Birthday Walk

We celebrated Amara's 5th birthday a week early at her preschool due to our planned trip to Disneyland. Last year, at her previous school, the school was on summer break during her birthday so she didn't get to celebrate with her school friends. Amara felt sad about that so this year we made sure she got to share this birthday with her new friends. And Amara, being as social as her mama, has lots of friends at school.

As a mother, I continually find myself shaking my head at how I do mundane (earthly) things to make my girls happy. And last week it meant ordering two dozen cupcakes, putting together somethings to read and  pictures to show the children in her school all within a couple of hours.

Amara's school (Little World Montessori of Rodeo) celebrates the kids birthdays with a birthday walk. I have learned this a common practice in prechools but this was new to me and I just loved the idea. The months of the year are put on the floor, in a circle around the sun (lit with a candle). Amara carries a symbolic earth and walks around the circle one time for each year of her life. We stop on her birth month where I say something about that year.

                           

For Amara it meant:

1st year: Amara walked!

2nd year: Amara became a big sister to Havana!

3rd year: Amara was getting ready to start preschool and was as active and curious as ever!

4th year: Amara started a new school; began learning to read; started gymnastics; was still as curious as ever!

                           

The Birthday Walk

I was asked to bring in some photos of Amara and share those. I choose to bring in the first scrapbook I made after Amara was born. The kids and teachers all enjoyed seeing teeny, tiny Amara and I made sure to keep things flowing with a few funny stories about Amara as a baby.

Amara was feeling a little shy being the center of attention. She is normally so social so it may seem odd that she gets shy. But I understand completely. People often laugh when I tell them I get shy in certain situations but it's true. So when my social, and assertive Amara asked me to keep close to her, I did!

It was a short but sweet celebration. It was a little too early for cupcakes so I took Amara and Havana off to the park for a picnic lunch, topped off with their cupcakes. Sometimes mundane is the most fullfilling of all.

First I read a book to the class. Or rather, Amara helped me read a book!

Sharing Amara's 1st scrapbook.

                         

Amara & Havana eating their birthday cupcakes at Pinole Valley Park.