sadie is 9

It's official - our first kitten birthday has his 2015! Our sweet little Sadie lady is 9! She's had quite a year. Lots of love, tears and important lessons (like there's few woes a long bubble bath can't fix ;)).

Over the past year, I've been keeping notes in my iPhone of little snippets into the kittens' lives to write on their birthday posts. :) Here's a few insights into Buggins last year...

- She claimed not to like pink! We would still always get her pink things, which she never turned down!, but there were multiple declarations of "I do not like pink...!"

- She had to have short hair... before deciding she had to have long hair. We got her the most darling short-hair cut over the summer (which she wanted so she wouldn't have to brush as much hair... true story) but then decided long hair would be more fun for Meghan to play with... so now she's growing it out!

- Girlfriend started to sing alot! I think "Frozen" inspired ever girl to find their inner Idina Menzel, and there were quite a few backyard concerts of "Let It Go," and all over her different covers. I always encouraged her to belt it out, build up those vocal chords! She was really shy at first, but slowly started to sing louder and louder... it's been such a treat to watch. :)

- Speaking of singing, she was always down for Taylor Swift sing-alongs in my car. Super important, because Sadie and I are the only ones in our family who are Swifties. ;)

- Oh, she is terrible at making her bed. It's like pulling teeth, and when she does "make her bed," it's still a mess, hahahaha.

- She's always the last to finish dinner lately! And by last, it's like... 20 minutes after everyone else. Slow and steady wins the race! ;P

- She made her daddy stop mowing the lawn on a very hot day ("Daddy! Daddy! Stop! I need to tell you something!") only so she could bring him a glass of water... *cries*

- When she almost combusted with excitement when we told the littles their daddy and I were getting married... *cries again*

- She wants a fried egg and avocado toast for breakfast, just like me. :)

- And she's starting to get very moody some days. The pre-adolescence has begun! I always encourage her to make a gratitude list when she's feeling off... some days those work and some days they really don't work. ;)

Great Sadie quotes this year include...

- "I just can't stop hugging you!" (said to her daddy)

- "If you like it, then you sour cream on it!" (sung as "Single Ladies," during taco night!)

- "It begins with an R and ends with a P!" (Her clue to "Wreck It Ralph" -- when she was in a very silly bed-time mood ;P)

- "Thank you for making my dad so happy..." (said to Juju, after R opened one of his Christmas presents from her)

- "Cyan!" (when asked what her favorite color is ;P)

- "You must clean ze plate." (very serious during dinner one night)

- "Cashews, like Shaleah." (when asked what her favorite kind of nut is)

- "I'm SWAGGING!" (her pun on "swinging")

- Sadie: "Have I told you the story of when I lost my first tooth?" Me: "Yup!" S: "Good! Well, I'm still going to review it. *tells story*"

- and then there's all the millions, billions! of time she tells us how much she loves us and how awesome we are... 

Sadie a wonderful birthday celebration this year. First, I took her to see "Cinderella" at Alamo Drafthouse for her Kylie Birthday Date (or she took me... I ordered tickets 5 weeks prior because I'm also I 9-year-old girl). We got a salted caramel shake and a Glass Slipper martini, respectively. ;) Oh, and we wore matching lemon dresses. Because of all of my dumplings, Sadie is the most to "!!!" with the idea of dressing like me. :) 

Afterwards, we had a whole herd of family show up for dinner at Moo-Yah. 13 people! Sadie had never been there before, so she decided it was the perfect place to try for her Birthday Dinner. :)

Serious teenagers. ;P

Moo-Yah also had a dry-erase board that was quite the Littles Magnet before and after dinner. 

After dinner, we came back home for cake, ice-cream and presents! Sadie requested a berry-chantilly cake from Whole Foods Market (girl's got taste), which Meghan happily decorated. :)

She made out like a bandit with presents! Clothes, a pink volleyball, rainbow EVERYTHING, scarves... even this fancy HOMEMADE nighty from Tonya (in her favorite color, cyan! hahaha)

Cousins playing soccer outside...

... and cousins laying on the couch! ;D

And then cousins being sweet! (Ryan was bringing cigarettes to his mom, don't worry! haha)

Birthday Girl then decided to brush everyone's hair (Stephen is such a good sport!)

... and with Tonya's mermaid/down-to-her-waist hair, it was a very intense activity. :D

So, I think it's safe to say she had a great birthday celebration today! On her actual birthday, I surprised her at school with lunch (Wendy's!) and ate with her friends. It was such a fun moment! Her birthday is normally during Spring Break, so having her birthday during a school day was a big deal. ;) And her friends are sooo cute (and very obviously Sadie friends)!

