Lily's 5th birthday!

My Lily-baby turned five this year! (Back in April, as I am still not caught up to real time...)

I very much canNOT believe that she is old enough to be 5. How did that happen? (In case you want to travel down Memory Lane, here are several posts from when she was born, including her birth story, which is far less dramatic than Claire's.)

Back in April, things in the Triangle were still pretty pandemic-y, as far as what we could do/who we could do it with, but I came up with a great (if I do say so myself) plan for Lily's birthday. I had been reading The Vanderbeekers through the winter (loved them!), and it gave me the idea of finding a cat cafe to visit. Luckily, there's one in Chapel Hill! I reserved us an hour of kitty happiness for our kitty-loving girl. 

She dressed the part in her new kitty dress from Nana and Poppy (spoiler: she wore this dress to the cat cafe on the day before her birthday, on her actual birthday, and to the last day of homeschool co-op the day after that. I did wash it, though.)

I happened to have a cat dress for Brynna to wear, too. It's a hand-me-down of Lily's, because Lily has ALWAYS loved cats.

SO EXCITED

Lily had the BEST time!

Lily in the cat bed...cat on the floor...

This kitten was brand new to the cat cafe, and it would only let Lily near it. Lily was thrilled to her toes over that.

Bill and Barbara came over for the festivities, and on the way out of the cat cafe, Bill bought the girls some cat ear headbands to commemorate the visit.

They picked up business cards on the way out and decided that they, too, would need to open a cat cafe one day. They have been planning accordingly.

On her actual birthday, we played at the playground with friends who were in town for the day, celebrated with our neighbor-friend, and did all of the cake and presents.

First thing, Claire gave her a handmade gift.

Lily already knew what it was but acted *surprised* really well.

I had gotten The Complete Works of Beatrix Potter on Audible a few months before her birthday for Lily to listen to during rest time. She LOVED it! We got her the book so she could follow along with the pictures.

Reading a few favorites

Helen brought over birthday gifts for all the girls: Claire's a little belated, Brynnie's a little early, and Lily's on the actual day.

Helen is very beloved over here.

It was the sweetest.

Helen also drew these birthday cards for the girls! She is so talented.

Wore her new scarf (Claire's gift) to the playground

Some of our dearly beloveds

Katie was one of the first non-family members to hold Hallie.

She wished for a cat and THREE DRAGONS!

Cats were the unofficial theme of the birthday; everyone knows of her deep affinity. Lily got so many cat-related paraphernalia that she absolutely loved:

A calendar

A cat pillowcase

A cat backpack

A cool NatGeo cat book

Cat sunnies and cat blanket

And Otis and the Kittens

Lily had a pretty fantastic birthday WEEK, full of friends and family and lots of activity (the day after her birthday was the last day of homeschool co-op, and there were festivities, as well as pizza. It wasn't for her birthday, but it was, obviously, loads of fun and perfect timing.).

Lily is such a delight. She's hilarious and sweet and smart and oh so spunky. I was terrified and miserable throughout my pregnancy with her, but her actual birth and newborn days were so incredibly redemptive for me. They are some of my happiest and most meaningful memories. She is an absolute joy, and we are SO THANKFUL for her!