When asked what kind of birthday party she wants, she has floated between a princess party (the leading and most frequently requested theme), a water party (sounds fun), an ice cream party (my personal favorite) and a doll party. We may just incorporate parts of all the above into one massive “princesses playing in water while eating ice cream with their dolls party.”
We recently asked her to give us a list of the friends she wanted to invite to the party. She has been all over the map on who she wanted to invite, but she has been firm with one thing ... NO BOYS!
Now, if I can only get her to embrace that until her 25th birthday party! We eventually forced her to create an invitation list and my wife, in her infinite wisdom, thought it would be funny to write it down ... this is what she came up with;
1. Ladybug. I assume she means the character from her favorite Imagination Library Book and not the insect. Either way, it will prove difficult to get her to attend.
2. Ella. We’ve never heard of her, but OK.
3. Emma. We know an Emma, but it happens to be my brother’s pet bulldog and they live in Ohio. She’s a “doubtful.”
4. Bo. Never heard of him although I was a big fan of “The Dukes of Hazzard” as a kid. Maybe she inherited that interest.
5. Sally. Maybe the girl from “Peanuts” comic fame? We’re simply not sure on this one.
6. June. I assume she’s met someone with this name and she doesn’t mean the month because that would prove to be very challenging.
7. Belly. What do I say to that? I know mine will be present.
8. Teddy. I figure she is now naming her stuffed animals. They will be present.
9. Watermelon. It is possible we’ve now slipped into the menu rather than the invitation list, but I am not sure.
10. Isabelle. This sounds like a princess name and is close to her sister’s name. So maybe we’re getting somewhere now.
11. Princess Leia. We are a big “Star Wars” family, but she was like 30 years old when I was 9, and I doubt she’ll make the trip from the Planet Endor to join us.
12. Daisy Duck. I know where she got this one so we’ll send an invite to the Magic Kingdom. Sorry Minnie, you didn’t make the cut.
13. Lutha. OK, now she’s just making stuff up.
14. Violet. Are we now picking decoration colors or are we still on the invitation list?
15. Ariel. Good call. She’s a strong princess we’re all familiar with and I am sure she’ll be present in many forms at the party.
16. Donut. This is one invitation I can get behind. We’ll make sure Donut is invited and that he brings a couple dozen of his closest friends. However, I doubt they’ll all make it through the party unscathed.
So there it is, the invitation list of 16 of her closest friends from a 3-year-old girl. If you don’t get an invitation in the mail, don’t blame us. Blame the cute little 3-year-old who forgot to put you on the list. Maybe Princess Leia will cancel and we could still squeeze you in.
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(Editor’s Note: Matt has a family of six — a beautiful wife, a son, two daughters and of course, the family dogs — Tucker and Boomer. The birthday girl is busy making birthday plans while the rest of the family watches with great amusement. Matt’s column appears every other Wednesday in the Cleveland Daily Banner.)
