roo+red blog: day 709 | august 11, 2014

When Mommy E invited us to Laylapalooza, Layla's Rock party, I got very excited. So much so, that I volunteered Roo to perform a song for L's birthday without consulting with her first. Breathed a sigh of relief when Roo readily agreed after I finally got around to mentioning it to her.

I expose the little ones to all sorts of music -- but there are some favorites we keep on coming back to: Corner by Allie Moss, Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson, Animal by Neon Trees, King of Anything by Sara Bareilles, If It's Love by Train, Payphone by Maroon 5, Stellar by Incubus, and recently Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay... but we struggled to find something she'd like to sing. Then the littler one started to ask for songs from Frozen. Urk.

Thankfully, Roo chose another Train favorite, Hey Soul Sister. (Pat Monahan and Drops of Jupiter. Dreamy sigh. Excuse me, little ones, as mommy reverts back into a fangirl.)

She worked through the lyrics on her own -- I passed her a print of the lyrics one morning, before I left for work, and when I came back that evening, she was well on track to memorizing the whole thing. She voluntarily committed to mastering the not-so-easy bridge, a segment of the song I wouldn't be so confident in singing myself. Pressure was on to try to support her with a little bit of back-up, and we brushed up on our well-kept out-of-tune guitar. When I told her that Mommy E only expected us to sing until the chorus, she insisted on singing the whole song -- because she loves the lilting notes of the final 'tonight.'

Performance day, and she rocked it out with pink highlights, a borrowed Barbie shirt (her younger sister's) and leggings that were at least 2 sizes too small. We didn't bring the guitar, and I didn't need to sing with her. She sang on her own, with a quiet sort of confidence, standing between her friends and accompanied by cool electric guitars, in front of a small supportive crowd, parents and little ones singing along. This momma couldn't help but beam with pride. Oh yeah, that's my girl right there... :)

Thanks for having us, Mommy E, Daddy A, L and Z! We had so much fun preparing for your party, and being in your party, catching up with friends we hadn't seen for a while, and soaking up all the prettiness prepared for the celebration. We only wish we could have seen your whole family jam. Maybe when Daddy A's arm heals. Rock on! :)