Breanna's Birthday Party

My little Miss Boo celebrated her 8th birthday party this year, and as it was an even-numbered birthday she was allowed to have a party and invite friends. 

She chose a Superhero Theme and it was held at the Lazer Maze in the mall.

The girls had so much fun trying to climb through the room without touching any of the light sensors.  The girls waiting for their turn also had fun watching on the TV screen how the person inside was getting along.  This was all paired with Mission Impossible style music and strobe lights to add to the excitement.

I of course found the day to be fabulous, because I could simply sit in the waiting area with a cup of hot Starbucks coffee, a fashion magazine, and my knitting.

All the girls wore a superhero costume, and Miss Boo went as Wonder Woman, the coolest superhero of them all.

I found it hilarious that as soon as I said, "smile for the camera girls!" they all immediately struck a pose.

After the party was over and the other girls had gone home, Bree and her best friend Harmony got to go to the food court for a tasty hotdog and a shave ice.

(For people local to this area, you have to check out the Sno-delicious booth in the food court.  The shave ice is fabulous with tons of different flavors and their hot dogs are nitrate free and 100% beef and taste wonderful!

We had coupons from the Lazer Maze place for the Sno-delicous booth, so I was able to get the girls two huge hot dogs and two shave ice cups for $3.

$3!!!!

They even gave Breanna a free upgrade to the Volcano Cone because it was her birthday!  She loved that especially.

After we left the food court, Breanna used some of her birthday money from Oma to pay for a bungee jump for herself and her friend.  (In hindsight perhaps I should have let them jump before filling their stomachs).

Watching those two silly girls soaring through the air all the way up to the second floor of the mall while wearing their superhero costumes was truly something I'll never forget.

It was a special day for my special little big girl.

Ballerina Boo

 

My little Miss Boo had her ballet recital in December. There's something so endearing about seeing your tiny baby girl prancing around in a pink tutu and wearing an enormous flower on her head.

It almost makes me believe that someday she will grow up into a lovely young woman.

(It's a good thing she's got a few years to work on it.)

Her teachers had all the students put on a rendition of The Nutcracker and did a very good job, in my opinion.  Miss Boo and the other girls in her class were the Bon Bons.  (This, of course, led to lots of variations on her knickname such as Banna Bon Bon, and Bon Bonna Boo).

I feel that it's important to emphasize how special these sorts of things are, so I always make sure to nag Handyman to get flowers.  (I say nag, but I have a feeling he would do it anyway.  He loves getting her flowers.) 

I think the flowers from her daddy are her favorite part of the recital!

A Birthday Breakfast

After Boo's Birthday party, the next day we took her out to Amigos for a birthday breakfast with just our family.

I am half Dutch (translation: cheap), so the kids always drink water when we go out to eat, unless a drink is already included with their meal.  However, this was a special occasion, so Miss Boo got to order hot chocolate with extra whipping cream. 

(When they're teenagers I'm going to look back on the days when a cup of hot chocolate made their day and sigh for my depleted wallet.)

Boo's Birthday

 

Miss Boo celebrated her 6th birthday this past October, and for her theme she requested a Mermaid Party.

(Not a "Little Mermaid" party, but a Mermaid Party i.e. generic.  She was very specific on that point.  Apparantly she wanted an equal-opportunity party for mermaids of different hair colors.)

Since everyone knows a self-respecting mermaid does best with water, I decided to have her party at our gym, which has an indoor pool.

To create a "seaweed" curtain, I bought two green plastic tablecloths from the Dollar Tree, taped them to the top of the door frame, and then shredded them with scissors.  I had Miss Boo color several pictures of fish, starfish, and other assorted sea creatures, and I taped them into the seaweed curtain.

I borrowed a bubble machine and had it set up behind the curtain so that when the kids came through, they entered an underwater grotto.

This had the double benefit of providing a good 20 minutes of entertainment while we waited for all the guests to arrive.

After cake and ice cream Miss Boo opened her presents. 

Usually the food and gift opening is at the end of the party, but because the kids were going to be swimming, I thought it best to get the food in their tummies for at least 20 minutes before they swam to avoid any "unpleasant recurrences".

She got some great swag.

After the gifts were opened, Handyman did the cleanup while I took the kids (and accompanying parents) to the pool area.

Thankfully I didn't need to get in the water, as I had "help".

For the goodie bags, I purchased gold gift bags from the dollar tree, and then stapled a fish border onto the top.

I couldn't find anything more specifically "mermaid", so I had to make do with what I could find and what I could manage with my depleted energy level.

It was a great success!

Boo's Bling

I love having a little girl.  It's so much fun going shopping with her, because she gives me an excuse to indulge in all my worst vices (why yes, we SHOULD stop for a latte at McDonald's and also get you an ice cream cone . . .).

So, a bit on a whim, while we were shopping at Wal-mart we decided that it was time that she got her ears pierced.  My mum took me to get my ears pierced when I was about that age, so I told myself that it was an important female family rite of passage. 

 (To be honest it was mostly because I thought they'd look adorable on my ladylike cute daughter.)

 Women are so much braver than men.  Thankfully I don't have to deal with piercings with the boys yet, but I have a feeling that I'll never have to battle that one with Peter.  Last time he had to have a shot, it took three nurses to hold him down.

Boo said it just stung for a second, shrugging like it was no big deal (despite the fact that the otherwise lovely Wal-mart associate couldn't get the gun dislodged from the earring and it took a bit of gentle tugging to separate it from her ear.)

Doesn't she look so sophisticated and grown up?

No?  That's okay.  I like my snarky Boo just as she is.

The King and the Princess

I just love our library.  They have the best activities for kids, and it's really been fun to participate with the summer reading program.

A few Saturdays ago the library hosted a "Princess Tea", and Handyman took Miss Boo.

I'm so proud of my man.  He had to wake up at 5 (on a Saturday) in order to get his work done so that he could get home in time for his daughter's tea party. 

Miss Boo had the best time, and it was so cute to see the care with which she picked out her outfit and hair bows and jewelry.

Princess Boo.

Yup, that's my girl!

Another Violinist in the House

I know I usually natter on about knitting on my blog, but in order to fund my mad skills well-under-control knitting habit I teach voice, violin, or piano music lessons to about 18 or 20 students.

(I'm not sure of the exact number of students because if I knew for sure I'm certain to panic from the strain and mentally implode.  This would have a negative affect on my ability to knit.)

Miss Boo is 5, so I started her on piano almost a year ago, and just recently began teaching her the violin.

She has the teeniest little instrument that looks like a toy (it's a 1/16 size, which measures about 15 inches long from scroll to chin rest.)

 

 She sounds appalling, but I don't tell her that.  I'm the teacher, so I have to be loving and supportive.  I'm also her parent, and I often wish that I could pay someone else to listen to her.

All beginning violinists (no matter the age) sound like they're trying to stuff a cat into a coke bottle with chopsticks, so this isn't any indication of future progress.

 

I am just very careful never to schedule two beginner violinists in a row.  My nerves can only handle so much auditory torture.