Remember When ↠ l.p.

Party Planning

6 months later~

A lot of things have changed in the past months. Most of the were changes for the better, but this particular change I'm having difficulty adjusting to. "Where should these go?" Tessie asks me, pointing to the balloons tied to the back of the chair next to me. 

"Where do you think they are best suited? I was torn between letting them float around the ceiling here in the dining room or having them strewn about in the hallway." I prop my chin up on my hand and watch her with a smile as she taps her chin thoughtfully. She's come so far from the quiet toddler who got lost in the supermarket. She's actually the one who now goes to invite other children to play with her and Cailyn in the park or at a library program. I think half of it is the stability her life has had recently. She has her father back with her and she has me filling a mother roll and I don't think I do a bad job of being her nanny/mother mix either. 

It's wonderful to see her growing up and learning things. Unfortunately, that's also the thing that I'm having difficulty adjusting to. My little girls are growing up too quickly! Tessie surprised me by saying a big word just last week, she said she was showing initiative by putting away the her plate without me asking her to.  She's very smart for her age. So it's no surprise that, against what I had hoped, Liam does want Tessie enrolled in a private school. She doesn't start yet, thank god. It didn't make sense to hold Cailyn back though. She's started in kindergarten as of this past fall. Her first day was horrid, neither she nor Tessie were happy about the change in their routine. They adapted, in the end, but Tessie still gets bored without her best friend around. Cailyn gets along with the other kids and her teacher fine...most of the time. Sometimes when she's feeling particularly upset or lonely she acts out, I've been called down to the kindergarten several times to collect her because she simply won't cooperate. 

The only benefit to Cailyn being in kindergarten, it seems, is that when she gets home each day she sits down with Tessie and they go over her "homework" from that day. I've mentioned to Liam a few times that it wouldn't be an unreasonable idea to let Tessie skip a grade and start at whatever school Liam wants her to go to next year alongside Cailyn. So far he's dismissed the idea, but I'll soon show him the work that his daughter is doing with Cailyn, with very little help from either of us, I think he'll change his mind. It's possibly even a little better than what Cailyn's doing. It's nothing very hard yet, naming colors and learning the alphabet and a few words. 

These building blocks have sparked a reading frenzy, both girls can read moderately well already and are quickly accelerating. I think it's great of course...but at the same time I'm afraid to see them growing up so quickly. It seems like it's happening too fast. I glance down at the cupcakes in front of me that I'm decorating. Several of them read "Happy birthday Cailyn!" or "Happy 6th birthday!" already and it makes me happy, because I can't wait to see her face when she sees them. But at the same time, I don't want my baby girl to be turning six years old!! 

Tessie and I have been working to decorate the house while Cailyn is still at kindergarten. We'll go to pick her up in about two hours, so we have that long to finish turning the apartment into a birthday wonderland. I wasn't sure what I could do to make this birthday better than her last one, but luckily they're both older and it's easier to get secret birthday wishes via Tessie. It seems there's a particular book that she wants and she's been dreaming of a themed birthday. It's themed around one of the most recent Disney movies that both the girls have been obsessed with.

So, naturally, the napkins, paper plates, balloons, party bags, and cupcake liners are all covered with the faces of the characters and I'm planning on having the soundtrack playing in the background. The whole house looks like a pink and yellow monster vomited all over it. Let's just say that Tessie went a little crazy with the confetti when she was decorating earlier. 

Speaking of Tessie, she's ducked out to look over the hallway skeptically before returning to my side and trying to swipe some of the icing for a taste. I push her hand away playfully. "No eating!! I need every last bit for the cupcakes!"

"You mean, you want it all so you can hog it all after you finish decorating the cupcakes!" She teases me, poking me in the arm until I shy away from her, pouting.

"Ouch, you meanie!" I put down the icing bag to flick the nearest balloon string. "Anyway, where did you decide we should put these bad boys?"

"The hallway, because they can go along the side like the trees in the movie. We can put something else in here." She nods firmly and begins to dance around the table. I currently have the beauty and the beast soundtrack playing from my phone and it's still one of her favorite movies.

"Perfect, great decision. When your dad gets her he can help you set them up in the hallway. Start thinking about if you want them floating on the ceiling or tied down to something so they don't move and get messy." I instruct her as I pick up my icing bag again, sneaking a quick taste of the vanilla icing while Tessie isn't looking. "Caitlin's going to have a good party isn't she?"

"The bestest!" Tessie affirms.

(for a little clarification: Tessie's birthday I've decided to make December 2nd. Caitlin's birthday is February 8. This is now happening 6 months after Liam moved back into his old room, which happened sometime in August or late summer.)