FIVE

We made it.  An entire hand - five full fingers worth of years.  For some reason five feels so much older, but still so sweet an innocent.  

So I know you're wondering, why has it taken you half of a year to write this post!?  Well, my friends, we're in the middle of a pandemic.  Wait, what??  That's right, a freaking pandemic - a deadly virus called the Coronavirus, or COVID-19.  Two weeks before our sweet twins turned five, we were sent home from work and daycare shut down, and here we are in mid-November with no real end in sight.  There's a lot to update you on that front, but for now, let's focus on Ella and Sydney turning 5!

Picture it: in the middle of a pandemic, confined to our homes, trying to figure out how to celebrate a big birthday such as 5.  We had originally planned on having their birthday party at this party center - a princess tea party - complete with Anna and Elsa, make up, dressing up, a fashion show - all the works and right up their alley!  When those people ghosted me, we changed course and booked Chuck E. Cheese (ehhhh).  We got them all pumped up, and then BAM! Pandemic.  So here I am, stressed out balancing being a full time employee and full time mom, knowing that the usual birthday "stuff" is out the window, including seeing family/friends, having the weight of the world on my shoulders trying to make it as magical and fun as possible for them.  And guess what - it was THE.BEST.DAY.EVER.  Seriously.  So perfect, so wonderful, so much fun.  Let's go along on the birthday journey, and all of the ways to make a five year old's day perfect, shall we!?

Ella Grace - last night as a four year old

And Sydney Ann - last night as a four year old

I did sneak into Target one day to grab some birthday supplies, and thought far enough ahead to order fun outfits....

Step One: mermaid birthday decorations!  

Step Two: perfect birthday outfits!  Rainbows, glitter, princess unicorn headbands, wands, and fairy wings.  Ella and Sydney summed up in one whole outfit!

Step Three: make birthday pancakes complete with chocolate chips, sprinkles, and whipped cream

Step Four: play!  they love to dress up, and somehow also found swimming goggles...

Step Four cont: ride bikes dressed like fairies

Step Five: presents!!! we found the coolest little ride-on toys called Nighthawk Rides.  They were a HUGE hit!

seriously, so much fun!

and we enjoyed sipping our coffee, chatting about how we made it five years, and giggling at the girls having the time of their lives!

Step Six: making birthday cupcakes!!  And getting to use the mixer

Step Six cont but not pictured: decorating your own cupcakes complete with homemade icing from Daddy and loads of sprinkles.

Step Seven: princess necklace birthday crafts, while Momma and Daddy prep for Step Eight

So here's the backstory on Step Eight.  When we told them their birthday party at Chuck E Cheese was going to have to be post poned, they were super bummed about not getting a turn in the ticket blaster.  So we did what every sane parent would do - made our own ticket blaster  complete with protective eyewear and prizes.

Step Eight: homemade ticket blaster!!

Sydney is excited!

Can't you just feel her excitement!

I didn't get many pictures, but we set up a castle tent with tons of "tickets" (cut up paper, made them do all the work) and a fan.  They caught as much as they could to redeem for prizes at the prize counter... manned by our very own quarantine-team - Jeff and Kim.  When they turned in their tickets, Daddy was the "ticket monster" and ate them all up!

I was bummed we couldn't see our families.  We had already been weeks without seeing them, and for some reason, it really weighed heavy on me.  Now, normally we don't see family for their actual birthday, and at the party... but we weren't having one.  It was more of a stress for me than it was for them, they didn't even notice!  We really were having an amazing day, full of laughs and good memories.  We had just sang happy birthday with our neighbors and ate cupcakes when Annabeth called us to step outside for a second.  I thought, "oh!  she must have swung by with a card she had talked about", so I grabbed three cupcakes and we went outside.  Well... what happened was nothing short of amazing.  We stepped out onto the front porch to a line of cars all honking and parading their way into our culdesac, and I noticed immediately it was our family members.  As soon as I realized what was going on, I started to ugly cry.  UGLY CRY.  Totally blown away that everyone had organized together FOR US.  Daniel's cousin's wife, Sierra, took it upon herself earlier that day to get everyone together for a quick birthday car parade.  Everyone parked and sang, threw confetti, handed out cards and presents, and I continued to ugly cry.  It was incredible and beautiful and so, so special.  Ella and Sydney won't know how much it really means, but it's something that Daniel and I will never forget.  Oh, and I broke social distancing guidelines I got to hug my momma for the first time in weeks and it felt soooo good (kept on crying!).

Step Nine: surprise birthday car parade

We finished up the night with a mexican feast with our neighbors (Step Ten), and read a book before tucking in our five year old twin girls.

Ella Grace and Sydney Ann - March 30th, 2020 - FIVE years old!

they are indescribably amazing

and they light up our lives!

Before they went to sleep, we read the book "On the Night You Were Born".  I couldn't get through it without tearing up, because it rings SO true.  I cannot believe we are lucky enough to be their parents, and they make our world so much brighter.  Here's the excerpt, I don't ever want to forget it - I hope we can bottle up this day and remember it forever.  Especially the part about playing every horn, especially after that car parade.

Happy Birthday, baby girls.

So whenever you doubt just how special you are

and you wonder who loves you, how much and how far,

listen for geese honking high in the sky

(They're singing a song to remember you by.)

Or notice the bears asleep at the zoo.

(It's because they've been dancing all night for you!)

Or drift off to sleep to the sound of the wind.

(Listen closely...it's whispering your name again!)

If the moon stays up until morning one day,

or a ladybug lands and decides to stay,

or a little bird sits at your window awhile,

it's because they're all hoping to see you smile...

For never before in story or rhyme

(not even once upon a time)

has the world ever known a you, my friend,

and it never will, not ever again...

Heaven blew every trumpet

and played every horn

on the wonderful, marvelous

night you were born.