Ouest turned four today. Ali mentioned how impossible it seems that it was four years ago that we were down in Puerto Vallarta walking across the street from our condo to the hospital to have her.
Birthdays are kind of our thing. We don’t really go in for holidays, and I guess even birthdays we’d be considered pretty minimalistic, but we do like to make a fun day of it. It’s a family time, and we’ve sort of slipped into our own little traditions. The mornings always begin with a ton of balloons. I’ll be sad when the kids outgrow their excitement over balloons.
Then of course there are cupcakes. Look at those happy faces.
See if you can guess which parent put the hat on Lowe’s head and damn near ripped his face right off without even noticing. Go on, guess.
Ali made a hero out of herself today by bringing bags of confetti to the table knowing full well that she’d be picking every last paper dot up with a broom because this house does not have a vacuum. Throwing confetti is fun. Throwing confetti indoors is awesome.
As if confetti wasn’t enough fun, Ali also bought candles that don’t blow out. They darn near burn the house down though.
This is why we—as parents who also like to eat cake—prefer cupcakes. Look closely and you can see Ouest has resorted to extinguishing the candles with spit spray. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t proud of her accuracy.
Is it just me or does that smoke look like a guy sitting there staring at Ouest? Has to be a ghost.
Ouest was admitted to the ER for smoke inhalation shortly after this picture was taken.
“Ouest, will you put your arm around Lowe for a picture?”
“Okay! Come here Lowe.”
God her fake smile cracks me up. It doesn’t even remotely resemble her real smile. Lowe on the other hand, if he is given even the tiniest bit of attention from Ouest he gets that smile on his face. That one is genuine.
“Lowe” got Ouest a watch for her birthday. For the rest of the day, literally every thirty seconds, she’d say, “Look what time it is now Papa. Look, Mama, look what time it is now.”
This is, for us at least, a rather elaborate birthday gift. Ouest loves her jewelry and treasures, and up until now has kept them in a cigar box. Well today she graduated to music box. And man was that a winner. She loves it. So much so that after transferring her stuff into it she grabbed the cigar box and said, “Lowe can have this one now. I’ll go put it in his room.” And she did too.
While Lowe was napping today Ouest and I went for a walk to grab a bite to eat. Along the way I saw a lady running for a bus that was pulling away so I waved the bus driver down and she caught up. Ouest figured out what I had done and said, “That was very nice.” (I wish I could type that with the inflections that she uses.)
A few minutes later, unbeknownst to me, the woman in line in front of us dropped her coin purse. Ouest tugged at my shirt and pointed at it. I told her she could pick it up and give it back. So she picked it up, stepped hesitatingly around front of the very old woman, and held it out to her. The woman of course went into a fit of Spanish sweet talk for adorable Ouest, making sure the cashier and everybody within two blocks could hear. Ouest tucked in tight against my leg. I looked down at her and said, “Now we both did something nice today.” She smiled. She knew exactly what I meant.
Happy Birthday Ouest. We are exceedingly proud of the wonderful little girl that you are.
For our records: Ouest is 42 3/4″ tall (95th percentile) and weighs 46 pounds (96th percentile). Lowe is tough, but it’s going to be a while before he can pin her.
17 Comments on “Four Years Old”
That was fabulous. And it’s so cool that she’ll be able to go back and look at it…over and over again, at different ages…and remember it again. Looked like a wonderful day.
You guys are AWESOME!!! I’m sitting here in cold ass Iowa and you guys are having birthday parties in Mexico. So cool. Can’t wait to see Lowes party. Have a good one you’re the best. Marc
I love today’s post. Ouest FOUR! It seems like only yesterday that I was reading about her birth, and as I recall asking if I could become her third Grammy. Now we have our own grandson, and after seeing the photos today we are definitely going to have confetti available to throw on every birthday. Awesome. And that smoke, yes, it looks like a little man, maybe Ouests guardian angel, because she certainly has one being the sweet little human that she is! Y’all are great. Keep having fun! Xoxo
No birthday video? We lift our coffee cups to toast our favorite little girl! Happy Birthday!!
send me your email via mine and I’ll send Ouest a kool ecard..music, singing dancing animals etc.
Happy Birthday, Ouest…you are getting to be such a grande girl!
Happy Birthday Ouest!! I love how you captured the fun of the confetti raining down, looks like a great celebration. Great idea going with cupcakes!
Kids never outgrow their excitement over balloons………have you?
I’m laughing so hard at your comments. The look on Lowe’s face in the ‘smoke inhalation’ picture is priceless, it’s like he’s thinking “I hope mom and dad don’t use those candles for my birthday.” And everyone has the Spit Out birthday party, it’s a rite of passage. Happy Birthday Ouest!
Happy Birthday to Ouest!!!!!Kudos to Ali for the confetti!!!What a treat for the kids!!!!Pat you have to practice your ‘hat putting on skills’!!!Stan & Marilyn La Cruz
Happy Birthday, Ouest!
What wonderful photos! You captured the party so well, even the smoke ghost. Looks like a lovely day and a perfect birthday for Ouest! Ali is a saint for getting that confetti — it sure added a festive touch to the party, tho!
Happy Birthday Ouest!
and who knew their was a kitchen in there????
Amazing pictures. You’re an artist! The smoke man is really incredible. How did you set that up!
This is a great post! Happy Birthday Ouest, the picture with confetti in her hair and her eating the cupcake is so sweet. Wow, four sneaks right up when your having fun!
Enjoy the cold 65 degrees, it’s a warm 21 here this morning in Northern MI 🙂
Happy Birthday Ouest! Pat, that was my favorite post yet. From the wicked fake smile (you’d never know) to the firehose candle putter outer, and the lovely b&w + color balloons with Lowe, really great stuff. And thank Ali for us on the confetti…sheer genius and complete commitment, way to go.
We put balloons in our kids bedroom the night before their birthday so when they wake up they have to wade through them to get to the door. Even though my oldest is 22 and in college she still insists on the balloons so I don’t think they ever grow out of it.