HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY ROXY!
(Was supposed to be uploaded yesterday...)
A WHOLE hand!! What an awesome milestone. :D
As I think back on the last five years, I know that parenting Roxy has never been easy. Fun, but certainly never easy. She is still our spirited one - the one who needs to push the boundaries just to see how far she can go before she gets into trouble (is this a repeat of last year's birthday post?). She has several moments during the day where it seems someone has loaded her full of sugar - she can't stop moving and walking is out of the question. She sprints, bounces, leaps, jumps, stomps, skips, rolls, etc. - all while shouting as if everyone in the house has terrible hearing. She needs to make herself known. Sometimes, just to get more attention, she will purposefully make a bad choice - and then laugh maniacally. All of this has given Sean and I more gray hairs then we have ever had before. But, that being said, there isn't anything we would change about her.
Roxy is truly a star -- burning so hot that the flame cannot be put out... and shouldn't be. She is meant for something great. It is a joy to watch her energy explode and to watch her enjoy the silliness of life - pure and simple.
Tomorrow, for her birthday, I am taking her (and Dillen) to see a live production of Annie at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center (Sean will stay home with Piper). Andrea McCardle (the original Annie on Broadway) will be playing the role of Miss Hannigan. Roxy is so looking forward to it. She has been watching the movie version quite a bit these days to brush up on all of the lyrics and characters. I have a feeling that she will be mesmerized by all of the children on stage.
Roxy will be making her own stage debut in December when she plays both a mouse and an angel in Ballet Arte's production of Nutcracker. Currently, she is in weekly rehearsals after her ballet class and she just loves it. Her natural balletic abilities still completely blow me away and her waif-like features make her look so fragile. But don't be fooled... Roxy is as strong as they come.
Outside of the home, Roxy can do no wrong in the eyes of her authority. She listens, follows the rules and exemplifies good behavior for all her peers. She is the youngest in her kindergarden class, yet shows unbelievable focus and determination to learn, grown and make her teacher proud. In ballet, she refuses to act out even in the slightest and frowns down upon her classmates who are not listening or who are goofing around. Part of me thinks she is holding it all together so well because she knows she can explode when she gets home.
Roxy is extremely passionate. She loves with all her heart and expects it in return. Her hugs are powerful and she rarely lets go when expected. She does not like to come in second and needs to know she is the center of attention when at home. Although she seems to struggle to find her place for attention between Dillen and Roxy, she is extremely gracious with her friends. She allows them to have their turn without hesitation and fairness is number #1 in her book. She will tell me lengthy stories at the end of a school day or ballet class about how someone was not following the rules and how she had to step in to help a friend. She is loyal. If you are one of Roxy's friends, you know she is there for you for both laughter and support. She is eager to take a friend to the nurse or to help a friend when they need it. It has been a joy to observe her in Kindergarden.
Roxy is a beautiful creature - a fiery creature. She is still a princess to the core and, rightfully so, insists on wearing a crown to the Annie performance tomorrow. She is our little Diva. We love and nurture her spirit with a dash (!!) of discipline thrown in. Each year her energy burns hotter -- keeping me wondering WHO she will become... someone to be reckoned with, for sure.
Happy Birthday to our Princess, our beautiful, awesome, spicy princess. We love you more then you will ever know.