Brooklyn's Fashion Palace

Brooklyn wanted a hair and makeup party for her friend party this year. I recruited my friend Julie to do makeup and begged Andy to do nails.


We started the party by creating personalized hand mirrors. Each girl worked really hard to make their mirror look beautiful. I was horribly frustrated because 30 minutes before the party started I discovered that glitter glue does not stick to plastic and all their names fell off. Andy spent the next 10 minutes supergluing all the letters back on. What a lifesaver!

After the craft, we sent everyone outside for some pinata fun. Big swinger Katie knocked it to pieces on the second try. So, we taped it all back up and let everyone have a try. It's all about the candy anyway, right?

Brooklyn wanted a pink castle for her birthday cake. I had all sorts of grand ideas until I tried to put it together. The towers kept falling off even when secured by skewers! Arg! Thankfully it held together for photos and the Happy Birthday song. All the girls loved it!

Finally! It was time for the all the glitz and glamour! The girls were getting anxious! My poor husband is such a trooper! Here is his blackmail shot for all the world to see!

This is the group of 8 girls(plus one Mr. GQ) post-makeover. Don't they look lovely? I started with one hairdo and they all wanted the same one. So much for my creativity!

The 5 year old birthday girl.

The girls all seemed to enjoy the party. Even those who were a little nervous in the beginning really warmed up. I can't wait to hear Brooklyn's ideas for next year.

Xavier wanted so desperately to join in, but what can you do for a boy at a makeup party? I LOVE the mohawk!

Presents and THE DRESS!

Present time at the family party was a sight to be seen. Brooklyn was thrilled to receive clothes for her doll, Marie, High School Musical, all sorts of girly stuff, and a musical jewelry box. The one that stole the show, though, was a creation by my mom. She spent hours sewing the most gorgeous Sleeping Beauty costume for Brooklyn. She even had a matching one for Marie! Brooklyn held the dress up, ran across the room, and hugged my mom so tightly I'm not sure she could breathe! Sleeping Beauty is Brooklyn's favorite princess because she wears pink. She spent most of the rest of the evening twirling and modeling her costume.

Fiesta!

As most of you know, Brooklyn wanted to go to a Mexican restaurant for her birthday, stand on a chair, and wear a sombrero. I had the most horrible time finding a sombrero! Thankfully, we were able to borrow two from the Samms! We each had to have a turn taking a photo with Brooklyn while wearing the sombreros. Even the dogs weren't immune! After the wonderful photo op, we headed to Fiesta Grande for supper. We had a marvelous time and Brooklyn was able to stand on the chair. However, she did NOT want to be sung to. We saved that for the candles and sombrero cake afterward.

Dance Camp Finale

Brooklyn's week of Princess Dance Camp at InStep ended on her birthday. She wore a special, pink, sash that said "Birthday Girl." It was so much fun to see her face when she arrived at camp and her best buddy Avery gave her the most gigantic, mylar, Cinderella's Carriage balloon I've ever seen! She jumped up and down and hugged Avery so tightly! After performing a Cheetah Girls song and a Bratz song, she handed out cupcakes to all her friends.

The Twin Birthday at CEC

The Kings came down for a long awaited visit on Wednesday. We celebrated Brooklyn and Jonathan's birthday at Chuck E Cheese's on Thursday. They enjoy sharing that they have a birthday on the same day. The kids were all tired and grouchy but managed to pull it all together for a fun few hours at CEC. Xavier really enjoyed having some boys to play with.

Impulse Buy

I bought an inflatable slide on a really hot day last week. We took it over to the Bautsch house for its unboxing. The kids were out for three and a half hours! It didn't take them long to discover they could jump from the top of the slide into the splash pool below. Brooklyn woke up the next morning complaining her neck hurt. Imagine that!

Dancing machines

We attended a wedding on August 4th. The kids loved the reception! They were out dancing to Kenny G while waiting for the wedding party to arrive. Brooklyn even had Xavier leading her around the dance floor and forcing him to spin her. It was hilarious!



Brooklyn convinced everyone they need to dance with her. She took turns dragging each of us out onto the dance floor. A few of us only made it a few moments before she decided it was someone else's turn.

Xavier was intrigued by a crazy guy in a funky suit out on the dance floor. He noticed Xavier watching him during YMCA and asked him if he wanted to dance. Yes, he is doing "the sprinkler!"

Just Because...

They are so beautiful to me!

I get to be the top of the pyramid!

Imagine the feeling in the pit of my stomach as my four year old comes home from cheer camp announcing her position in their final cheer. Yikes!
Brooklyn really enjoyed cheer camp and now says gymnastics is her favorite thing to do. She is now able to do a cartwheel, forward roll, and a bridge with her head OFF the floor. What progress!
She was very excited to show off her skills at the "show" at the end of the week. She was most excited that Daddy was able to get away from work to see her. She made a special video request to his boss asking if he would PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let Daddy come. How could you turn that down?
I was surprised at the skills of the other girls in the camp. Brooklyn was, by far, the youngest and most inexperienced of the bunch. But still, there was a girl that couldn't have been more than two years older doing back handsprings! All comparisons aside, I am very proud of Brooklyn for trying something new, knowing no one, and coming out of the week with some great new skills. Sorry for the quality of the photos and video. I was fighting with lighting and a mean blue pole standing between Brooklyn and the camera.

Every girl can be a princess

Brooklyn won a week long dance camp at Dublin Dance Centre. It just so happened to be a princess dance camp! She spent from nine to noon every day with 6 other little princesses. They did a different princess theme every day. At the end of the week, they did a mini performance at "the Royal Ball" and had a tea party. Their ballet routine was to "Every Girl Can Be a Princess."


They also did gymnastics during the camp. This was Brooklyn's first experience with gymnastics. She really seemed to enjoy it! Her favorite event was the high beam. During their performance to "Friend Like Me," she did a real cartwheel! I was so impressed!


Brooklyn invited Avery to come watch her at the ball and join in the tea party. The teachers were very nice to include Avery at the "Princess Table" at the tea party. I think Brooklyn was happy to have her friend back in dance class.
Next week...cheerleading camp!

All things girly

To celebrate Brooklyn's friend Avery's 5th birthday, we had a mommy/daughter day at Easton. We started our afternoon at the Cheesecake Factory. The girls did so well sitting quietly in the restaurant. After our meal, the waiters brought sundaes with sprinkles and sang "Happy Birthday" to the girls. Brooklyn was included because her birthday is only a few weeks away! The waiters ran out of candles so the girls blew out lighters instead! After lunch, we headed to Libby Lu's for a makeover. The girls chose to dress up as fairies. They had their hair and makeup done and were covered in a ton of glitter! They did a dance to a Hannah Montana song. Too cute!



After Libby Lu's, I took the girls to Friends 2B to make dolls for Avery's birthday present. They, of course, each chose a dancing outfit for their dolls. It was wonderful to spend some time with Brooklyn doing all things girly.