6

Em and Roo turned.... 6! 

We kicked off the morning with their new t-shirts and donuts...

...with candles to blow out.  Plus, they let me sing a very soft birthday song to them.  They still feel a little wiggy having the song sung for them and requested no singing at their party. 

Marmee arrived soon after donuts and we headed to the American Girl store.  

 Welcome to the family, Josefina!  Your new mommy, Em, is super proud to have you.  

Next up, lunch at the American Girl Bistro.  Dad joined us and that made it perfect.  

 Then, Roo's turn!  The Lego store for all the mini-figures she's been wishing for.  She built them all from scratch and couldn't be more pleased.  

 We made the cakes the day before.  Em requested a pink American Girl cake.  Her cake has vintage American Girl pewter game pieces as the cake toppers. 

Roo asked for a blue-green Sesame Street cake.  We found some cool 1970's cake toppers that fit the bill perfectly.  

 They invited all their friends from co-op, plus family and our dear, life long, since the NICU, friends, Abbey and Porter.  First up, cook-out, then cake, finally The Muppets on the screen in the backyard with popcorn.  

Up bright and early the next morning, despite the late party.  They couldn't wait to rehash it and also had the added treat of tons of birthday wishes, blessings and greetings awaiting them on Facebook.  

Happy Birthday to my darling Rowdy Girls.  I can't wait to see what amazing things you do this year!

snapshots and song

Christmas 2010 was lovely.

The best parts were the days with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

Those were the memory makers.

Although, the giant lollipop of 2010 will probably go down in history. Thanks, Nannie.

We made you a cake, and then we ate it.

The former chubettes known as Em and Roo would like to wish Marmee, Mammaw, Grandpa and Pappaw a most wonderful and happy Grandparents' Day!

Sea World, the sequel

The past few days have been a busy, eventful, fun and hot. On Wednesday, we motored off to San Antonio to hang out with the McGrandparents.

Em and Roo did a little swimming at the hotel pool. And a lot of jumping on the beds. Nothing more fun when you're 3 years old.

They woke up bright and shiny and ready to roll to Sea World.
Mommy is shiny, but not so bright. must.have.coffee.

Marmee and I introduced the RGs to the water park at Sea World. Because it was flippin' hot!
We opted for full coverage on the swimwear.
No regrets, because no sunburns for the Rowdies after 8 hours in the sun. On a 105 degree day.
Although, they did look a bit like water park orphans in their mismatched ensembles.

After a few hours at the baby splash pad, Em spiced things up by giving me a heart attack. Roo was hanging with Marmee and Em was directly ahead in the water. I took a minute to walk to a trashcan. And Em decided she would look for me. Several minutes later, I located her up a flight of steps, around a corner and surrounded by strangers who found a lost little girl. She was terrified and incoherent. And stuck to me like glue for the rest of the day. And my heart gradually restarted. Thank goodness for those guardian angels.

Grandpa finished up work and joined us at lunchtime and we migrated to the wave pool.
A hit for Roo. And a miss for Em.
Mostly, Em was ready to move on. She knew we were going to Sea World that day, but she didn't really believe we were there. No animals had been sighted, yet! Em asked me, "PLEASE?! Want to go to Sea World!"

When asked what she wanted to see, she asked for seals, then dolphins and then whales. So, we hit the shows and exhibits. Em and Roo were thrilled, tired, but thrilled.





We had a great time and can't wait to do it again.
Perhaps on a cooler day, however.

McGranding

Posting has been sluggish on the Rowdy Girl site lately because life has been lively. Daddy had to travel for work, too, which complicated things. And, we spent five days hosting the McGrandparents! Add to that, we snuck a little time with Aunt Joy and Aunt Kaki. Plus, you know, school, playgroup, and well, life all happened.

Em and Roo had the best time with Marmee and Grandpa. Hugs and kisses were flying. Major announcements were made every time they entered the room. "One.Two.Three....MARMEE!" Quite a few times, Em was also heard to say, "You Wock, Gwapa!!"

This visit with the McGrandparents was a turning point for Em. She's finally moved out of her shy, slow-to-warm-up, stage. It was so nice to see her light up for Marmee and Grandpa and hit them with the full force of her personality from the very beginning.

Roo is exploring the power of her vocabulary. I loved watching her grab Marmee's hand and tell her, "Want hand. This way! Walk with Roo? Come on. Help the Roo. This way!" Marmee did a lot of a.b.c. memory cards and coloring with Roo by request.

The girls have a fierce grandparent-hangover now that the McGrands are gone. Guess we'll just have to go visit them next week!

And until then, some of the favorite pictures from our 5 days together...

McWeekend

The McGrandparents came to visit this weekend.


Which allowed J and I to attend an out-of-town wedding.

Thank you Grandpa and Marmee!

The RGs had an outstanding time and have been asking after G'Pa and Mamee quite a lot.