Let’s Party Till The Fire Department Shuts Us Down!

(Reading that title you may think I’m just speaking in hyperbole, but no.  Oh no.  I speak the truth!  But more on that later…)

It was BIRTHDAY BASH time for our summer babies!

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So what better way to celebrate then to go wild and crazy with a bunch of family and friends at the Little Gym (a.k.a. The Happy Place for our Little Monkeys)?!?

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We set the kids loose and they ran, jumped, slid, flipped, flopped, and SO SO much more!

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As if that wasn’t enough entertainment, we even provided our Little Party-Goers with THREE firetrucks to look at outside!

(Am I an Over-Achiever or what?!?)

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Okay, so we didn’t actually orchestrate that part.  As it so happened, the fire department had been called in because some smoke was noticed at the animal hospital next door.

No biggie, right?  Just a possible fire only a few feet away from a room FULL of small children.

Whatev.

Undeterred, we lined up the kiddos and headed for the party room.

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We were just about to serve a whole lotta pizza and cake to the crowd, and THEN guess what happened…?

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We were told to evacuate.

Crap.

Like any good (panicking) Party Planner I quickly tried to come up with a Plan B.  But what the heck could I do for a Plan B?!?  All of the kids were hungry and suffering from low blood sugar,  it was way hot to eat outside on the sidewalk, and my Little Miss and Mister hadn’t even blown out their candles yet!  This was going to be a disaster.

But then, glory of all glories, a fire fighter came back in and told us that everything was under control and we did NOT, in fact, have to evacuate.  Hallelujah!

Time to eat cake.

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Phew.

What a day…what a party!  It was nuts.  And dramatic.  And awesome.

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We wouldn’t want it any other way.

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Ode To My Little Miss On Her 4th Birthday

My favorite Little Miss in the whole wide world turned 4 years old!

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Her Daddy and I would never admit this to her face, but she reigns supreme in our house.  Yes it’s true.  We adults, with 2 college degrees and a MBA between us, have been bested by a 4-year-old, making her the (Little) Boss of our family…the Big Cheese, the High Muckety-Muck, the Grand Poo-Bah.

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Thankfully for us, she is a sweet Little Boss-Lady who generously doles out hugs and kisses…particularly when we’ve all followed our marching orders and successfully completed her elaborate “family plans.”

Our Little Miss is full of life and FULL of energy.  The girl could run, swim, climb, jump, and dance all day.  And she would if only her broke-down parents could keep up with her (when, pray tell, did we get so old?!?).  Good thing she has little brothers to play with.

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A Little Treehugger in the making, she’ll always choose to play outdoors rather than in the “boring” house.  What can I say?  The girl is adventurous.  And wild.  And messy.  I think her main goal in life (along with that of the Little Mister) is to get as filthy as she can before her type-A, clean-freak Mama goes berserk and sprays them both down with a hose (I find it’s an effective cleaning technique and emotional release, all in one lovely stress-reducing package!).

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And lest you think her creative talents are limited to mud body art, our Little Ar-teest is a verifiable Drama Queen!

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No seriously, the girl LOVES to create and perform.

(Below is a portrait of the Little Miss and her Mama.  Yes, I am the one pictured on the right with the “big tummy.”  Imagine my relief when she told me my tummy was “SO SO big” because William was still in it.)

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She can dream up stories, songs, and dances like it’s nobody’s business, and then muster the courage to share them with anyone in earshot (and I mean ANYONE…friends, shopkeepers, random families at Easter egg hunts, scary looking people on fishing piers…anyone).  Her performances usually include snippets from her favorite story books, a myriad of made-up words (that all sound a lot like Dora-Spanish), and plenty of FLARE.

(Impromptu performances are so much easier to give when this is your daily uniform…)

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Had a rough day?  Worry not, my good friend, and take a stroll over to the Wright abode.  Here you’ll be able to yuck it up with our Little Miss Goofball, who will remedy your woes with her stockpile of silly faces and knock-knock jokes.  (Just take heed, most of her jokes end with the tagline “in your underwear!”).

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And what child-of-Julie would be complete with out her own feisty streak?  

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Boy oh boy does she love her brothers!  She really is becoming the best Little Helper with the Little Sir and would carry him all over the house if only her arms (and her Mama) would allow it.

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Her best buddy (and rival) in the whole world is definitely the Little Mister.  Happily for her (and her Boss-Lady tendencies), he typically does her bidding.  And if not, well then they just wrestle and scream it out.  I like to think of it as them honing their communication skills.  Just loudly.  Like really loudly.

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Our FOUR YEAR OLD Little Miss is a ray of sunshine in our home.  We cherish our sweet baby girl and can’t wait to see what the next four years have in store!

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Last Day of School for the Little Miss!

The last day of school for our Little Miss is here.  I can’t believe how much my baby girl has grown over the past year!

First Day…

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Last Day…

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And SO MUCH in between!!!
(including varying amounts of cooperation from our growing brood)

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Next year the Little Mister will be joining his Big Sis at preschool.  We’ll all have a fun summer together, no doubt, and I am so grateful that I am able to be at home with my kiddos.  But that day will most certainly be an exciting one for this Mama!

 

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