Our 7 year old

I used to think that 7 was old. I mean, I remember being 7. No way our little Violet would ever be that old. But... she is. And not only that, she's really incredibly good at being 7. I think this is going to be a fantastic year for us.

On her actual birthday, we did several rounds of cupcakes in all the usual places, but what was nice was her family party at home. Friday is pizza night, so we just spent it like a regular Friday, but while I was making the pizza we gave her a present. We Ski for the Wii. Yes, it is fun for the whole family. And no, I didn't clean the house for the family party.

Stella documented much of the evening for us. Or at least, we think she did. She likes to push the record button to make it beep, though, so it might end up being more like a stop motion film.

Saturday we had a small party at Grandy and Bubby's house. What did Violet want for her birthday? What every seven year old needs: a wool carder. She then proceeded to make us all wool bracelets. I have plans to make her a drop spindle so we can get to some yarn making and knitting. Once she gets good, I'm going to put the pressure on Jason to get a sheep.

Sunday morning was spent preparing for the birthday bash. We invited a few more kids than I had originally intended, but it was just fine, if a little crowded. And the interesting thing is - Violet invited some neighbors, her best friend Evan, a friend we met through Evan, a girl from karate, the girl she sits with on the bus, a couple siblings, and one girl from her class at school. I'm really pleased that her friends are so diverse. She is not at all dependent on the classroom for her social circle. And we had kids ages 3,4,5,6,7 and 10.

This was what Jason prepared for the party:

This is what I prepared:

You think you know what was going on?

 

All the kids made marshmallow shooters. We gave them each some pieces of PVC - straights and elbows and Ts (all nicely cleaned first in the dishwasher) and several rolls of colorful electrical tape to decorate with. Then we gave them each a bag of marshmallows and some safety glasses (take note that mine are the kids who wore their goggles on their heads) and sent them all outside to let off some steam before we sugared them up.

When everyone was bored (which didn't take as long as you might think, or as long as I had hoped) they all shuffled back inside for hot cocoa (with marshmallows!) and mulled cider. And cake. CAKE! Let me show it to you again because I am so proud of it. Not only is it adorable, it is solid. Solid... chocolate.

Can't cut that chocolate with a knife, can you? I guess we'll have to use a HAMMER!

Ready?

Smash!

Okay, so it was a little anticlimactic for me, too, but the kids were ecstatic. Can you see the candy in there? It was a pinata cake. That's Stella with the quick hands, there below. But very quickly followed by the throbbing mass of greedy children.

I don't have pictures of present opening, but I have to say - Violet was the most amazing recipient. Not only did she stop to look at every card before opening the gift, she would hold it up and comment "Oh, look at this! Look at this cute giraffe!" "Oh, Annabelle, your horse has balloons! They're tied to his mane!" and the same with the gifts "This is just what I wanted! A PINK ZHU ZHU!!" "Oh, Gracie you brought me paints!" Now those aren't direct quotes, because her party was almost a month ago (bad mommy blogger), but they are definitely in the style of her comments. It was so proud of her. Not only that but two of the parents told me how gracious she was. That's my autistic kid, yessiree. She has worked hard, hard I tell ya.

And now I'm going to go and ruin the moment. But that's life with Violet.