Has it really been six years since I became a mother? The calendar says it has. Jacey has been SO excited for her birthday this year. Earlier in the week she said to me "Mom I cannot WAIT for Wednesday!" "But Jacey," I said, "your birthday isn't until Thursday." "I know Mom. But Wednesday is the day before my birthday and that is SO EXCITING!"
She requested french toast for her birthday breakfast, with strawberries. Which happens to be one of my favorite breakfasts ever, so thanks J for that request that we all benefited from. :)
Londyn and I went to her school to spotlight her in her class, as her teacher has all parents do on birthdays. This was the part of the day that was a huge payday for me. Paydays for moms come pretty few and far-between, but I've found that when they come, they come big. This was no exception. Her teacher gathered the class and asked if anybody had something they liked about Jacey that they wanted to share. Just about every hand in the class shot up. One little girl said "Jacey is so nice to everybody." Another girl said "She never ever hits anybody." (Glad to know!) Another said "She always cares about how other kids are feeling and tries to be nice to them." Then a little boy in our ward raised his hand and said "Sometimes when we play at recess, people get sad because they don't get to be on the team they want to be on. And Jacey always comes up and says 'It's okay, you can be on my team!'"
Jacey's teacher also took a turn to mention what she likes about Jacey. She said that Jacey is responsible. She knows that she can always look to Jacey to be doing what she's supposed to be doing. And if she ever needs a good example of good behavior, she can always look to Jacey to be that example. I'll admit - I was struggling to keep it together. (I was supposed to read a story to the class but I was on the verge of bawling.) I blame it on pregnancy.
Jacey is simply a really great kid. I can't think of a way to say it that really does her justice. She's just a great kid, and she teaches me a lot.
After school she got to skip her nap and play and watch movies, then she helped me make cupcakes then went to play at her cousins'. Then when Will got home we headed to Chuck E. Cheese's for her birthday dinner. (We alternate years doing friend-parties and family-parties. This was a family-party year, and she chose a family outing to Chuck E. Cheese's.) She has been looking forward to this outing for a LOOOONG time. She was so excited about it, even though she's never been there before. I was a little worried that she'd built it up so much in her mind that she would be let down. But she was in heaven and had a fantastic time. She told Will and me repeatedly on the way home "Thank you so much for making this the best birthday ever in the world."
A few pics to complete documentation of the big day: (forgive the quality)
We love you J! To the moon and back!
