And the birthday continues!

So after a fun packed Friday spent celebrating with her friends, Sage's official birthday was Saturday, May 15th. This was good timing since the week before she was telling me how much she "missed Santa" and was blasting Christmas music on the keyboard. Although Santa didn't make an appearance, her friends stocked her up on Friday with lots of fun new Barbies, bubbles, Littlest Pet Shops, etc. When we asked her what we could get her her response was a "pink girl fish". Obviously this stemmed from watching her brothers get fish for their birthdays which surprisingly are still alive. I knew I wanted to also take Sage to Toys"R"Us since I'm a sucker when it comes to coupons and I had Five Toys"R"Us bucks that were about to expire burning a hole in my pocket. After unsuccessfully walking down the aisles and her saying it wasn't her "favorite store anymore". We almost gave up. Seriously, what child can't find something they want at Toys"r" Us? Thankfully, we found a cute scooter. I don't know who was more thrilled, Sage over the fact it was pink and Barbie themed or me because between the sale price and my Toys"R"Us bucks, we got out the door with a lava lamp night light and a scooter for under $20!

Next up was a Starbucks frappachino and the long awaited trip to PetSmart. Luckily after searching through all the female beta fish in the store we found a white Beta fish that had a glimmer of pink in her tail. Sage was beside herself with excitement and I was happy to see that Sage's desire for a female fish paid off too since they were a couple bucks cheaper! :) Although I question why a female fish would be cheaper than a male one, I was happy with the $3 savings.

So here's London, the new addition to the family. Apparently we watch a bit too much of The Suite Life of Zach and Cody in our home...



And here are her new wheels. I was worried she wouldn't be coordinated enough to get the hang of a scooter but she surprised us and is quite good on it! If only these "wheels" would be good enough when she turns 16...



And finally we ended the day with pizza and cake!



I don't know what we'd do without our Sage. She brings so much happiness and joy to our family. Here are a few things that stand out most about our baby girl:

1. She's pretty much a girl version of Ty. Need I say more...
2. Her beautiful hair. We can't go far without someone commenting on what great hair she has. If only I knew what to do with it!
3. She loves things to be tidy and in their place. (Hmm, wonder where she got that!) It cracks me up to listen to her tell her friends that they can only play in her room "if they don't make a mess".
4. She loves food! Right now her favorite vegetable is asparagus. Her favorite breakfast is scrambled eggs, and her favorite dinner is pizza. She eats pretty much anything but has a particular fondness for anything sweet. And she LOVES bubblegum!!!
5. She loves to sing and dance around but don't think about singing with her. She's our soloist...
6. She still enjoys starting her morning drinking "milky" or "juicy" from her sippy cup while watching her favorite Disney Channel shows in my bed.
7. She adores her brothers and her daddy. She gets very upset if the boys head off to the bus stop without giving her a hug and kiss. Daddy is always greeted with a big hug and kiss as he walks in the door from work.
8. She loves to draw and paint pictures. They always include a picture of her with someone from the family (usually holding hands).
9. She's easy! Thankfully she's been an easy baby and toddler. I'm sure this means trouble for our future... :)

Sage's birthday beach bash!

Well, another birthday under the belt. It's hard to believe our baby is four. Jack and I were just talking about how much easier Sage has been as a toddler than the boys were. It's not that the boys were particularly difficult but boy were they BUSY. With Sage there's been no broken toy of the day, no need for reverse locks on her bedroom door and no worries about her tumbling out her bedroom window. I know this probably means we will be in for it during those dreadful, hormonal teenage years when she'll probably be locking us out of her bedroom as she tries to sneak out her bedroom window but for now, we are enjoying the moment.

Since Sage didn't really have a particular theme she was interested in for her birthday party, I was stuck on my own trying to figure out what to do. A couple weeks ago (in the midst of our unseasonably, dreary spring weather) Sage asked, "When is the sun going to turn on it's light?" We all got a good chuckle but it sparked the idea for a beach themed birthday party! It's no secret the Roddy family loves the beach so this was right up our alley. Even if it meant pumping up the heat and hanging a tanning bed over the dining room table we were doing it. Thankfully the sun "turned on it's light" and the weather was beautiful.

I'm no baker and definitely no cake decorator but I have to say I'm really liking cupcakes. I love that I can test out an idea on a cupcake and if it doesn't turn out there are a couple dozen more I have as backups. I am far (and I mean far) from being a domestic diva but I have to say these cupcakes turned out rather cute! The boys were especially angry that I decided to again have Sage's party while they were away at school so I tried to make up for it by making them some shark cupcakes that were waiting for them when they got home.



No need to worry about blowing germs onto everyone else's piece of cake...just concern that all the candles get blown out!




How cute are these girls!!! They decorated sun visors, played pin the sunglasses on the sun and tested out their their water balloon tossing abilities!





One of my favorite images was watching all the girls gather tightly around Sage with their presents begging her to select their gift to open next. Boy, what a different scene this is compared to the one I use to witness when the boys attended parties at this age. It's bad enough having to listen to all the complaining beforehand about having to give a gift that they would want to always keep for themselves but compound that with the shedding of tears during the opening of presents and a full on tug of war between them and the birthday child over the gift, made for one ugly scene. Thankfully, those days are now a distant memory and a memory we didn't have to revisit with Sage.




Now I better run and start thinking about next year's theme...

16 years and counting...

I remember shortly after Jack and I were married, meeting couples who had been married 3, 4, 5+ years and thinking how long that seemed. The jury was out on if we'd even make it to two but wow, we've made it to 16! I feel this is a pretty amazing accomplishment considering the times we live in and the scarey statistic that says more than half of all marriages fail after the first 10 years. It's no secret that Jack and I were complete opposites when we got married but over the years we've figured out that we are actually more alike than we thought and that we actually make a fantastic team! I feel so lucky to have him as my husband. I can't imagine life without him and tell him often that when the time comes for us to have to leave this life, I better be the first to go.

As most of you know, we hardly ever go out to dinner. I figure we get enough of eating out when we vacation and I just can't stand to spend money on something that I have nothing to show for, with the exception of maybe a bigger belly. Besides I enjoy cooking. Well, Jack received this fat gift card from a colleague at work probably close to a year ago. It was for a restaurant in Seattle called Canlis which I had heard was amazing. Being that the gift card came in a leather pouch, I knew this was one to save for a special occasion. So at 2 p.m. on April 30th (our anniversary), I decided it was time to dust off the gift card and head out on the town. Thankfully the stars were aligned that night and within a few hours we had a babysitter booked and were on our way into Seattle. Oh my gosh, we are hooked. Canlis just beat out Metropolitan Grill for our favorite restaurant. The service and food were amazing. The owner took us on a tour of the place giving us the history behind this three generation hot spot. Hats off to their valet service who had our car waiting for us (and heated) as we walked out the door. They must have some undercover person that texts valet alerting them when you leave your seat. We've had some amazing anniversary dinners but this was definitely one of our more special ones. Now we just need to save up so we can go back! Cheers to many, many more...