The Dart: Vidalia girl celebrates in a big way

Published 11:38 am Monday, May 21, 2007

It’s not every day a girl gets to celebrate turning 5, and Saturday Casey Lee felt it entitled her to act like a princess.

Lee’s birthday was Friday, but her party was at her house on Holly Street Saturday afternoon.

By 3:30 p.m., most of the 35-40 guests had cleared out, and Lee climbed on top of a table — to the chagrin of her father— in her backyard to sift through her presents.

Email newsletter signup

The party, which had an inflatable jumping toy, a sidewalk chalk station, basketball, swing sets and a brand-new trampoline, was a success, Casey’s mother Christina Lee said.

Gesturing to the presents, Christina Lee said she hadn’t expected the birthday party to turn out quite so big.

“It turned out great,” she said. “We had a good time.”

The newly-turned 5-year-old, who loves to dance, play with Barbie dolls and attend her older brother’s baseball games, said her favorite present was a Glam Girl Glitz makeup kit.

“She loves anything girly,” Christina Lee said. “If it’s pink and glittery, she’s on it.”

Eager to show off she’s not just a material girl, Casey began to share some of her knowledge, rattling off the names of states, beginning with Alaska and stopping at Mississippi.

“I love school,” she said.

Casey’s father is Baxter Lee, and she has two brothers, Chase Freeman, 11, and Danny Lee, 3.

“She likes to play second mother to her younger brother,” Christina Lee said. “She’s very outgoing.”

Casey said she doesn’t have any plans for growing up just yet.

“I just want to be a kid,” she said.