Birthday-Pallooza 2014

Another year's triple birthday party is in the books, and I am relieved! The girls' had their backyard pony party two weekends ago, and it was a great success. We rounded up a great group of buddies, a pony named Daisy Mae, a couple roller coasters, a bounce house, and a few other fun toys, and called it a party. The weather was great, and everyone seemed to have a good time.

I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in the amount of pictures I took this go-round. What I captured is below, and it will just have to do. Also, Margaret was not a fan of Daisy Mae, so she did not get a picture atop the pony. She was happy to keep her feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you very much!

Caroline feeling a little nervous.... 

...and then very excited!

Julia was as cool as a cucumber riding on Daisy Mae. 

Birthday girl

I am NOT getting on that pony!!

The best picture of Margaret was taken later in the day at her buddy's birthday party. She was much more excited about the ice cream truck Sylvia's party featured!

Julia and Margaret at 3 Years Old

                                             

Margaret and Julia: double trouble and two peas in a pod.     

                                              Julia
Physical:
Height: 36 7/8 inches (25th-50th percentile)
Weight: 35 pounds (75th percentile)

Julia measures up.

Getting your blood pressure taken is fun!

Social-Emotional-Motor
Julia is a testament to the strong-willed child. She is a hard-headed, temper tantrum throwing, bull in a china shop kind of kid. And we love her for it. We are still learning how to best help her navigate a world that just doesn't seem to get along with her all the time ;-)
All that being said, Julia is a joy. She is loving, full of hugs and kisses, and still asks to be rocked before going to bed every night. Julia wakes up every day and likes to say good morning by sneaking out of her room and barreling down the hallway with her sweet dimpled grin and beautiful blond curls leading the way. Julia greets the day much like she approaches life: in full force.
Julia is hands down our most adventurous eater. She will try just about any food at least once, loves most condiments (if you know me, you know I am severely "condiment challenged" and so are Margaret and Caroline, so it's nice to have at least one child who is open-minded in this area), and likes a wide variety of vegetables. Olives are one of her all time favorite foods...she definitely gets that from me.
Julia is well on her way to being potty trained! She took us all a little by surprise by getting started on this milestone before Margaret. She took the initiative, made the progress, and is proud of her success. Go Julia!!! Bubble gum is her reward of choice. It took a while before Julia understand that bubble gum is meant to be chewed and not swallowed. ;-)
Julia's interests include riding a scooter, swimming, taking showers (a perpetual joy!), independent play (life is easier when no one is around to butt head's with), and spending one on one time with Margaret, her favorite playmate.
Some of my favorite things about Julia are her zest for life and her love of adventure.

Wild spirit on the run.

Wild spirit on wheels :)

Condiments are good for eating on their own...no food required for dipping. I think this was ketchup, but Julia has been known to lick BBQ sauce, sour cream, and even ranch dressing off a plate before. 

                                                      Margaret
Physical:
Height: 36 inches (25th percentile)
Weight: 29.4 pounds (25th-50th percentile)

Margaret measures up...just a tad shorter than Julia.

Passing her vision test with flying colors.

Social-Emotional-Motor: 
Margaret is generally a very compliant child who goes with the flow, enjoys hanging with the crowd, and plays well with others. She can be very sweet and kind. That being said, she is no push-over and can be very sassy.
Margaret may be small, but she has a big voice, and she is not afraid to use it.  Margaret is the giver of looks that can kill, screams that can pierce ear drums, and is occasionally known to shout "dammit!" when frustrated. We certainly don't condone such verbal outbursts, but we do give her props for only using the profanity at appropriate times ;-) Other favorite and generally amusing phrases that Margaret likes to use are "stop talking at me!!" and "don't say a word!!"
Margaret takes great pride in doing things by herself and does not like it at all if one takes away the opportunity for her to be independent. Margaret is aware of rules and likes to remind others of them even if she does not follow them herself. Margaret has shown limited interest in potty training at this time, so we've decided to put it on the back burner for a few weeks.
Margaret continues to be an especially empathetic child and can be counted on to give hugs, toys, and food to others in an effort to bring them comfort. Margaret continues to be a fantastic snuggler. She loves to be held, is still greatly enamored with her 4 lovies (particularly Bunny Lovey), and can be counted on for excellent hugs and kisses. Margaret's other interests include dancing, swimming, playing any game with her sisters, and eating.  Margaret is a constant snacker and is forever approaching me with boxes of food requesting a snack.
Some of my favorite things about Margaret are that she wakes up every morning and sings in her bed until someone comes to get her and her love for her sisters.

Sassy sister on a scooter

Margaret's snack requests ALWAYS include "goldshish."

