FIVE!

it happened. ramona turned five. she has turned into such a cool, smart, funny, kind, gentle, caring, brave and agile little kid, and this birthday had a feeling of arrival. as in, she's arrived at something awesome. or maybe, we've arrived, finally, as parents of a kid who is about to be school aged, parents with a little bit of experience. or maybe, we all together, all four of us, have been a family unit now for 5 years (one of us just a bit less than that...), and we are starting to figure each other out a little bit.

but in every way, this birthday was so fun. we had pancakes, picked out a pinata, went to a uw women's hockey game, went out for pizza and ice cream, opened presents, made a birthday dirt cake, ice skated, and had a pretty gigantor birthday party.

here is the cake, in bowls, and waiting to be layered into a flower pot by these very excited and extremely helpful (if somewhat dangerous) sous chefs. let's be honest: they were there for the oreos, pudding and cool whip.


and that cake, all done and ready to be torn apart.


a purple party girl and her donkey pinata,


pinata cheering with her bestest little friend elise (and her oldest friend: they were babies together at daycare, and time and distance has not diminished their love for one another. childhood friendship is so tender.)


and of course, mustaches. mustaches, plastic bugs, and snakes were in the massive donkey pinata.


let's take a look back at this girl, on her birthdays.
day number one, at birthday number zero. was she really ever this tiny?


ONE!


TWO!


THREE!


FOUR!


FIVE!