Thank goodness for Monkey Joes

When you’ve invited 24 5-year-olds to help celebrate your newly-minted five-year-old, Monkey Joe’s might just be your best bet.

It was as chaotic and crazy as these pictures suggest, but the kids had a blast.

Carissa (right) and her family came!

Cousin love

I didn't take pictures of the kids doing any actual moon bouncing, but that's what they spent the majority of their time doing.

It’s just too bad Frances didn’t relish in her role as birthday girl at all (yeah, right).

Such a typical shot of the four of us—Will trying his best to video the moment, me holding George so he doesn’t destroy the cake, and Frances waiting so patiently for her cue to “blow” and “dig in.” 

That’s a little better.

Monkey Joe made his appearance, which for George is a little bit like Chipper Jones stopping by Will’s birthday.  He is awestruck to say the least.

That's George's blonde tuft poking up out of MJ's embrace

A hug for the birthday girl, too

I’m still a little weepy over the fact that Frances is five.  Five just seems so much older to me than four.  I remember being five.  I remember losing my first tooth, swallowing a dime (accidentally of course) and fretting the entire day about it until I worked up enough nerve to tell my teacher, making out my Christmas list to Santa (“puppy” was always #1!), waiting not-so-patiently for my sister to come home from college so Henry and I could spend the night on the floor in her room.  I remember my Kindergarten teacher reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas almost anytime we asked her to (including mid-May).  And I realize that Frances will remember most of her fifth year, too.  She’ll remember her adorable new school friends who embraced her immediately as one of their own.  She’ll remember her first dance class in a new school.  She’ll remember that she was a Flamenco ladybug for Halloween.  She’ll remember her first (but surely not last) American Girl doll—thank you, Nana!  And I could not be happier that she is soaking up some pretty incredible memories to look back on and smile.  Because when I am old and gray (or older and grayer) I’ll want her to refresh what is sure to be my failing mind of these days.

It’s been a pretty great year for me, too.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!