Birthday girl...

My girl enjoyed a family birthday celebration, a classroom birthday celebration (doughnuts!), a school-friend birthday party (at the planetarium to watch, "The Longest Night" created by the amazing Paper Hand Puppet Intervention folks), and a family-friend birthday/solstice party... all in 48 hours!  It was a lot of celebrating to be sure, but we take birthdays pretty seriously around here ;)  The absolute biggest highlight was teaching her to sew on her very own sewing machine (the very one I found at the thrift store a few months ago)!!  Here are a few of my favorite photos from the past couple of days...

Papa's balloons were re-purposed!

Her sweet birthday ring and a birthday bouquet!

We decorated a bit with the re-purposed balloon strings!

Her machine and sewing box... along with some of her newest friends.

Making her first solo pillow... this machine is perfect to learn on!

Her "winter wonderland" cupcakes... oh how I love whipped cream frosting!

Running around campus after the planetarium show!

Lights shining bright during our winter solstice gathering!

Her "winter mix" which is really more of a collection of  songs
loosely related to winter, solstice, and celebrating the sun's return

Charlie Ann's Winter Mix songs

The Beatles—Here Comes the Sun

The Rolling stones—Winter 

Elizabeth Mitchel—Winter’s Come and Gone

Fleet Foxes—White Winter Hymnal 

Ella Fitzgerald—Let It Snow

Decemberists—January Hymn

Suzanne Vega—Freeze Tag 

Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson—Winter Song

The Be Good Tanyas—Rain And Snow

Bing Crosby—Winter Wonderland

Michael Franti—Sound of Sunshine