Happy birthday to our sweetest Sadie-bug! You are such a light in our life, and hope you never grow out of cuddles, loving terrible pop music and wanting to wear heels (no matter what the occasion). We love you sooo much!

february, etc.

My goodness, this month was kinda insane... and went out with a bang, too! The ice-storm earlier this week was a piece of cake compared to Snowpocalypse Friday. I spent FOUR HOURS in the car going to/fro Little Elm to pick up the littles from school for a dental appointment... that was cancelled 10 minutes before we finally arrived. GAH. You know how hard it is making dental appointments for 3 dumplings, when Wednesdays and every other Fridays are your main options? It's not that much fun! After walking back into the house in a daze, I drowned my missed-appointment sorrows in veggie chili mixed with mac and cheese... it was absolutely disgusting and completely hit the spot. ;) And then my amazing husband cleaned the bathroom so I could take a nice bath while the kiddos ravaged the snow. I try not to complain too much here on the blog, but let's chalk this up to "keeping it real:" Friday SUUUCKED. ;P

Anywho, 10 hours of sleep and a bottle of wine later, I feel back to normal! Here are some more fun parts of February that are worth remembering wayyy more than Snowpocalypse Friday. ;)

Repo, the sweetest dog at C3 Auto, who kept me company while they fixed my CD player. You outta check out their shop if you're ever in need of a new car! Great group of people, all about customer service. :)

The cutest little macarons in our breakroom one day. 

My favorite watches of the month. Chelsea Peretti, Beginners (!!!), and Obvious Child.

An amazing Galentine's Day afternoon, hosted by Shaleah, with the sweetest, most creative yums and the most wonderful group of gals. :D

See just some of the yums here!

The cutest "party favor:" homemade candles in tea-cups! Shaleah is adorable!

And Tomo, making sure we feel loved as we left. :D

Notes from my family that make me smile. :) (I have no clue if Grandpa Jim knew he was Facebook messaging me, he probably doesn't either, but I'll certainly take it!!)

An amazing feast a la Tonya: almond-crusted fish, a bounty of squash, and the most delightful salad I've had in a while. :)

This meme, which always makes me laugh.

Adult sippy-cups at "The Book of Mormon!" The most handiest theatrical concept ever!

Silly selfies during "The Book of Mormon" intermission. ;)

Lady Gaga's Oscar performance, which I'm still emotional about.

Meggie french-braiding Emmy's hair one night. :)

How pretty the snow looks when it's falling and I'm inside without having to drive anywhere. 

Sadie, post-Snowpocalypse Friday drive. :D

Emily (in my boots!)

Meg by the firepit, Emmy in the hammock, while Sadie and R3 attempt to roll a ball of snow to make a snow man... didn't work out. ;)

Important memos.

This! Still!

Other awesome memories, not pictured:

- Chas spending the night with us, watching the SNL 40th anniversary and eating pizzah!

- One of the fishes in our fish tank having a BABY. 

- Fun, professional things with Yesenia!

- Lunches and pow-wows with Janine, who encourages me to eat donuts (thanks!)

- A new indoor work-out routine for R & I... that completely kicked out butts, but hey! We're doing it!

- Meghan making her Da a sandwich, just because he asked. ;)

- Stephen going to the grocery store with me. :D

- drinks at home with Matt, because he's awesome

- Getting my real-estate business going, slowly but surely!

the BEST valentine's day :)

Valentine's Day this year was so special. Our beloved Tonya & Stephen moved to the area from Colorado this past week, and Valentine's Day was the first day we could all get together as a family and love on each other. The kiddos have been dying to hang out with their new cousins since meeting them at our family vacation in Colorado. Dying! Our sweet kittens are pretty sentimental in general, but I've never seen them react to anyone the way they glued on to T & S. It just makes my heart sing when the best comes out of our weird little blended family. :)

To make matters extra awesome, Darrah and the boys came over as well and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Oh, and burgers! We made burgers! And afternoon bubbles. And back-yard soccer. And Richard helped Darrah finish her taxes! Can you feel the magic? It was a pretty magical day (considering I had to work ;P).

Fair warning, I took alot of bubble pictures. Dumplings + bubbles!

Meghan had a date with Nick and got all dolled up. :) 

Just look at that hair!

Emily was parked right by the window, keeping us updated on Tonya & Stephen's arrival. :)

And at one point, R3 was singing "Wrecking Ball" while playing video games. It... was so hilarious. :)

These pictures are so blurry, but I don't care! They make me so happy. :)

My girls! :D

Stephen helped R3 build the catapult he was given for... Christmas. Slow and steady, guys!

A sweet moment on the couch with cousins. :)

And attacking Sully with the fully-actualized catapult!

I guess it's pretty succinct to say flowers and chocolates aren't really my thing on Valentine's Day. ;) With these sweet folks as company, who can blame me!