The day she turned 4

Can you imagine Anya just turned 4? It’s crazy really, how fast time seems to go by once you have a kid! Well, if you have been reading my blog for a while you must know that I have a thing for silly birthday morning surprises! ;)! So keeping up the tradition, after she went to bed the night before, I sneaked into her room and added some decorations to make it a little festive; twinkly lights, birthday banner, balloons and all. We got Anya a little bicycle as a surprise gift and left it in her room to find in the morning before we got to bed reminiscing of the night she was born.¹

Anya walked out the next morning drowsy eyed and wearing a birthday hat I had put out in her room. Haha. I guess my girl is getting the hang of my need for silly birthday traditions!  We were going to be travelling most of the day for our road trip to the bay area. But she got to share some cupcakes with her friends at school and wear the birthday hat while they made her feel special before we left.

The best part of the day was probably that evening, when we stopped over at a motel in Oregon for the night. I had kept a mini chocolate cake in our icebox for a surprise birthday party of our own to end the day, and so before she entered the room, Bilal and I turned out the lights in the motel room, lighted the candles on the cake and sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY as she walked in. Her face absolutely lit up and she was so excited, making us almost teary as we watched her joy. ‘Hain, mera birthday idhar kaise agaya’ How did my birthday (party) come here and ‘I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY’, she told us.

We might forget the other things that made up the day, but that look on her face in the candlelight, I think both of us will remember for a long time. It made us realize what little things make up joy for kids. She didn’t care that we had been driving all day on her big day, that we were cutting a silly little sloppy cake, in a motel room we were disappointed with. To her, this silly little celebration of ours was special. Most of us adults could learn a thing or two from these little people in our life. Here’s to another year of growth, for her and us mashaAllah :)

Thanks so much for following along through this journey of ours. Do remember our girl in your prayers!

Thanks for reading and lots of love.

And if you’d like to read, stories of the day she turned 2 and the day she turned 3.

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¹ Do you remember this birthday tradition from Gilmore Girls? Absolutely love it. When Anya grows up, I think I will start doing it too. She was born at 12:30 am which makes for a perfect time to wake her up for a ‘The day you were born story’. Sigh;)