Rave: Another year older

Miss Maddie turned a whoppin' SIX years old today. Hard to think that 6 years ago today, she was born smack dab in the middle of the deep South in Jackson, Mississippi. If she would've arrived one day later on July 4th, she'd have a different first name. I had made a deal with Jeremy that if she came on Independence Day, he could swap her first and middle names, and she'd get named Reagan after his all time favorite president. She decided to be nice and put me out of that late-in-the-pregnancy-misery--well, actually my doctor decided to be nice and induce me a few days early right before he went on vacation (they thought she was 10 pounds)--and she arrived on the 3rd (luckily NOT weighing 10 pounds).

She was spoiled rotten today and got to choose all sorts of fun activities for her "family party day." She's having a "friend party" next week, but we wanted today to be a special day for her and luckily Jeremy didn't go into work. So we jam-packed it with stuff just for her because as a usually easy-going middle kid, and the only girl surrounded by crazy, attention-demanding brothers, she doesn't usually get too much of a say in anything.

She woke up to a new Happy Birthday balloon and new birthday candle headband. Then she got to go with Dad ALONE (a rare, practically unheard-of treat) to pick out a special pink birthday donut. After that we had playgroup with some friends at the sprinkler park. I started taking this video and it was interrupted by a mom going berserk at her kid because he started running down the hill towards a pond. So it's short and sweet.

After that we were all starving and HOT, so we just HAD to stop at Chickfila for lunch. While the boys napped when we got home, she got to open her presents and play with her new stuff and model some new outfits.

Then came the dilemma--she wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner but we figured it would be busy because most people had today off of work, and because Jeremy HATES that place, we were trying to persuade her to do pretty much anything else. The movies! Or the Ice Cream store! Or Anything That Doesn't Involve Germ-Infested Toys and Giant Scary Talking Rodents! Luckily, I had the bright idea of letting her run wild in Build a Bear, so it was an easy choice for her after that. Off to Build a Bear.

We weren't sure how the boys would react to that experience (especially Alex) but they all ended up thinking it was pretty fun. I even spied Alex fluffing and combing a few--but he'd never admit it.
She ended up choosing the girliest thing possible--a giant pink sparkly unicorn. She named her Casey, decked her out in a jean skirt, flowery tank top, pink hair bows, a saddle with wings connected, and pink high heels. Jeremy and I really wanted her to get this hilarious looking monkey with a set of pink roller skates, but she didn't think it was quite pink or sparkly enough.
I kidnapped Casey out of Maddie's bed to take this picture. Maddie had removed the wings and heels because she "didn't think they'd be too comfortable to sleep in." Someone needs to pass that tip on to those Victoria's Secret models.

(I am SHOCKED that this thing ended up getting named Casey--something that ridiculously pink and furry and sparkly really should have a name like Bubble Gum. Or Marshmallow. Or Cotton Candy. Or even Tiffany. Pink unicorns all over the world will be outraged when they find out that one of their fellow pinkalicious sisters was disgraced with the name Casey.)









After that extravaganza we were all starving again--funny how that kept happening...We were rescued by a nearby Red Robin. They noticed her birthday headband and sticker and brought her a huge ice cream sundae and sang to her at the end of the meal. She was LOVING it, but at the same time a bit embarrassed by all the loud clapping and singing. She was generous as usual with her treat, and doled out repeated bites to all her drooling and mopey brothers. It was just KILLING Alex that she was the center of attention all day and then to top it off, she got her very own ICE CREAM?! WITH SPRINKLES?!

Aidan scored the cherry from the top--but only after it was dropped and kicked around on the floor and he scurried down and started eating it before we noticed.

Avery was being wild and naughty (OK. Just to clarify: wild(er) and naughty(er) than normal), probably because he stole Alex's root beer and was WAY over his usual sugar intake. The picture looks blurry--but it's probably not. He was just vibrating that much from his sugar high. We got home VERY late and VERY tired from a long busy day. But her birthday only comes around once a year, so it's fun to give her a day where she feels like a princess. She'll get to go back to being squished in the middle of the stinky, rambunctious, testosterone overloaded pack tomorrow.

(And I got an entire day of NO COOKING or dirty dishes to celebrate Maddie's birthday. I mean, come on--I deserve it! Six years ago I pushed a giant HUMAN BEING through my nether regions--if that doesn't deserve a break from the kitchen, I don't know what does.)