Dear Hagen,
It is a well-documented fact that you don't care about birthday parties. This works out well, because your sister is more than happy to use your half of the annual birthday party budget.
For weeks before you turned 5, your dad and I had been suggesting fun things we could do to celebrate your birthday. We could go to Spokane! We could go to the hot springs! We could have a party! We could go bowling! You name it! With each suggestion, you'd shrug and go back to whatever you'd been building or sorting when we interrupted you.
A few days before the big day, we were all sitting at breakfast, and I said, "Hagen, please let me know what you want to do for your birthday. I'm open to anything." Laney piped up with, "I think we should go to Disney World!" You thought about it for a moment and said, "Well, probably I want to watch a few shows and then (pointing at Laney with your thumb) I guess we can do her thing." "NO, we are not going to do 'HER THING,'" I explained.
Then, our friend Ms. Correy invited us over for an unrelated multi-family game night, and I said, "Can I bring a cake and we'll just sing Happy Birthday to Hagen while we're there?" Done.
That's when you decided - speaking of cake! - that you wanted a Moana cake. And it should be pineapple cake. With Moana people on it. And cream cheese frosting. It's just like you to have an opinion at the eleventh hour. Since pineapple cream cheese Moana cakes aren't exactly filling the shelves of our local bakery, I made you one myself.
Graham cracker sand and Swedish fish and coconut marshmallows around the bottom.
Your dad picked out your birthday present...six Transformers that can all be combined to make one enormous mega-Transformer. I am a thousand percent sure your dad bought the Transformers so he could play with them himself.* I wrapped them individually and handed one to each kid at the party with "Here - give this to Hagen."
We all had fun playing games (your dad beat Mr. Greg at Madden Football again).
Then it was time for cake and ice cream.
I took a lot of pictures of you blowing out your candles, and you know what I realized when I looked back at them? That the whole time, your sister had been holding on to you so you didn't slip off your chair. That's a sweet sister you have there.
Correy's daughter Abby had just gotten a full-size gymnastics mat for Christmas, so Laney and Abby used it to put together a glow-in-the-dark floor show in your honor, including using an overhead projector to decorate the ceiling.
The girls came to me and asked me to be the show's announcer - if there's one thing your sister loves, it's being introduced - so I got to announce the "Jaw-dropping, spine-tingling, mind-bending song and dance stylings of Miss Abby Harrison and Miss Laney BURBAAAAAAACHHHH!!!" I also got to make in-show commentary like "I haven't seen that kind of marching in unison this side of North Korea!" Frankly, there are days when my drama degree and I should not be allowed in public.
At the curtain call, the girls allowed you up on stage and told the audience, "This performance is dedicated to Hagen Burbach!" And you all took a bow.
What a perfect low-key party for a perfectly delightful low-key guy.
Love,
Mom
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