Happy Nine Years, Kalina!

Kalina's two-story box house,
complete with library!

Kalina is 9! She has settled so adeptly and confidently into 9 that it's hard to remember that she hasn't always been this age.

In keeping with tradition, we started the day with birthday cereal (Lucky Charms) and a host of goodwill. As Kalina walked down the stairs she gasped in delight, Kalina-style, at the beautiful decorations greeting her. But those decorations didn't happen all on their own--Kalina's own biggest fan put them into motion.

On birthday eve, Elise and I went out shopping as we'd recently discovered the thoughtful gift Elise had ordered wasn't going to arrive on time (if at all). Her mortified tears turned into constant cheerful chattering as we headed to Petland (a fact Elise shouted to the world as soon as we closed the door behind us) to find some mouse gear. We also found puppies, a bunny, birds and other cute animals it was very hard to leave behind. Probably harder for some of us than for others...

Celebrating a couple days early with
Grandpa Les and Grandma

After making our purchases there, we headed across the parking lot to Target, since all of our birthday decorations are buried somewhere in the mass of boxes at our house. Elise obligingly helped me make good decisions on various celebratory goods, made an attempt at snagging some extra treats, and blew up balloons on the way home. Thank goodness she did--my braces and Matt's surgery made the task difficult enough later that we almost got Elise out of bed to come help some more. She assured me the next day that that would've been totally fine.

Virtually as soon as Kalina walked down the stairs in the morning, Naomi shoved her present into Big Sister's arms and Kalina good-naturedly opened it right away. A stuffed baby goat greeted her. Naomi truly gives from the heart, remembering how much Kalina had loved feeding the baby goats at Grant's Farm. And of course, it's not a birthday unless there's a stuffy. New this year: she kept it a secret the entire time!

Then she opened Elise's present. (Elise: "We almost got you a puppy! But we decided on these instead.") She had found some things for the mice, and also a couple of Kalina's favorite books.

The morning was filled with the "it's my birthday!" glow, which makes everyone generally get along and play happily together. We visited the stream in the backyard, checked the mail, opened a few presents and fixed one of Kalina's favorites for lunch: bagels and cream cheese.

Kalina's early birthday at an
amazing stream. The sun
stayed long enough to make
it pleasant!

About a month ago, before we moved, we'd held a pre-birthday party for Kalina with all her friends. She decided to have it at a beautiful stream that's perfect for wading and catching critters--Kalina's very favorite activity. We had a great turnout, and the rain held off exactly as long as it needed to--which was until we were all in the picnic shelter drying off and having lunch.

So today, fortunately, Kalina was feeling fine about not having a bit celebration, but we did want to do something special and so headed to the local pottery painting place. The girls each chose an animal to paint, and Elise convinced me to get a plate big enough to eat lunch off of. My worries that it would be impossible to do any painting were totally unfounded. Actually, the girls helped, as I stamped their hands (three coats each) as my design--since I'm really not that great at painting flowers or anything anyway.

Painting pottery

Kalina's red squirrel was adorable and she cherished every minute of painting and looking at cute pottery animals, and Naomi's puppy bank will be pretty in purple and pink. Elise's turtle is very sweet, with polka dots on its shell. Her empathy for the woman cleaning brushes exceeded her artistry, however, and she opted to forgo additional coats of paint on the polka dots since she'd already put her brush in the sink and didn't want to dirty another. And Naomi, who was short on sleep and really did have the option of bouncing from wall to wall of breakable objects, chose instead to sit or stand patiently even though she was finished before everyone else. Everyone seemed a year older today!

Back at home, Kalina opened a complicated K'Nex set and dug right in while we waited for Daddy to come home so we could go out to supper. He walked in the door with a beautiful bakery cake and flowers for the birthday girl, and we rushed him out to Jason's Deli--Kalina's favorite.

The meal was great, and we enjoyed our first round of ice cream for the day. Back at home, Kalina was awed at the beauty of her cake. She helped light the candles and grinned as we sang and took pictures. Possibly because of the big meal and ice cream (we were on round two, along with the cake), she only took about two bites of the cake. And possibly it was because the frosting wasn't her favorite.... But what a beautiful cake!

Then we carefully opened cards, and slowly opened presents, until Naomi wasn't going to last much longer (but of course couldn't miss anything) and we needed to rush to bed. Kalina's birthday was lovely, as always. But I get the impression that with Kalina, it's not the special activities and treats that make it lovely--it would be a wonderful day just by virtue of the fact that it's hers. "It's my birthday!"

