ballerinas to the rescue

My dad drove down Saturday afternoon to see Rory and give her some birthday gifts. She loves it when PaPa comes to visit and was very excited to see him. After lunch she said, "My tummy is sick. I need to snuggle with PaPa."

PaPa gave her the Ice Age DVD, which she now calls the "icing movie." Her great-grandparents (my dad's parents) sent a card with money. She opened up the card, hugged the bill and gasped, "My own money! Oh I love my own money!" Thanks great-grandma Shirley and great-grandpa Mickey!


Later that day we had a party with some family friends. There were 9 children (ages 1 1/2 to 4), and one infant (and some adults too). The kids painted umbrellas to take home, we ate burgers, watched Rory open her presents, and ate cake and ice cream (all the standard birthday stuff). It was absolute chaos and I really only got to visit with one or two friends the entire time...but Rory had a blast with all of her friends, and did much better than I expected when all the kids surrounded her while she opened up gifts.

Rory's friend Caedmon gave her three pairs of dress up shoes (pink heels, purple heels with purple feathers, and ballerina slippers). She and a friend wore the heels outside and I overheard Rory as they were playing shout, "Ballerinas to the rescue!"

Brad said he read somewhere that you should invite birthday guests according to the age of the kid (i.e. 3 kids for a third birthday). So we broke that rule...but I love the excitement of all those kids together. I actually enjoy the chaos and seeing all the kids playing. All of them crowded around as Rory opened gifts and several times Rory's friend Quin looked me right in the eyes and said enthusiastically, "It's going to be a great party!" I agree.