At Long Last...

Josie's long-awaited Tea Party!!!

Two weeks later, now that our whole family is finally healthy again after a long battle with the flu, after a second round of baking of muffins, cookies and a birthday cake, after the easiest picking up of the house ever when I asked the girls to make the house look fancy, after Josie looking through all of our wardrobes and picking out our fanciest clothes and accessories for us to wear, after re-sending out invitations... Finally we were able to have our fancy tea party for Josie's 5th birthday.

When our little guests arrived first we had fun painting nails:







Then the girls decorated the sugar cookies we had baked for the tea party with different colored/flavored frosting (strawberry, blueberry, chocolate and lemon):

And then we sat down to tea. Josie had made name cards for everyone to show them where to sit and then all three girls had helped me set the table with their tea sets. Friends had loaned us fancy serving dishes, including a three-tiered serving tray.

Josie requested banana-blueberry-chocolate chip muffins, triangle egg salad sandwiches, heart shaped peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches, sugar cookies, Hershey kisses and strawberries. Mitch and I kept their little tea pots filled with tea for them to serve themselves, chamomile and peppermint with a hint of honey. We always have tea parties with either a table cloth or placemats on the table. That makes it fancier, as Josie would say, and it also immediately soaks up any inevitable spills before they run off the table and onto the floor or onto fancy dresses, as this Mommy appreciates.

There's even a little bit of sugar in the sugar pot, with a teeny-tiny spoon, and cream in the cream pot.

Triple layer lemon heart shaped cake with lemon cream cheese frosting. Mmm mmm mmm.

Josie had us sing Happy Birthday to the accompaniment of her singing card that she got from Grandpa and Nona.

Happy birthday to my special Josie Joy.

I'm glad we were finally able to celebrate you in such a fancy, Josie-style way. We wanted to show you how much we love you and your spunky spirit, your constant energy and smile, your daredevil attitude and your sweet compassionate way of interacting with those around you. Thank you for being you.

Tea Party Uncle Michael Style

I'm not sure Uncle Michael was particularly thrilled when the girls told him they wanted to have a tea party with him but when he saw the spread that the waitress brought out, he was won over. Who can resist mango, chocolate, blueberries and marshmallows? (Thanks for the marshmallows, Grace!) And little sips of tea, of course. I was a bit confused when he asked for a toothpick. He already had a fork at his place.

But can you tell what he is doing? That's right, roasting the mini marshmallows over the candle.

You sure upped the ante for tea parties around here, Michael! Look at that golden beauty.

Complete with a bit of chocolate and some graham cracker.

Come back soon, Uncle Michael! And bring your whole family next time, these girls want to roast marshmallows with Maia and Paxton!

Ruthie

It's been a little while and I haven't even had a chance to post the pictures from Ruthie's birthday! Here she is, our big THREE year old!
With her big sis and her new doll from Nona that never gets put down (no name for the doll yet):

Opening her very own Bilum bag from Grandma Jo in Papua New Guinea that I think she has yet to put down yet either (often the baby rides inside the bilum):

Josie REALLY wanted to give Ruthie her own tea set for her birthday. We had fun shopping for it together and finding a box to put it in (actually a sewing box, but it works great for a tea set). She and Josie spent the morning having tea parties, dressed in their best:

Finger painting with James, Isaac and her sisters outside at her birthday party. We actually had a beautiful warm day for it! Haven't had one since then, but we enjoyed the end of Fall while it lasted.

Dance party!

Playing charades, kid style. All the kids ran back to the bathroom, decided what they wanted to be, ran out together and acted it out with no sounds (usually an animal), and the adults had to guess what they were. Caterpillars:

Chocolate- chocolate chip heart cake for my chocolate loving girl:

Her gift from Anna was her very own stool which gets dragged all over the house for her to reach everything. Anna was always in the kitchen with me at Ruthie's age, but with two older sisters to play with Ruthie is usually playing with them. This stool has been great because it has drawn her back to the kitchen and given the two of us a renewed love of spending time together cooking and washing dishes. Mama's little helper:

After eating chocolate cake and having such an exciting day, this little girl didn't want to go to bed. It was her birthday so why not?! She stayed up until after midnight, first helping me finish the dishes, reading stories with me, and then just playing quietly by herself while Daddy'O worked at the computer (I went to bed myself). I guess she didn't want her birthday to end.

We love you, Ruthie! We love your caring spirit and constant smiles around our house. You are the third child with your tough spirit, dishing it back to your sisters when they try to boss you around, always ready to wrestle and play games with anyone, constantly on the go, with a compassionate heart that even at 3 is always watching out for those around you making sure no one gets left behind. Thank you for being you, my sweet little girl.

Tea Party

Nona gave Anna a new tea set for her birthday this year. Anna has loved having real tea parties these days.
Ruthie, oh so carefully, pouring in the cream:

Would anybody like a sip of tea?

What tea party is complete without "CHEERS!"? None that I've been to in this house!

The tea set came with silverware for every place setting. We had cookies with our tea, but they weren't soft enough to cut with the knives. Hmmm. We have to do something with our knives. Sword Fight!

Forts

Many forts get built in our house out of all sorts of different materials. Today's forts were made from couch cushions and blankets, the girls did all but the roofs themselves. And what better activity to do inside a fort if you are a little girl than to have a tea party, complete with fancy necklaces?

Josie's fort:

Anna's fort:

Spontaneous Music Making

I love it when Anna and Josie spontaneously make their own music. Two pencils can become rhythm instruments and they sing whatever comes out in the moment and let their little bodies move to the music they make without any of the social inhibitions that stop us older folk. They are full of kid creativity. I was able to capture this little moment on video before it was over. Enjoy!

You can tell by Josie's perkiness that she is feeling much better today. Still not 100% and she hasn't eaten much, but I did get her to drink quite a bit by having a tea party!

Anna didn't take a nap today, but then she fell asleep on the couch listening to a tape of Beatrice Potter stories at 5 pm. (Why do they call it tape, Mommy?)

At dinner Josie insisted we put Pooh Bear inside her shirt on her back because she wanted to carry him that way and keep him close to her. Interesting that just lately I have started carrying Ruthie on my back in the backpack, too, instead of just in front. Monkey see, monkey do. How much of what we learn in life is actually formally taught to us and how much is picked up by watching the people around us? Tonight as I was in putting Josie to sleep we could hear Ruthie start crying out in the living room. Josie told me "Ruthie wants Mommy, I think you need to go get her, Mommy. She wants to lie right here with us, too." So I did, and two girls fell asleep at the same time, content with their mommy. Anna and Josie are learning so much about mothering right now as they watch me mother little Ruthie (and them). They are sensitive to their sister's cries and understand her nonverbal cues about what she wants and needs and mimic those same things in their play. They make my heart happy:)