What? My baby is FIVE?!?

Since forever, I have been telling Adelaide she could get her ears pierced when she turned 5. Recently, I told her she could get them pierced before her party, even though she wouldn't officially be 5 yet. So, on Father's Day, Ade and I headed off to the mall to Claire's on a big adventure. I had called ahead to ensure they had two people on duty to do both ears simultaneously, and Ade was fully prepared. When we got there, they had 2 people, but one of the piercing guns had gone missing! Despite my careful planning, Ade would have to let them do one at a time.

There was a teenage girl ahead of us, so Ade watched with interest as she had her first ear pierced. Seeing nothing that concerned her, she was off and shopping before the second ear was even done. When it was her turn, I was anxious for absolutely no reason. The child amazes me. She literally did not flinch, as she tells the story. She sat with a curious, somewhat stoic expression while she pierced both ears, and then gleefully smiled at her reflection in the mirror two seconds later. No tears, not even close, and she was onto her lollipop and ready to go get ice cream. That's my girl!

This year, we had her birthday party on June 24 since her birthday was during the week. At Durant Nature Park we rented a big pavilion and used a rainbow theme. As usual, Ade loved to assemble the treat bags. We had face painting, playground time, and pizza first while Magic by Mike got all set up. Then, there was an awesome magic show including a bunch of animals in the show. Ade got to be the star, and get pictures with all of the animals! The kids LOVED the show. We sang, and Ade got a rainbow cupcake. We handed out cake pops while the kids got balloon animals.

It was totally unbelievable the number of gifts the kid received. They were literally overflowing the wagon we used to tote stuff back to the car, and the house looked like a toy store explosion when we opened the presents later that day.

On Ade's actual birthday, we had Bojangles chicken biscuits for breakfast, and Texas Roadhouse for dinner, where they sang to her. I was thrilled that the robotic pterodactyl I got her ended up being her favorite gift by far! She named it - you guessed it - Bojangles!

FIVE years old! It is such a huge milestone. It is pretty hard to believe that my baby is such a big girl. I can't really remember a time when she wasn't in my life, so from that perspective, I can't believe it has ONLY been 5 years. Her legs are long as a colt's. Even her hair has finally decided to grow, ringlets that dangle and tangle all around her head. I hope she gets to be the park ranger/paleontologist/engineer that she insists she wants to be when she grows up - that is NOT too many jobs for one person to have, and do not try to convince her otherwise. I am so proud of her every day, and can't wait to see what all the days ahead bring. On her actual birthday...

MB with JJV, and we have a graduate!

Unpack, laundry, pack again. Off we go to Myrtle Beach with Jenna, Jon, and Vivian. Can I love Joe's Crab Shack anymore than I do??? We had a great time playing at the beach, shopping, eating, and watching the girls alternate between playing and fighting for hours. Jenna and I especially enjoyed eavesdropping on the "romantic" couple walking the beach one night, doing strange and cheesy Glee-like dance moves.

It was a nice way to unwind post-Innovate before diving back into the fray, and preparing for Adelaide's big graduation ceremony!

Oh, yes. We now have a preschool graduate in the family! She walked across the stage to claim her diploma in full cap and gown regalia to Pomp and Circumstance. I did NEARLY cry. Given her choice of anywhere to have dinner, she chose Caroline Ale House. A T Rex pillowpet greeted her as her graduation present.

June seemed like a month full of milestones, some amazing, some heartbreaking. As I reminded Jenna when she was bemoaning Vivian growing up, with every new stage, there is something to mourn passing, and something to celebrate coming.

Ryan days

Just as I have to share my birthday with Mother's Day, Ryan has to share his with Father's Day. This year, Ryan decided we should head to Jibarra for a Father's Day brunch. Then he headed off to do one of his outdoor activities while Ade and I hit the pool. (I'll leave the other big activity that Ade and I did for her birthday post...)

For Ryan's birthday the following weekend, we went to his other favorite restaurant - J. Betsky's for some German food.

I bought him a gorgeous new ocean painting. The colors are so beautiful, and I wish I could just dive in. To both the painting and the bed. ;-)

So much ketchup.

No ketchup, actually. Ade hates ketchup. But, lots and lots of catching up.

After the trip to PA, I went into full-on Innovate crazy, per usual that time of the year.
The day before I was supposed to leave to head down, we got a call from Goddard that Ade was complaining her head hurt so bad she was crying and pale. Ryan picked her up, and she threw up in the car. The day before she had mildly noted her hit her head at school, but we barely registered the information. She told me she didn't remember how she hit it, which was slightly odd since she has the memory of elephant, but she said she didn't cry. Kids this age want band-aids for imaginary wounds, I find, and her school gives us accident reports for the most minor things. Well, the symptoms sounded odd enough that I called the dr and made an appointment. She fell asleep in the car on the way there, which is completely uncharacteristic and scared me.

The dr did a variety of neurological tests, which Ade completed fine, though she was so exhausted and lacking any energy the whole time it was so disturbing. Her said she had a mild concussion, and was already nearly past the 24 hr watch period. He said to wake her every 3 hrs to check on her, and she should be fine. She threw up on the car ride home.

I slept in bed with her, and she woke feeling a little better. Then, she threw up twice more, and was beyond listless. We called dr, and took her to the pediatric ER. They did a CAT scan. She was dehydrated by then and asleep in her little hospital gown on the gurney. I was coordinating changing my flights and plans to stay home longer while waiting in that little ER room to be assured there was nothing worse happening in her amazing and precious head.

The scan was fine, and the fact that she had a mild fever over Memorial Day weekend kept nagging at me. I mentioned to the dr, and they said she likely had a virus, and we were mixing symptoms with the head issue.

Relief! By the next day she was still a little crabby, but measurably improved, and I headed off to Orlando Groundhog's day, where I got to rock out to Foreigner and serve OSLC Blue Ballers, complete with mardi gras beads. ;-) That is how a working mom does it. From pediatric ER to Foreigner, no stops in between.