Pool Time

Did I mention a million times yet how hot it was in Rehoboth?  Coming from California, we were basically melting our entire trip - or we were in the pool.

The East Coast definitely has the West Coast beat in terms of pool weather, and Orelia enjoyed every second of it.

It was so nice having our families with us on the vacation, and I'm so grateful my dad was able to take some photos with me in them!

A photo with my swim dress-loving gal even while eating an apple is better than no photo at all.  Thanks, Dad!

Fun Land

One of the reasons we were so excited to vacation in Rehoboth Beach was because we knew how much Orelia loved Fun Land during our last trip.

It turns out we only made it to Fun Land three times during our two week trip (only twice during business hours - whoops). Because Orelia was so busy playing at the beach and pool, it was rarely worth the trip in the sweltering heat.

Orelia has always been a ride-loving kid, and it turns out Bennett is not cut from that same cloth.  While Orelia whizzed around on rocket ships shooting "gunners," Bennett was happily off eating crepes with Uncle Bobby.

If she was tall enough for the ride, Orelia definitely gave it a go.

In fact, I'm not sure she has ever been on a ride that was too fast or too scary for her (especially given that she can't ride on the fastest or scariest).

I'm more in Bennett's camp when it comes to rides these days, so luckily Daddy was around to take Orelia on everything Fun Land had to offer.

Orelia gets her thrill-seeking genes from John, and I'm happy to sit on the sidelines and photograph their smiling faces.

A Boy Named Jenny

 Have you ever heard of the Boy Named Sue?

 Well, Orelia hasn't.

 But she has heard of the Boy Named Jenny.

 Also known as Bennett, to most people.

 Orelia is a nickname girl.  She just randomly comes up with nicknames and sticks with them.

Right now Bennett is "Jen" or "Jenny" to her, even though I don't think she knows this is a name (much less a girl's name).

  This boy named Jenny is quite a riot these days.  He runs around everywhere he goes, roaring with laughter.

 He has an absolute ball playing with Harper in any way she will allow him.

Bennett isn't exactly known for his gentleness, so it's a good thing Harper is in line for sainthood.

He literally climbed on top of Harper and attempted to ride her, exclaiming "trit trot!"

 The coolest thing to witness lately is his language explosion.  Just in the last week he has started to put some many ideas together and we can basically have a conversation with each other.

His favorite sentence is "I aunt..." (meaning "I want") and he will say anything from "yewwo bap-oe" (yellow backhoe), to "more eat," to "big trash truck" (which we don't own, but he knows he can find one at Dylan's house).

Last night Orelia brought a blanket to the couch and Bennett said "blanket too" (meaning he wanted a blanket too).  I didn't even know he knew the word "blanket" much less knew the concept of too/also.

He's become obsessed with calling Uncle Bobby on FaceTime and says things like "Baba home?" or "Baba 'night?"

 This boy named Jenny is really blowing my mind lately with everything he's learning.  Watch out world, there is a "yewwo bap-oe" loving big boy on the loose.

Orelia's Royal Ball

Orelia celebrated her birthday this year in a manner fit for a princess.

 Our backyard provided the backdrop to Orelia's Royal Ball.

Orelia's closest friends (and their little siblings) were all in attendance.  

 My mom was in charge of providing the floral arrangements (which she executed beautifully).

Orelia loved seeing her playhouse transform into a castle.

 And she was beyond thrilled with the gown I found for her to wear.

 Harper filled the role of Bruno for the evening, and watched from the sidelines.

 Orelia and her friends made bracelets and crowns and accessorized further with the best Oriental Trading has to offer.

Bennett literally refused to eat the entire party in anticipation of the cake that was yet to come.

Orelia loves feeling glamorous, and was so excited to get her hair, makeup, and nails done.

  The biggest excitement came from the appearance of Cinderella, herself.

 Orelia was so excited Cinderella was able to come all the way "from Disneyland."

 Orelia loved sitting and chatting with Cinderella, and was so thrilled to hear about the prince, Gus and Jaq, and all of Cinderella's princess friends.

 Cinderella was very sweet and gave the birthday girl lots of special attention.

 There was also a rousing game of duck, duck goose.

Orelia proved herself very capable of running in a ball gown and glass slippers.

 The birthday girl was "goose" quite a lot, which suited her just fine.

 One of our decorations became Orelia's fan for the evening, and she held onto it for almost every moment of the party.

 During Freeze Dance Orelia showed off her spunky dance moves.

 All of the big girls at the party seemed very pleased with the special guest.

There were boys in attendance too, but they had no interest in posing for a photo.

With some help from her friends, she managed to blow out the candles atop her big chocolate cake.

 She seemed quite pleased with herself.

Bennett insisted on feeding himself the cake, and literally shoveled it in.

 Orelia is well versed in birthday party etiquette, and was thrilled to get the FIRST piece.

It was such a blast celebrating this Cinderella-loving girl.  Orelia said she had the best day ever, and it showed.