Ming Wait Turned 7!

So. Somebody turned 7 this weekend! 7 years ago, I was finally giving birth to my first child, after one false trip to the hospital and 2 sleepless nights. My clearest memory of that day? It was the relief I felt when my father arrived, soon after the birth. Neither Lo Gung nor I had slept for the past 48 hours, and I was so tired I thought I was going to drop my baby if I held her! The hospital was busy that day, so they pressed my (well-rested) father into service to lift me onto a gurney to wheel me down the hall to my recovery room. (My anesthesia hadn't even worn off!) He held his second granddaughter...and I think I passed out. *grin* (Ming Wai was born around 5am. My father worked about four blocks away from the hospital, and I had a pretty good hunch that he would have been at the office for a few hours so he could get to the hospital that much quicker.)

This weekend was one big blur of celebrating my big girl! It started off...not well. 

She kicked off Friday with a fierce outfit, and headed off to school. Leopard print, red leggings, jean skirt...fierce. 

By 2pm, she was feeling anything but fierce. The school nurse called me and had me come and pick her up. My baby wasn't feeling well at all. After a nap, she felt better, and in the morning she was just thrilled. "Mom! I don't feel sick anymore!" 

Good thing, too - Saturday was BUSY. We kicked it off with swim lessons, then drove around our neighborhood collecting food for a local food bank. We had about an hour at home, and then it was time to head off to the park for her birthday party! The only catch? The weather was TERRIBLE. However, we had 13 kids coming, pizzas were paid for, cake was ordered...and we decided to just go for it. So with a prayer in our hearts (literally), we headed off. The rain was coming down, but it wasn't the torrential downpour slated for later in the day...so we counted our blessings and started setting up. The kids trickled in, and their Moms and Dads (bless their hearts) brought younger siblings and hung around. None of the kids were absolutely thrilled to be hanging out in a rainy park, but we did our best. I had two covered sets of picnic tables to work with - one gazebo was turned into craft central, and the other into the eating area. I brought a roll of plastic table cover - one of the Moms helped me cover all the tables and benches in the craft area. The kids sat down and played with play-dough, decorated foam door hangers, and colored on paper party bags. About 45 minutes into the party, Lo Gung and his Dad showed up with the pizza and cake. The timing was perfect. The kids were just starting to wilt, and the rain was still falling. We scuttled over to the area I had set up for food, and the kids dug into their pizza. I also had grapes and kettle corn - Ming Wai's favorites. Then? MIRACLE TIME, Y'ALL. The rain stopped, and we were blanketed in a vaguely warm fog. We can work with this! I pointed it out to the kids, who quickly abandoned their third slices of pizza, and fourth helpings of popcorn, in favor of scooters and helmets. They swarmed the skateboard ramps and had a blast for the next half hour. 

(Can you see SJ's cute little gap in that smile? *ugh*)

When the rain started up again, it was time to light the candles, sing a song, and eat some cake. The parents helped me clean up, and we loaded into the car just as the rain really started coming down. (People, I tell you - the prayers of children. That is where miracles come in, y'all.) 

After the party in the park, we took the kids home and Lo Gung and I ran out to the grocery store to get macaroni for Sunday's dinner. (We came home without macaroni. Because we are geniuses. But we DID find some apples the size of Ying Ying's head, so there was that.) When we got home, all three of our offspring had passed out. Baby Ying Ying was in MaMa's arms, Ming Wai was asleep on the couch, and I think SJ passed out on the playroom floor. Ming Wai woke up a little feverish and feeling gross...but some Tylenol for her headache and she felt better. I think it was just a combination of being tired...and wet, for most of the day. She chose Genki Sushi for dinner, and thoroughly enjoyed herself. We stopped by another grocery store afterwards for the missing macaroni noodles, and then stopped by my parents' house to open gifts. At 8pm. Whee!

Ming Wai looks totally recovered, doesn't she? Heh. 

To round out the weekend, we let Ming Wai pick the menu for the Sunday family dinner (pot stickers, macaroni soup, egg rolls and seaweed salad). We shut out the evening by lighting a cake on fire...and that was that. My baby is 7!