Oil change and tire rotation
in Grandpa's workshop!

So, what's Kalina up to these days? She's interested in all things STEM, possibly excluding the math part. She's been known to offer keen insights (for an 8-year-old) helping Grandpa Tom  with vehicle maintenance, come up with Rube Goldberg-esque inventions, avidly study water flow and filtration (plus catch lots of critters) and build all kind of structures, both real and imaginary.

Contrasting with her enjoyment of machines and inner workings, Kalina continues to flourish as a ballerina. She and her class startled us with their graceful, complex movements in their ballet performance, and Kalina is known at home for turning routine activities and events into lovely dances. What a joy to be around!

Kalina truly lives in the moment, with intricate ideas and funny little jokes. Far from running from other kids nowadays, as she was known for in the first third of her life, Kalina now easily makes friendships, and often leads her group of friends. True to her introverted self, however, she's also just fine being alone--especially when there are books, projects and nature to entertain her.

Speaking of books, Kalina discovered Narnia this year and has not put it down for long. It's her go-to, and she reads and re-reads her favorite chapters (yes, by the chapter--a practice that would drive the rest of us crazy). She finds the humor in these books, and also the wonder. For her, they're the epitome of a good story. But Roald Dahl also suffices, except for the "scary" books.

"Blanket Time" preschool!

And Kalina has taken great strides in her big sister role. She's proven herself capable of getting her littlest sister "ready for the day," a feat that involves imagination, negotiation, convincing and lots of patience--all of which she wields in exactly the right proportions, and especially on the days when I fail miserably. She invents games and activities they can all enjoy together, and is her sisters' biggest fans, enchanted by both of them. As long as they don't interrupt her in the middle of a good book, of course....

Of course, I'm writing this in the summer, when we've been done with school for a month. It's possible that not all of this would be true if I were asking Kalina to finish up her math problems, or get her spelling done. Just possible.... Although to be fair, Kalina's fortitude was much improved this year. She didn't always greet tricky spelling sentences or comparing non-equivalent fractions with open arms, but they weren't quite the end of the world that they used to be.

Kalina as a Canadian
snowflake in her ballet recital!

Kalina performed beautifully in her piano recital, and memorized lots of pieces this year. She earned Memory Master in her co-op. She caught countless critters, including bumble bees ("They won't sting me because if they sting someone, they die." This theory proved to be true most of the time--and like many good biologists, she learned the truth the hard way.). She can kind of swim and can tread water for more than 2 minutes. She made meringues mostly on her own and other recipes as well. She can draw well, and she wrote her first chapter book this year. Kalina is more capable of cursive than she gives herself credit for (it's not, after all, quite perfect) but doesn't enjoy it (it's not, after all, quite perfect).

She can climb trees, ask questions I really have to dig to find answers to, clean a mouse cage (except the heavy part), empty the dishwasher without complaining (on a good day) and take pictures and videos on a phone. Kalina's lost eight teeth so far. She still calls me mommy, and she sleeps with Lisa every night. She can finish a mid-sized chapter book in one sitting and is very patriotic. She has saved up for the past couple years, hardly spending a dime (except once on charity, and another time to buy a piece of amber with a bug in it) and has more than $130. On the road, she studies license plates and remembers the plate numbers of several of our friends' vehicles. She has a large fossil collection, most found in nature.

Kalina bonding with a bird
she's feeding.

Kalina is grounded in reality but still loves to play, and will happily put on shows with her sisters, or make up preschool activities with Naomi. Her creativity knows no bounds--sometimes to the detriment of the house I just cleaned. She has a good sense of humor, and makes up silly songs and phrases for the amusement of her sisters ("A bottle of antelope and a bottle of cantaloupe are entirely different things."). She also has a good sense of mischief, however, that can occasionally get her into trouble.

She still daydreams often. "Can I please just think?" She asked recently. Kalina is still enchanted by baby animals and her little sisters. Her favorite treat is ice cream and her favorite food is probably bacon. She can also do a number on a can of black olives, and enjoys the Russian food called pelmini, which she makes with me every year (for two years in a row, anyway!).

Happy nine years, sweet girl!! You are such a blessing to our family!

At Ikea. So patient--yet not so
subtle! 

Kalina has inherited her
dad's knack for finding
four-leaf clovers!