under the sea

I loved the magical feeling of birthdays as a kid....um...not so magical now. When I think back to all my many birthdays, there's one that I immediately recall.  I'm not sure it even happened like this, and there's no way to verify it, but I went to bed with nothing and woke up to a table of beautifully wrapped presents.  I have a blurred memory of a stuffed T-Rex sitting among them.  

I think it's interesting that this is my favorite memory.  So naturally, this is what I try to recreate for my own children.  And why this sleep-deprived mama stayed up in the dark hours of the night to prepare a magical underwater table for one ocean-loving five year old.

A thirteen dollar trip to the dollar store was what made this come together.  That and stuff from around the house:  the growing collection of stuffed ocean animals, shells from my uncle in Florida, craft projects from past weeks.

Two bags of balloons, a plastic table cloth with matching napkins, some wind-up fish, a box of swedish fish, and some happy birthday candles.  Who knew they'd have an underwater theme at the $1 store?

OK.  So those chattering teeth aren't fish, but I knew he'd love them.

We made this cute whale for the letter "W" some weeks ago.

 And the giant squid was another strange craft project we came up with.  Diego is fascinated with giant squid, so naturally one was clinging to his chair when he woke up.

The boys were raring to go after the two hour ride to VA Beach.

That spy next to JP is his Dad.  (The kids were excitingly whispering that those sunglasses made him look like a spy.)  Abuelo has been staying with us for a month now.  The best part is that grandpa speaks only Spanish, so the kids have plenty of chances to practice.  Diego's seen the most improvement, since he spends the most time around him.  The other day, when the big kids had arrived from school, I asked them which one had gone to spanish class...Diego piped up, "I did!'

On to the aquarium tour.

This catfish was strangely swimming at the top of this tank which is why you see that reflection above him.  They're bottom feeders, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was floating up there the next day.  But then, I know nothing about fish.

Check out the tiny teeth on this gar.

It turns out the komodo dragon is really gross.  They like to eat dead things, so their mouthes are full of deadly bacterias...one spit from them, and you could be their next meal.

This caiman was pretty creepy too...just sat there frozen in the water with that weird smile on its face.

I can't mention the sting rays without telling this famous story.  Juan Pablo and I were getting ready to have Isabela and had taken one last trip as a couple to the beach aquarium.  JP was standing among  several classes of elementary students crowded around the tank, the lone adult in the bunch.  The guide went over the rules, specifically, not to touch the sting rays underneath where their mouthes were.  So what does he do?  All I hear blaring from the microphone speakers, "Sir, please don't touch the bottom of the sting rays!"  There's one in every bunch.

This little turtle was quite friendly.

And the sharks definitely had their eye on the baby.

Diego got a little wild throughout the aquarium, running around like he owned the place.

I guess you can do that when it's your birthday.

Isabela was dying to put the candles into the cake.  A few minutes later she wasn't so interested.  That's weird...OK, so I'll do it.  H-A-P-P....hey, did you break the Y?

Diego was serious about this wish.

I hope they all come true for him.  He is perpetually happy, funny, loving, and any other adjectives worth being.  I light up just like those candles when I see him coming.  Happy number 5, Diego!