Anna Is 6

Earlier this week Anna celebrated her 6th birthday. 

Last night as I was putting this post together I scrolled back through my Anna archives here on the blog. Talk about a walk down memory lane. One of the reasons I love having a blog is that it is absolutely a digital visual scrapbook. Many of the stories I've written about Anna have been translated into scrapbook pages but there are some that haven't been yet. It was awesome to be able to go back through and look at those images and read those stories. Such a gift to myself. 

Anna, you are so rad.  

Happy. Funny. Full of life. Currently loving gymnastics and Barbies and playdates and make-up and music and learning how to read. You are a total morning person - happy to get up and greet the day and get on to the point where you get to see your friends. You like to go places and do things and dance and sing and play. 

You are one of the greatest gifts of my life.

Around here we do birthdays pretty simply with three main traditions: 

  1. Streamers around the table which appear on the birthday morning (because they are so close - just a couple weeks apart - we usually keep Simon's up until it's time to change to Anna's).
  2. Balloons. The number of balloons = the number of years. 
  3. Family dinner. Either at the restaurant of their choice or at home. 

And presents of course. 

This year Anna had requested family dinner at Red Robin. Unfortunately she ended up with a pretty severe ear infection and we spent a couple hours at Urgent Care in the morning. So not fun any time but on your birthday it's that much worse. She was super bummed to not be able to go to school where they do a pretty darn great job celebrating birthdays (the kids all make cards for the birthday child - she got hers today and they are so sweet and fun). 

The adorable hair clip she chose to wear to Urgent Care is from Pippylou.com. I ordered her this skirt for her birhtday which she seemed to really like and the sweet owner had included the hair clip as a special gift. 

We got her started on some meds and decided that staying home for dinner was probably a better idea. 

Chris and Tiffany brought dinner over, including the awesome box of Mac & Cheese that she requested for her birthday dinner (totally what she would have ordered at Red Robin). We got a Dairy Queen birthday cake (the best) - she asked for the one with cheeries on top. Katie and Peter came over to celebrate too - because they are family. 

Anna was tired but she was happy. 

At her request we all played the Disney Princess Enchanted Cupcake Party Game which was actually decently fun. The cupcakes are especially cute and she had additional fun just making up things to play with those outside the game itself. I'd recommend it if you are looking for a game for 4-6 year olds. 

Last night when I was putting her to bed I said, "Hey Anna, guess what? I really enjoy being with you." She smiled and said, "Thank you." 

It's just that simple. I'm so thankful you are a part of my life Anna. I'm thankful that I get to know you and watch you grow and be here to cheer you along the way. You are awesome. Love you my sweet not-so-much-a-baby-anymore-girl. 

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29 thoughts

  1. kklmu1320 says…
    02/13/2015

    such an awesome post Ali! I cant believe she is 6, time does go by so fast!

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Paper_Inkpressions says…
    02/13/2015

    Wishing you a Happy "6th" Cake N' Candle Day, Anna!

    We still remember the year Sophie & I were stuck in bed on her "Blue's Clue's" B'day... so NOT fun, but we always look for the positive within the negative! It's there....

    LOVE your positive within the negative.

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. hgauvin says…
    02/13/2015

    Happy Belated Birthday Anna! You are adorable!

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Lize says…
    02/13/2015

    Happy Birthday Anna, looking forward to follow more of your story for years to come. May you have a wonderful year!

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Lynne_ says…
    02/13/2015

    Happy Birthday, Anna!

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. maiaohe says…
    02/13/2015

    Happy Birthday Sweet Anna! Learning to read is so exciting. Love hearing your story.

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. kellyannlibby says…
    02/13/2015

    amazing photo of anna blowing out her birthday candles!

    I cannot believe she is SIX!! I guess i've been reading your blog for a looooong time. I remember when Simon was a such a little guy.

    Also, great post about how your family, all the different parts, gather together to celebrate. Pretty great example about love and forgiveness and acceptance for your kids. I'm sure it's not always easy.

    HAPPPPPPPY FRIDAY!!! :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. scrappychick says…
    02/13/2015

    Man, I can't believe she is six. It seems like just yesterday you were announcing you were pregnant. Love that we get to see your kids grow up.

    Happy birthday, Anna!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. mtercha says…
    02/13/2015

    Oh, Ali...she is a beautiful person. Sweet and kind, loving. I can feel that through this post and all your posts. It's awesome you have such an amazing record of things in your life with the blog. Thanks for sharing it, especially that sweet moment between you two at the end of the day. The photo of Anna blowing her candles out is stunning. Wishing her an amazing 6th year. Have a great weekend. Michelle t

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. cathyzielske says…
    02/13/2015

    Happy birthday Anna girl!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. kbledsoe says…
    02/13/2015

    Looks like it was a great birthday! Glad that the ear infection didn't get in the way too much. The cupcake game is something we've spent some hours on with my niece (she turned six in December), and I agree, it's actually not too bad. Especially when the whole family plays :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. kiminia says…
    02/13/2015

    from a child of divorce, I thank you for doing what you do to make it all so much easier on them!! <3 all that you do.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      02/13/2015

      Thank you :).

  13. Dcorder says…
    02/13/2015

    Happy Birthday to Anna! I started reading your blog about a week before she was born. So great to see her bloom.

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. heather1 says…
    02/13/2015

    So great that you all get together. I agree, it's so awesome for the kids. My parents divorced when I was 15 but worked to become amicable. Now that I have kids, we all do Christmas morning together and it means so much to me. It takes away soooooo much stress not having to worry about planning separate things.

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. aleciaangell says…
    02/13/2015

    Anna! I think you are fabulous! I think we should totally be friends. :-)

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      02/13/2015

      Absolutely :).

  16. virginiegoujon says…
    02/13/2015

    happy birthday Anna!
    I have a little boy (he'll be 6 in June) who just said:" waouh she's beautiful. Pretty good writing. Who is she?"

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      02/13/2015

      :)

  17. marysara says…
    02/13/2015

    Happy Birthday, sweet Anna. I'm sorry you weren't feeling well but I love your hairclip and the hot pink balloons and pink streamers you got for your birthday. Hope you have a wonderful birthday week.

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. SuzMannecke says…
    02/13/2015

    I can't believe she is six either!! Times just flies...
    Looks like she made the most of her birthday celebrating despite her ear infection. Hope she is completely well now and can fully enjoy Valentine's Day weekend. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. younggirl says…
    02/13/2015

    Happy Birthday to Anna! Wow, 6!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. gina200 says…
    02/13/2015

    Beautiful...what fun!

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. kelsterjean says…
    02/13/2015

    So sweet! She is growing into such an awesome little lady!

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. kathyb says…
    02/14/2015

    I'd love to know what was inside those 4 special parcels on the table.

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Sandra_Lomas says…
    02/15/2015

    Happy Birthday, Anna. What a perfect way to celebrate with that beautiful cake and your family. I hope your feeling better.

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. scraplea says…
    02/17/2015

    Awesome birthday (although the ear infection wasn't great)! Hope she's feeling good and enjoying being 6. Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. ginaegg says…
    02/18/2015

    Glad that, despite the ear infection, she had a happy birthday. Love that awesome hair clip she wore to urgent care!

    Reply 0 Replies

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