Happy 7th Birthday, Julia!

I can hardly believe Julia is 7!!  And she herself could hardly believe that the long-awaited birthday was finally here!  She woke up FULL of excitement and energy about her birthday, and made sure to share it with ALL of us.  And, hey, who DOESN'T like to start the morning off with a 50-lb 7-year-old climbing into bed and on top of our bodies, bouncing up and down and joyfully shouting, "It's my BIRTHDAY!  It's my BIRTHDAY!"

The birthday started off with a breakfast out at 3 Squares, where Julia got to order Oreo pancakes!:

Afterwards, we headed home to open presents from family members, and Julia was delighted with her loot:

Madeleine, for her part, managed to remain both intensely interested in Julia's gifts, yet completely not jealous of the fact that Julia was receiving presents.  She was truly thrilled for her sister, handing the next present over and exclaiming, "Now Julia!  See what THIS one is!"  Madeleine was also excited to give her sister a present that she and I had wrapped together, and signed Madeleine's name to.  This gift was the book "Holly the Christmas Fairy," one of the Rainbow Magic books, which has been on Julia's wish list for months.

JULIA: Oh, THANK you, Madeleine!  It's the book I've always WANTED!
MADELEINE: (beaming) You're WELCOME.
JULIA: (turning to me clandestinely) Mom, did you know this really IS one of the books I always wanted?

No, Julia, I had no idea.  I had nothing AT ALL to do with the gift.  I mean, I didn't pick it out and buy it and give it to Madeleine to help me wrap or anything.  What incredible luck!

The Rowe family next took a trip to the Museum of Science as a special birthday outing with Julia.  The most exciting part of the trip was getting to explore an old schoolhouse, which is decorated inside with true artifacts from a school that closed in the early 1970s.  Julia was fascinated with the entire place, and especially loved getting to launch into full-out pretend play as the teacher:

The last part of the day was the absolute MOST exciting for Julia, however: her birthday party!  It was a chaos-filled wild romp of a time at the YMCA pool with 26 of her friends, all screaming and splashing and swimming together:

Followed by pizza, cupcakes, and a dance party in the upper level of the Y building:

And, you know, sure, there were a few mishaps, like Madeleine pooping in her pants during cupcake time and then pulling down her pants to check her underwear in the middle of the party room, but all in all, it was a successful 7th birthday party, and Julia was one happy birthday girl.  Happy, happy birthday, my big 7-year-old daughter!!