Ros is Seven!

[przed]

Today, Ros turned seven! I can't quite believe I'm the mom of a seven-year-old, but there you have it.

With not very many weeks to spare, Ros finally decided she wanted a rock climbing birthday party, so we spent the afternoon at our local climbing gym with Ros and 11 of her friends.

I got to belay Ros (her friends had to be belayed by the professional instructors), so here we are in our climbing gear. I'm as astounded as anyone that I now own climbing gear. (So far I only belay Ros, but I'm toying with calling a climbing friend or two at some point and giving it a real go myself. On the really easy routes.)


Here's Ros doing rock climbing limbo. (The instructor showed me where the limbo/scrubbing stick is so we can do traversing limbo some time when we go climbing on our own.)


And here's Ros high up on one of the main routes they had the kids on. That blue thing on her back is Ros' chalk bag. Because Ros is all about accessories, even when it comes to sports. *g*

Comments

[dine.livejournal.com]

what a cool and fun idea for a party! I hope everyone had as much fun as it looks like Ros did - hard to believe she's already seven!

[golden-bastet.livejournal.com]

Hey - I used to rock climb, even started with a rock climbing b-day party. What fun! Ros is a young woman of very refined tastes. :D

It looks like you guys had a great time. Excellent!

[przed.livejournal.com]

The kids all had a fantastic time, and it all worked out really well for everyone.

I can't quite believe she's seven either. Yikes!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Groovy! You are clearly a woman of equally refined tastes. ;-)

Everyone had a really great time. I think it's one of the better birthday parties she's had.

[asilia.livejournal.com]

Happy belated birthday to Ros! She's really growing up to be a beauty, isn't she? :)

Sounds like a great way to celebrate - not that I could ever take part in it, I have a big fear of heights, lol. But I admire anyone who can bring themselves to climb up a wall ;)

[crimson-37.livejournal.com]

Wow, time flies so fast. I remember when you were posting pics of Ros as a baby. You two looks like you having loads of fun. Many happy returns to Ros.

[togsos.livejournal.com]

Happy day after your birthday Ros :D

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

That looks like a really fun party! What a great way to celebrate being seven!

My husband rock climbs, so I know loads of people who do but I'm terrified of heights so I don't join in.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Ros is going to be a stunner. I frequently look at her now and see glimpses of how she's going to look when she is older, and that is actually quite frightening.

I'm quite enjoying the rock climbing thing, the gym is a really great space, but I have to admit I'm also not so good with heights. I had to do a climbing course to qualify to belay, and when I got to the top of one wall I started shaking. I suspect I could get over that through repeated exposure to the experience, so now I'm just debating whether I want to try. :-/

[przed.livejournal.com]

It seems only yesterday she was a baby, but it's also hard to believe she was ever that small. Crazy! The climbing was a hoot, and the kids all had a blast.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[sunray45.livejournal.com]

Ros is SEVEN! Where does the time go? I do love her idea for her party, which seems to have turned out to be quite a blast for everyone.

Happy Birthday Ros! ::HUGS::

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a really great party, and the kids all seemed to have a blast.

I'm really enjoying taking Ros climbing, and the facility is a great place, but I have to admit that I'm also terrified of heights. (I also have limited range of movement in my right arm, so I'll never be a champion climber.) When I took the basic climbing course to qualify to belay, I climbed one wall, and started shaking uncontrollably when I got to the top. But I suspect I could get over that if I did it a few times, so I'm tempted to give it a shot.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It's really quite bizarre to think she's seven. I'm so glad she settled on the rock climbing. (She was initially pushing for a party in our local park, which is what we usually do, but it's been a summer of rain, and there were rolling rain storms all yesterday.)

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

OMF look how huge she is now!!! Very cool birthday pics and activities, mom.. well done!

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

What a great idea for a party.

Ros clearly had fun - I hope all the other kiddies did too.

And seven? Wow where have those years gone?

A belated Happy Birthday to Ros.

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, those are impressive. So cool to see kids thinking "I can do that" and giving it a go. And doing it, obviously.

Looking at the wall more closely, with those colourful... protruberances, the knobbly things (I expect they have a name)... those must be long stretches for small legs. All the more well done her.

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday to Ros! And what a great idea for a party - it leaves MacDonalds for dead.

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday, Ros! And congratulations to you, P, for being such a super mom (and to Sweetie for being such a super dad).

[przed.livejournal.com]

She's looking so grown up, it's quite frightening.

It was a fun party. Ros chose well.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Everyone had a great time. It was definitely a fab party.

Yeah, seven is crazy. I have no idea how that happened.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It's fun to see how fearless kids (mostly) are at this age. Even the kids who weren't as adept at climbing threw themselves into it, sometime literally. *g*

The knobbly things are officially called climbing holds (I had to look it up *g*), and yeah, there are a few routes Ros can't do just because she's still a bit too small to reach certain holds. But she'll be there soon.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a great space for a party, and the instructors were great with the kids. Definitely better than McDs. (For her first three or four years, Ros was convinced McDs was only an ice cream store because she went there occasionally with her daycare for ice cream and we never took her. Then one of her friends at school told her about Happy Meals. Grrr. She doesn't actually like the food, thankfully, but she'll bug us about the toys.)

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm far from a super mom, but I do try. (The Sweetie is super, though.)

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

If she ever bugs you about it again, tell her that the ice cream is in fact 60% extruded pig fat, while the burgers are made with lips and ears. If she's got half the sense of a housebrick she'll never want to go to McDonalds again.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday to Ros!

You can see in that picture what a great birthday she was having. :D

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a great party. All the kids had a blast.

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

Wow, congrats on all achievements! Way to scary for me to climb up like that.

[sunshine-2525.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday to Ros! What a great way to celebrate; rock climbing party - how cool is that :) Fab pics!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm not convinced it's for me either, but I'm getting closer to give it a shot. *g*

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was totally cool. I'm so glad Ros picked it.

[przed.livejournal.com]

That oughta do it. Ewww.

[norfolkdumpling.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday Ros! That looks like very good fun - Murphy would be proud :D

[przed.livejournal.com]

You should see her abseil down. And no, I'm not kidding. *g*

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

That looks like great fun (if you don't mind heights! I was not what you might call fond - I have that kind of vertigo that means you want to throw yourself off things - very peculiar but apparently common). Happy Birthday Ros! *g*

[przed.livejournal.com]

Ros has been a climber since toddler-hood. She did things in the playground that made the other moms freak out. (Of the "Do you know your three-year-old has just climbed on top of the tube she's supposed to crawl through?" variety.) She was always careful, though, so after the first few heart attacks I didn't freak out as much.

I, however, suffer from a combination of your type of vertigo and the type that makes you shake when you get up too high. But I'm still toying with giving real climbing a go. I know intellectually it's entirely safe, and it could be a sort of acclimatization therapy. Or I could lose it and end up just belaying for whoever I go with. ;-)

[potztausend.livejournal.com]

What a *won*der*ful* idea! It is perfect for a little girl, it's not just fun, but she learns a lot about her skills and her strength, too, in a very playful way.

It's so often that girls are educated to look at themselves as a person "in relation to" someone, much more than it is done with boys, so I am always happy about a girl who learns to feel her own strength and that she can rely on herself, without asking immediately for help.

Great post. *nods* *nods again*

[nsandik.livejournal.com]

AWESOME!!! You both totally rock. I am sooooo impressed!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely all about making sure Ros knows she should do whatever interests her, and teaching her to rely on herself. It's why I'm also happy she's into Taekwando.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a totally fun day!