Friday, February 11, 2011

Happy Half Birthday Posie!

Today is Josie's half birthday. She is three & a half (which is crazy). We don't typically highlight the half way point, but it took on new significance this year since it was celebrated at school. They make a big deal out of birthdays in Montessori and since she has a summer birthday, her half birthday got to be shared today with her friends and "school family."  Lou & I were invited into the classroom to share this special event.

Our special morning started with an enthusiastic round of "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" -
 Then it was time to get out the special birthday mat, light the candle to represent the sun, and then choose a globe to make the journey -
 Josie took her first trip 'round the sun -
 And her second -
 And her third (and obviously *loved* every second of it) -
 Then she got to sit in front of the mat and hear special wishes from her classmates (several of which centered around wishes that she would get lots of candy which was too funny) -
Then Josie got to make her own special birthday wish. Here she is really, really putting a lot of thought into it. Finally, she said sweetly "OH, I definitely have my wish now" (a secret wish by the way).
 Then she snuffed out her candle -
 And it was time to pass out birthday treats and share a book with the class.  (Oh & I should've probably mentioned sooner that it was also Pajama Day today at school - hence everyone's wardrobe.)
 Next I got to read a book to the class which brought back lots of memories of reading to second graders.
We were all smiling and laughing through the book together -
 And 3-6 year old kids are just nothing short of hysterical...obviously -
Finally everyone got to enjoy the special heart, puppy & people cookies that we made for the class. It was the perfect morning and we are so grateful that she goes to such an incredible school!
The Backstory: Last week Josie wasn't able to enjoy a birthday cookie with her classmates because her teachers weren't sure it was safe and peanut-free. She had a rice cake while her friends had cookies.  We definitely appreciated that the teachers kept Josie's safety as the top priority. But Josie was so sad about it Friday night that she couldn't sleep until we talked through a solution.  Part of that solution was getting to take similar cookies - with sprinkles and frosting - to school the next week for her half birthday.  Tia saved the day by sharing her fantastic sugar cookie recipe & Louie saved the day by coming home for his lunch break on Thursday to help make the dough so it would have chill in order to be ready for Josie to bake and decorate last night.  All in all - everyone was happy & most importantly - Josephine felt so special today! In her words, "today was so awesome!"   (And I am so grateful I was able to come. I was worried I would either still be on bedrest or have the baby already and have to miss it.)

One more thing: This morning I said to Lou, "I can't believe she is half-way to being 4."  His response, "She's 3 1/2...that's half-way to 7."  Um....wow.

Ooops - two more things actually: I originally forgot to post about the fact that on each trip around the sun, Lou & I got to share an event that marked that year for Josie. It was definitely an emotional moment to see the passage of time zoom by so quickly.  The other thing is that when Josie's teacher asked what she hoped to learn about this year now that she's one year older (and wiser), Josie said she wants to learn about space.  She's been very interested lately in trying to figure out how we can live on the earth when the earth is actually in outer space. There have been some big questions lately - time to hit amazon for some space-themed books to satisfy this new curiosity. I love her little mind!