Lulu's First Hair-cut

We took Lucy to get her first ever little hair-cut.  And we took her to the exact same place that Charley had her first ever hair cut.  I was worried that Lucy would not even get in the chair - because she's been super clingy lately, and because if she can't immediately tell what's going to happen, she wants nothing to do with it.  But she sat in the chair with only minor whimpering, and actually laughed when the lady sprayed her hair with water.  She was okay with the scissors - so long as she could turn and watch (which Im sure made the stylists job sooo fun).  What she wasnt okay with was the man next to her who was getting his head clipped with buzzers.  My babydoll started crying the fattest tears you ever saw.   But the stylist was fast on her toes, and gave Lu a 'nummy!' lollipop, which of course made everything just wonderful. 

She's Got Style...

And it's all her own.

I Went to a Rangers Game

And this is significant because 1.) I have extreme disdain for professional sports and 2.) I swore I would never go to a Ranger Game again after the strike back in 1994 - 1995.  And yes - 2 is directly responsible for 1.  But my friend Karla asked me to go, and my dad has never been, so we went.  You know what?  I had a blast.  And the seats were awesome - 9th row home plate (which brought back LOTS of memories from my 12th row home plate days in the old stadium).  You may not know this - but my childhood was baseball.  I was at every home game.  I was there when Nolan pitched his 7th no hitter and threw his 5,000 strikeout.  I remember when he punched Ventura.  I used to yell insults to Pete Incavillia and Rueben Sierra. I had a crush on Steve Bouchelle.  I met Bobby Valentine at charity events and Ranger dinners.  I campaigned to keep the Rangers in Arlington and I spoke in front of City Council pleading my case.  I did hands around the Ballpark.  I told George Jr that he was JUNIOR, not the real George Bush.  I sat in the bleachers and had buckets of beer dumped on me.  I idolized Zonk.   The Rangers were very much my childhood, and when they went on strike when I was in high school, I felt like my heroes had turned out to be frauds.   Sitting at the game this past Friday and just...enjoying...the game, it was like getting a small taste of my childhood back.  Thank you for that, Karla!

Don't Let Your 2 Year Old Water The Yard...

Because once she gets the hose in her hands, the lawn is the LAST thing she's gonna want to water.

The August Baby Boom

There was a time when it was rumored that if you drank the water in the Sales Department at the Worthington, you would get pregnant.   Maybe it was more than a rumor, because in the Sales + Event Department alone, we had 9 consecutive pregnancies.  NINE.  We called it the Worthington Baby Boom.    Three of the dub-boomers were born in August.  Which works out to a pretty heavy birthday party circuit this month.  But wait!  I'm not done.  This year we were also excited to add the charming Miss Sylvia into the August bday rotation - she is every bit as sweet as she looks, and another very distictive toddler, who knows just what she wants - and most interestingly, she will tell you - but it's in a very complex language that only she understands, lol.  We didnt get as many pictures as I would have liked, mainly because we were so busy hovering over Lucy awaiting the big "I Didnt Sleep The Night Before OR Take A Nap" melt-down...but thankfully, she made it through most of the party without throwing a tantrum.  And since there were plenty of kids for her to give her 'HUGS!" to, plus an indoor slide, she ended up doing better than we ever expected.   We certainly had a blast celebrating all these August kiddos, and can't wait to do it all over again next year. 

Saturday's Party:  Morgan is 1!

 Sweet Lola and her mommy (Jenn)

 The Worthington Babies - Lucy, Morgan, Gracie and Lola

 Lucy LOVES giving hugs to her 'baby Lola' LOL

 And Lola loves giving kisses.  Look at those curls on Gracie!

 Sitting pretty - or, at least all sitting, which was harder to make happen than it looks.

 Love that sweet face!

 Lucy being a big girl at the water fountain

 Charley trying to take down the pinata

 Sweet Gracie!  Looking just like her momma  : )

You know Lulu had to give it a try

Charley and the toddlers

Charley and the toddlers Pt. 2

Here comes the birthday girl!

Ok now this blur is Lucy, going wild at Sylvia's party.  Thank goodness for the super kid-friendly environment!

Sweet Sylvia and the balloon - I wish I could transcribe her Sylvia-talk that she was doing because it's the coolest thing I have ever heard

Toddlers and balloons!

Lucy REALLY DUG the cupcakes

Sylvia getting ready to blow out the candles.... 

Best face ever!

You may have noticed she has on like 30 leis. It's true. She does.

So much fun, and can not get over how super cute and sweet little Sylvia is : )

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Pea - Charley is 7!

It literally just seems like yesterday that she was running up to me in her pink footie pajamas saying ‘’C”mon, Ah-meeee!”. Or that she was playing with her ‘harbies’ or wearing her ‘Pap-pap’ or talking about going to the ‘mee-oon’. I truly do not know where the time has gone, but today, officially, our Charley bear is 7 years old, and what an incredible 7 years they have been.

I have been so lucky to have been a part of such an amazing little girls’ life. From the moment I first met her, I was head-over-heels in love with her – and I knew that I would always be ’her Amy’. When I think over the past 6 years together, I am astounded by the journey that our little bear has been on, and the young lady she is today.

She is, without question, the kindest, sweetest child you will ever meet. When other kids are playing on the playground, Charley is encouraging them to help pick trash up and keep the earth clean. When she sees a kid all alone, she’s the kid who goes over there to play. She’s the world’s best big sister, reading to Lucy and teaching her and watching out for her. She is so full of emotions. She is so full of love. She leaves us notes all over the house, telling us how much she loves us or happy she is. I’ve never met anyone like her – except for maybe her great grandmother, Charlie Mae, whom Charley was named after and is the reason we call our Charley ‘Mini-maw’.

 She loves Michael Jackson, and Holy Moly. She LOVES chocolate. She likes coke, unless she is with Grammy – and then she likes Pepsi. She has a very distinct ‘style’ – one that is ALL her and that is evolving every year. She would live in pink flip flops or pink cowboy boots if we let her. She loves the earth and has inspired the PTA at her school to start an environmental initiative, led by the kids, called The Green Team. She is an amazing artist, and will choose painting over just about any other activity. She is an extremely well read kid, and while I know everyone brags about how smart their kid is – Charley truly is more than a few steps above other kids her age. She loves being around kids of ANY age, but can hold her own with a group of grown-ups, too. She has a very unique sense of humor. She is polite, and thoughtful, and reminds me daily what it means to be a kinder person.

 She’s my protégé – absorbing more from me than even I realize. But I know that I have learned so much from her too – and I love her more than life itself. She has made my life happier, funnier, and more beautiful than she will ever know.

Best big Sister in the World (August 2010)

 She's sweet...but she's OH SO SILLY, too! (Sept 2010)

 Trademark Charley face (Oct 2010)

 Silly Hat Day - getting ready to go to school with her Watch DOG Dad (Nov 2010)

She's this excited...over a bookmark (Dec 2010) 

 Heading into the library for her weekly visit (Jan 2011)

Daddy Daughter Dance  -No idea where she get's the Silly Face Syndrome from (Feb 2011)

 Playing with the Sing-a-ma-jigs.  Best part of my day is just riding around in the car with those girls (Mar 2011)

 At the Main Street Arts Festival - her 4th year to go, and our favorite Spring tradition (April 2011)

 Showing us her artwork at Open House (Also April 2011)

 My Sweet Pea (May 2011)

Watching Holy Moly - "Joe Rose just touched my shoulder!!!!" (June 2011)

 My sous chef on the Brownie station (July 2011)

 Our big girl - I still can't believe how much she has grown, or how amazing she continues to be (Aug 2011)