops. We sang Happy Birthday while Kami soaked in the moment, and then she filled her lungs with air and blew her brains out trying to extinguish the candles. It took two hearty tries, but she succeeded. The cake was cut and distributed and the girls proceeded to eat their hearts out.
I was eating at the table and I told all the girls that I felt like a girl because there were no other guys at the party. They laughed and their laughter only fed my desire to keep them laughing. They were calling me a princess and I insisted that I was, in fact, a Warrior. A warrior of epic proportions. They laughed and continued to call me a princess. To prove that I was a warrior, I told Kami to put war paint on my face. We didn't have any war paint, so she just stuck her finger in the frosting and covered my face with sugary cake icing...the girls laughed and laughed...Kami was having the time of her life. I took one for the team.
As the girls packed up and headed out, I was struck with how powerful the heart of a girl really is. How beautiful. How mysterious. It starts at such an early age, this unspeakable loveliness that fills the worlds with a delicate touch of creativity and tenderness. I love being in a house full of these creatures. Their spendor and majesty is sometimes more than I can bear, in a good way.
I love you so much, Kami Rose Holdridge. You are my firstborn. You are beautiful inside and out. I love being your father and holding you tight within my arms. Even this morning before school, we sat on the couch and just held each other. You kissed my cheek four times while we watched Lilo and Stitch. I felt every one and counted them with care. We were as snug as a bug in a rug. You are growing up to be quite a young girl...your mother and I are proud of you. I promise to be your "big daddy warrior" (like you used to call me) all the days of my life. I pray that your heart continues to open itself to the joys of Jesus. He is, by far, the greatest present you will ever get on any birthday.
I love you, Kamrose.
ps - I will write about my wife's birthday in the next installment.
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