Top Ender's 11th Birthday
It's Top Ender's 11th Birthday today.
I almost can't believe that it has been 11 years since I first held her in my arms. Time really does fly, although I'm sure if I were to ask Top Ender she'd let me know that the last 11 years have dragged by and she should be 18 already.
We started the day as normal. The Birthday pillowcase was slipped onto her pillow last night.
Her bedroom door was taped up with pink crepe paper trails (with gap at the bottom, as the children have decided in recent years that they like to leave it up until they go to bed).
Then things got different.
This year, we decided to spread the birthday gifts across the day. Instead of Top Ender and Big Boy pilling on to mine and Daddy's bed first thing and opening all the gifts in a flurry of activity, we decided that this year Top Ender would get her gifts at 11 minutes past each hour. Somehow everyone managed to sleep in past 8:30am, and so it was almost 9am before Top Ender and Big Boy sat on our bed. Top Ender opened her cards from us and a few other friends and family members, before opening the 8:11am gift of Pop Tarts. A few minutes later and the clock showed it was 9:11 and Top Ender opened her Second gift, a new top that she had picked out herself. 10:11 found her opening a Sailor Moon themed gift, a plush figure and a keyring and phone charms.
11:11 had her new found obsession with the Tesco GoGo range fuelled a little more and a visit from her Nanny to open yet more gifts (and a Top which Top Ender had professed to love yesterday but they didn't have her size but Nanny managed to get one!) and cards. Lunch had Daddy going out in the rain as Top Ender had decided that today we were to all eat Burger King (we get to decide what we eat on our birthday) and he made it back just in time to see her open her 12:11 gift, a bottle of her favourite drink Oasis.
The rest of Top Ender's gifts are still secret, I'm sure some of them will pop up on Instagram during the day, or maybe I'll update this post later tonight.
I just wanted to say in a public place however...
Top Ender we love you so much and are so very proud of you.
Thank you for being such a beautiful, loving and kind girl and for all that you do for your friends and family that may at times seem like they are unappreciated. Trust me, the little things that you do speak volumes about the kind of adult you are going to be and already your Daddy and I know that we did one thing right in our lives in helping to create you and that one day you're going to make the world a better place.
I know that you've been thinking a lot about your future and what career path you will find yourself going down, but don't be in too much of a hurry to grow up. Being an adult is good, you'll find that out for yourself but being a child surrounded by friends and family who only want what's best for you?
Trust me that is amazing, just like you.
I almost can't believe that it has been 11 years since I first held her in my arms. Time really does fly, although I'm sure if I were to ask Top Ender she'd let me know that the last 11 years have dragged by and she should be 18 already.
We started the day as normal. The Birthday pillowcase was slipped onto her pillow last night.
Her bedroom door was taped up with pink crepe paper trails (with gap at the bottom, as the children have decided in recent years that they like to leave it up until they go to bed).
Then things got different.
This year, we decided to spread the birthday gifts across the day. Instead of Top Ender and Big Boy pilling on to mine and Daddy's bed first thing and opening all the gifts in a flurry of activity, we decided that this year Top Ender would get her gifts at 11 minutes past each hour. Somehow everyone managed to sleep in past 8:30am, and so it was almost 9am before Top Ender and Big Boy sat on our bed. Top Ender opened her cards from us and a few other friends and family members, before opening the 8:11am gift of Pop Tarts. A few minutes later and the clock showed it was 9:11 and Top Ender opened her Second gift, a new top that she had picked out herself. 10:11 found her opening a Sailor Moon themed gift, a plush figure and a keyring and phone charms.
11:11 had her new found obsession with the Tesco GoGo range fuelled a little more and a visit from her Nanny to open yet more gifts (and a Top which Top Ender had professed to love yesterday but they didn't have her size but Nanny managed to get one!) and cards. Lunch had Daddy going out in the rain as Top Ender had decided that today we were to all eat Burger King (we get to decide what we eat on our birthday) and he made it back just in time to see her open her 12:11 gift, a bottle of her favourite drink Oasis.
The rest of Top Ender's gifts are still secret, I'm sure some of them will pop up on Instagram during the day, or maybe I'll update this post later tonight.
I just wanted to say in a public place however...
Top Ender we love you so much and are so very proud of you.
Thank you for being such a beautiful, loving and kind girl and for all that you do for your friends and family that may at times seem like they are unappreciated. Trust me, the little things that you do speak volumes about the kind of adult you are going to be and already your Daddy and I know that we did one thing right in our lives in helping to create you and that one day you're going to make the world a better place.
I know that you've been thinking a lot about your future and what career path you will find yourself going down, but don't be in too much of a hurry to grow up. Being an adult is good, you'll find that out for yourself but being a child surrounded by friends and family who only want what's best for you?
Trust me that is amazing, just like you.