Happy Birthday, Little Geek Girl!

Little Geek Girl celebrated her fifth birthday this weekend! She and I started it with a trip to Sprüngli, home of some of the best chocolate in Zürich, to pick up her birthday cake and a bunch of Luxemburgerli, which are small cookies similar to macarons and filled with a variety of yummy pastes with a mousse-like consistency. They are really good, really addictive, and unfortunately fragile - so sorry, but you'll have to visit Zürich if you want to try them.

After our trip, it was time to open presents. She made out like a bandit, of course, with lots of toys and other good stuff. Here are some shots:

Yeah, more tanktops -- very nice for warm days like this weekend!

A new rainbow swimsuit perfect for trips to the hallenbad oder freibad.

A very happy LGG with her new wand and pony bag.

This dragon sings! It flaps its wings! It makes noise! It has an off switch!

After presents, ZMG made some snacks and LGG and I blew up balloons for a small party with another family that we're friends with here. They came over with their two kids and we spent a very nice few hours together, talking, laughing, and playing with toys. It was also a beautiful and very warm February Saturday, so we went out to a small park near our flat where there are rocks that LGG loves to climb on. She and OFK1, OFK2, and OFD (Our Friends' Kid1 and 2 and Our Friend the Daddy) and I played hide-and-seek and generally were silly while all of us were laughing and chatting and probably driving the passing walkers and bike riders crazy.

We then returned to have cake, ice cream, Luxemburgerli, snacks, and beer (this is Switzerland!). Our friends were kind enough to snap this portrait of The Geeks:

And here's the moment for LGG to blow out her candle and celebrate turning fünf Jahre alt:


Amusingly enough, the kids decided the chocolate cake was a bit too rich, but the vanilla ice cream and rasperries were great. Oh, darn, more chocolate cake for the parents!

We had a really nice Saturday afternoon together, and LGG was very excited to have friends come to her party.

Afterward, we had fun calling The Grandparents and telling them about the day, and calling our friends back in the US whose younger son shares the same birthday as LGG, and taking turns singing Happy Birthday to each other.

And the good footnote: my dad was out when we called The Grandparents, but he was home when we called the next morning. Since LGG technically turned five early Sunday morning Zürich time, my dad got to be the first of The Grandparents to talk to LGG when she was actually five. He was very pleased, and so was she.

All in all, a good birthday for our Little Geek Girl.