Sophia's Piano Recital 2009

How lucky are we to have this little girl in our family?!

We were so thrilled to see the nagging, the endless hours of practicing and the hefty resources pay off as we watched Sophia's third piano recital.  She has been really committed to perfecting her talents lately and we're really so proud of her accomplishments!

Keep up the good work, Sophia!  

Happy Birthday, Sophia!

Wow, you're 7!  It's just so exciting!  I'm thrilled to see the beautiful, spunky, creative, precocious, nurturing,  charming young lady that you are becoming!  Thanks for all the giggles, knock-knock jokes that lead nowhere, observations, teaching moments and fun that you have given me and daddy!  It's going to be a great year!  xoxo,  Mom & Dad

(ps...there are 8 candles on the cake for some unknown reason...i'll blame this one on sleep deprivation!!!)

Sophia's Party

Girlfriends

Why are Sophia's parties so fun for me and Evan?  I think we have just as much fun as the kids! This year, I pulled it together very last minute and I have to admit that Evan did most of the party and I just did the shopping & styling part.  We are a great team! Unlike most of my parties, there was no defined theme, but I decided to go with a pink and orange color scheme.  It all came together so beautifully.  

When the girls arrived, they made firecracker necklaces out of patterned paper triangles and rolled them on sticks until they formed a long bead.  Once they had completed 20 or so, they strung them on cording.  This was a really fun and darling craft for them!

Then the girls were each given a mini cake to frost and decorate.  We brought out bags of tinted buttercream frosting with different tips and taught the girls to make flowers, polka dots,  flourishes and to get creative and have fun with the tips!  They were all elated to find out that there were endless possibilities.

Evan lead a killer game of Queen Elephant where each person has assigned an animal and a sign to do and the object of the game is to knock the Queen Elephant out of the top position so you can keep moving up.  It was a wonderful way to tone down the exhuberance that a 7 year old party can generate after much sugar and excitement and redirect their energy into winning a game.  Brilliant!

The food was normal kid-pleasing fare of corner pizza and pink lemonade and then the cake that Evan so beautifully made and decorated.  It was delicious!

Sophia, thanks for letting us share your party with you!  Glad you had a great time! xoxo

Old-fashioned Beadmaking fun

Emily's cake decorating talent

Letting the creative juices flow

Everybody do the crab

Cakes all packaged up to take home

Unplanned twinners--and they fit the color scheme too!

Tank Top Update

Remember the little Red Tank Top incident last week? Well, I thought I'd give you all a little recap on my conversation with Sophia the other day. Here it goes:

Sophia: Mommy, what are you looking at? (me looking at my newly crafted blog)

Mommy: (my heart skips a beat, this is the time for "the talk!") Oh, it's my new blog where I can post pictures and interesting things that happen to our family. I wanted to show you something. (scrolling up to "the" incriminating picture...)
See, I got a picture from one of the mothers the day she brought in the Polar Express Train Cake and read the story. Do you remember that day?

Sophia: Uh huh. Let me see.

Mommy: (a few seconds pass as I let her get a good look at it) (matter-of-factly)Are you wearing that shirt I told you to go up and change out of because it was too cold and that is better for the beach or pool anyway?

Sophia: "Maybe that's someone else in the picture."

Mommy: (not believing that Sophia isn't admitting being caught red handed, but coming up with even more connivery!!!! is that a word?!) Uh, I don't think so. I can see that it's you, Sophia and next time you need to listen to what Mommy says. It was wrong to disobey me like that. It's a cute t-shirt, though, isn't it?

Sophia: (sheepishly) Ok, sorry Mom. Yes, I really like it.

So there you have it! I was never in a million years expecting her response that it might be someone else!!! That was classic and she won't live that one down. I think I may bring it up at her wedding luncheon!

(by the way, this is a picture of a similar tank top I purchased at Gap. It says Inspi(red) on it. Hers says Glamou(RED) on it. Cute.)