Caroline at 5 Years Old

Physical:

Height: 42 3/8 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 42.8 pounds (50th-75th percentile)

Social and Emotional:
We are so proud of Caroline and all she has accomplished this year! She worked so hard in Pre-K, overcoming some innate shyness to make new friends and assert herself in the classroom to let her teachers know her needs and wants.  She gave the Kindergarten admissions process her very best shot and impressed a couple area schools with her smarts and Kindergarten readiness.  We are really excited for Caroline to begin Kindergarten at Collegiate this fall and know that although it will require her to do some more growing and to face new challenges, she will give it her all.
This year, Caroline also made several new friends in our neighborhood, tried lots of new activities around town, became a better swimmer, bike and scooter rider, and continued to grow into her role as a pretty awesome big sister of two pretty demanding little sisters.
Caroline continues to invest quite a bit of time in her looks. She takes great pride dressing herself from head to toe, planning out each day's outfit (often with the help of Margaret, her most sought after fashion consultant) depending on the weather and the activities on tap for the day. It is also entirely possibly that Caroline will change outfits multiple times a day based on her schedule.
Caroline has also recently come a looong way in reducing the amount of drama-filled moments in her life.  I would say that Caroline's 4th year had a fair amount of meltdowns and whining. There was, of course, a lot of sunshine and happiness mixed in all around, but it was a year of emotional growth for Caroline for sure. :)
Caroline's likes include spending time with Daddy (going to Einstein's Bagels and Starbucks on Saturday mornings are a must), playing "family," being outside, swimming, dressing up, and dancing. Her dislikes include any kind of vegetable (although Dr. Nelson gave her a stern talking to about the need to change this bad habit and we recently made progress with peas), being patient, and being pestered by her sisters.
Caroline is thoughtful, kind, and observant. She is persistent, silly, and brave. My favorite thing about her at age 5 is her strong sense of self. My hope for her this year is that she carries the self confidence that we see at home into her classroom this fall.

One of the reasons Caroline chose this bike is that is has a bike for her Barbie on the handle bar. Margaret calls it the Barbie-Q bike...haha!!

Caroline in the midst of one of her many games of "family." It involves packing up her baby dolls along with every belonging she has and moving them to a new location in her room. There is a lot of complex play that goes on in between, but I'm not usually privy to those details. :)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Julia and Margaret!!

To say it's been a 3 year long wild ride with these two is an understatement! But we wouldn't change a thing, of course. Julia and Margaret are hilarious, adorable, and fun. They keep us on our toes, and there is never a dull moment when they are around. Happy birthday, Ruffie, and Tooga-Wooga!

More to follow later this week after their 3 year old well visit. Julia and Margaret had a great birthday: doughnuts for breakfast, play time with their great gifts, lunch out with big sis Caroline, time at the playground, and then a trip to the University of Richmond to feed the ducks. Add in a yummy dinner and birthday cupcakes, and these two were tuckered out and ready for bed!!

Julia didn't waste any time (brushing her hair) after getting up...she went straight to open presents. 

Two cute three year olds

Margaret's new Minnie Mouse airplane is almost as big as she is!

We hit up the playground after dropping off Caroline at camp. These two are double trouble behind the wheel!

Julia makes a friend at the U of R lake.

Sweet girls.

My, what a strange beak you have!

Julia blowing out her last candle of the day.

It won't be the last of the year...the birthday party is this weekend!

Happy 5th Birthday, Caroline!!

Happy birthday to one of the most inventive, persistent, and silliest 5 year olds we know! We love you, Caroline!
Caroline spent her big day exactly as she planned: a special birthday breakfast to start, followed by some play time with her sisters, then lunch out with her buddies Lawson and Henry complete with a trip to the children's museum and SweetFrog, and then a tasty birthday dinner with the family. Add in some pretty fantastic presents and cake, and I'd say Caroline had a wonderful 5th birthday! She is also looking forward to celebrating with her friends next weekend.
5 year old stats and more thoughts on our amazing and beautiful Caroline to follow next week after her well visit appointment.

5th birthday doughnut tower

Caroline mixing up her birthday cake.

Caroline and Julia frosting Caroline's cake.

Julia was not very helpful after she tasted her first lick of frosting.

Lawson, Caroline, and Henry: 3 cute kids on a birthday lunch date. 

5 years old

Henry, Lawson, and Caroline hard at work putting a license plate on the CMOR car.

Changing a tire on her birthday? Not a problem for Caroline! 

Sliding into some fun! 

Happy girl.

Caroline was exhausted by her birthday fun.

Later on, she recovered in time to open gifts...

...and enjoy her birthday dinner and cake.

Busch Gardens

Last week we loaded up the Hepper Hauler with our buddies the Hofheimers and set out for Busch Gardens. We needed to claim our Preschool Passes by the end of May, and it seemed like a great day to put in a park visit too since it was overcast and forecasted to be nice and cool. The kids had a blast riding every ride upon which they laid their eyes...and for which they met the height requirement :) There were no crowds to fight with our double strollers, no lines to wait in, and the trip was a success!

Getting ready for our first ride of the day: the Whirly Worm.

Caroline and Henry co-piloting the plane. 

Super excited for the roller coaster! They rode it about a dozen times.

Somewhere up there, Caroline and Henry are zooming around!

Julia also very excited about her first roller coaster ride.

Afterwards, she described how it went around and around (and she how didn't like it very much). She only rode one time ;-)

Margaret with a nervous smile before the hot air balloon ride. Thank goodness Bunny Lovey made the trip to Busch Gardens with her for moral support.

Caroline and I attempt a "selfie" on the swings.

Julia, Margaret, and Carter in the bug car.

We capped off our Busch Gardens visit with Whoopie Pies all around before we left!