SLOANE'S 4TH BIRTHDAY

Howdy all, I'm coming at you from a week where I am being dragged by the feet from day to day because apparently the days keep marching on, even if my body says no-no-no. It's very much -can I please catch my breath, what is this fat cold sore on the side of my tongue, and will I or won't I get myself to the gym - kind of situation over here.

Its only been a few days and I already feel nostalgic about this past weekend of being enveloped in Sloane's joy about her birthday. She turned FOUR last week and we were both so excited about it; it was one of our main topics of discussion in the weeks leading up to the party.  My favorite part of it all was planning together, she being old enough now to have considerations about who she would like to invite and the kind of cake she prefers. 

Is there some sort of jar that will forever hold the image of her face talking about her beloved friends coming to her party, the big grin when she saw the ice cream toppings, or the little happy dance she did about the prospect of receiving birthday cards, and the yelp of excitement that came out when she saw Ken's mom had come up for the party? Those are the little treasures I'm taking away from it all.

So all that to say, I'm interrupting the normal programming (that being the series about our NYC trip - that's right, I'm still not done) to post about Sloane's 4th birthday party!  

Excuse me, humor me, because there are a gazillion photos here!

She loved receiving cards this year. There were some really special ones - ones with stickers, a paper wand, tinkerbell, princesses and little cut outs, a coloring one, hand crafted and hand made ones - she loved them all. 

As soon as the guests started coming in, we handed each a bowl of ice cream and directed them to the table with ice cream toppings so they could go to town. 

First order of business after ice cream: water balloon fight! Kids vs. grown ups. Sloane was tickled pink about this concept.

Then red light, green light, yellow light, purple light! 

And then inevitably, happily, the pool! 

The kind of cake she wanted was a topic of great deliberation. She finally decided upon a cake made out of fruit and I had come up with a basic blue print of how I would make that happen, but then the week of the party, she came up with the even bigger dream of a shark cake made out of fruit! With the help of a few google searches, planning, and some grit, I present to you...sharkie! The fruit cake shark. With candles in its teeth and everything.

Look at that face when everyone was singing happy birthday to her!! I wish I had gotten that on video.

Sloane, you are the most amazing thing I have ever accomplished and my favorite person to get to know right now. I miss you when you go to sleep and I am so excited to see you again in the morning. I am so proud of you and so proud to be your mom! 

NYC PART 2: BATTERY PARK

After lunch in Washington Square Park and Dominique Ansel Bakery, we took an Uber down to Battery Park. I have been there before but it didn't woo me like it did on this particular day. It almost felt like we had been transplanted to another planet - something about the warm and muggy air, splashes of the waves, bright green foliage contrasted against the old and new buildings in concert together, made the experience feel dreamlike.

You can't see it at all in these photos, but from where we stood, we could see the Statue of Liberty off in the distance. When I saw it, hazy underneath the bright sun, I felt incredibly moved. The part of me that had pretty much laid down in exhaustion and discouragement because of the recent events in the news and election, was moved to sit up. IS America great? I had found myself wondering over and over again.  But that glimpse of the statue of Liberty fortified something in me. The statue that symbolized hope for so many of the weary and heavy-hearted: this is the sort of thing that makes America great.

I wanted a photo with Sloane here to remember how peaceful I felt in this moment.

Also, Logan's sleeping face.

The main reason I wanted to come down to Battery Park was to check out the Sea Glass Carousel there with Sloane. It was as ethereal and lovely as I had hoped. Sloane and I rode one together in happy awe and appreciation.

Afterwards, we had a little snack on the bench. Grilled cheese for Sloane, butternut squash packet for Logan and a shandy for me.

We were right next to the Pier A Harbor House, the restaurant where we were meeting family for dinner that night and realized that it was also in full view of the Freedom Tower, or the One World Trade Center. The last time I was here it wasn't completed yet, so it was my first time beholding it all in its finished state.

We had a truly lovely evening with dinner and drinks here that night, celebrating Sharon and Paul, meeting family members and friends, and marveling at the joy of togetherness.