Tea for 3 + Me

We celebrated Willa's 3rd Birthday with a super-girly tea party. Camden Parsons, Sofia Janc, and Reyn Linder attended. It was a drizzly day but the guests stayed warm and dry in the playhouse, for the most part. They wore frilly dresses and homemade hats, and sipped tea from Willa's finest china. PB&J sandwiches and grapes served as the main course, and a chocolate-frosted cake with sprinkles and a giant cookie "3" was the eye-popping dessert. Everyone was appropriately demure through lunch, until a handsome Mr. Brooklyn Parsons popped in. Before long, carnations were flying and giggles had turned to full-on laughter. The party moved outside for some swinging and tricycling in the rain. Everyone got pink-cheeked, wet-headed, and dirty, which wasn't part of my original plan, but made for the perfect ending. It was the best of both worlds!

Crawfish Fest 2010

Could this be a new tradition for the Heep family? I think so! Every year, over Memorial Day Weekend, the local Jaycees host a crawfish-themed festival with Zydeco music, Cajun food, (and of course a little German,) and a small but super carnival for the kids. After Willa and Camden did my hair, we hit the road with the Parson clan. The 8 of us strolled the 3 blocks from our house which is always something that makes us locals appreciate being local. The best part though, was the huge, inflatable slide which looked to be way too big and dangerous for little, lanky Willa. But to my surprise, she didn't even hesitate to climb the unstable, aired-up staircase and careen down alongside her friends, Brooklyn and Camden.

Natural Beauty (and a few bluebonnets)

You can't grow up in the Hill Country without the obligatory bluebonnet photo. We've been waiting for the perfect day, and true to form, waited almost until the beauties had all bloomed out. We managed to find a little spot today with a patch of blue and Willa got all dolled up for a long overdue photo session and blog post. It was short and sweet and celebrated with a fudgesicle al fresco, in nothing but her panties. Oh, to be two!

Building the Biz

Be sure to check out Root's new website, designed by my uber-talented friend, Seana. http://www.rootfashion.com/. And here's the new ad she whipped up for Tribeza magazine. This is my very first glossy - it's a big step! Gorgeous model + natural setting + professional photography = pretty good, eh? Room 3 of The Roadrunner Inn shows off it's new look in the ad as well. Oh, and the cutest part of all: Willa co-models alongside Camden for the Beulah's ad.

Extreme Play-Dating

A week or so ago, Willa and I spent the afternoon with some friends for what I expected would be a low-key, rainy day play-date. It turned out to be quite the contrary. The multitudinous activity and corralling efforts, multi-tasking and multi-conversing made for a mental and physical challenge reminiscent of the day I first met Willa. (More specifically, the grueling hours of childbirth that led up to our magical meeting.) The girls slid and swung, and played in the mud. They splashed in the puddles and cruised in the Escalade. They finger painted and showered in the water hose. And eventually, they all made it to the communal tub for a good scrub before their long, well-earned naps. I don't know if it was the range of ages between the girls that made it so exhausting, or if it had something to do with the humidity in the air restricting my breathing... but it took me a couple of days to recover. I guess I should consider it a taste of my not-so-distant future, if things go according to plan and we multiply Willa by 2 or 3. Yikes! I will definitely need some more practice.

{Camden and Willa are messing with the radio controls. Notice Willa's hair dryer. This makes me think about the two of them carpooling to high school} {So Charlie's Angels...Don't you think?}{Camden was dying laughing at Harlie splashing in the puddles. And it soon became all an act for the camera.}{We checked the label...It's non-toxic.}{Oh, how fast they grow! The photo below is the same gang just 8 months ago. Click here for the full Breakfast With The Girls post, from September '08.}