Priceless Half-Birthday

1 Red Felt Cowgirl Hat--$1
1 Faux Leater Vest With Stars and Fringe--$1
1 Horse Sweater--$1
1 Dallas Cowgirl Costume--$5
1 Stick Horse With Galloping Sound Effects--$6
Making 1 Little Girl Say "YeeHaw" On Her Half-Birthday--Priceless
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Most of you know that we celebrate half-birthdays around here. On a half-scale, of course. We usually just give a few little gifts and make the half-birthday girl/boy feel a little extra special. Ruth is really into being a cowgirl these days, so we sort of made a theme out of it with the things listed above. We rounded out the theme by watching Black Beauty, and now I know at what age it is that girls start to cry at movies: 4 1/2. Every time Black Beauty changed owners and they had to say good-bye, little tears formed in Ruth's eyes. Then towards the end of the movie, a horse (not Black Beauty) died, and Ruth could hardly catch her breath for about 10 or 15 minutes because she was crying so hard. Up until now, death has just kind of been a fact to Ruth, but we have clearly crossed a line. Other than that little crying episode, it was an absolutely perfect day for my big 4 1/2-year-old!