Double digits for #1

Kalina is 10! That means a lot of things:

1. She has the appetite of a normal person, and not a small rodent.
2. She's starting to be okay being by herself. Not entirely. Not in the basement. But sometimes.
3. She can do her laundry by herself! Really! And clean a whole bathroom as well as any man! (Yes, I know. But I have yet to find a man who can clean one better than a woman. I would imagine they're all okay with that.)
4. Fully half of her questions I have to Google the answers to.
5. I can usually trust her with my camera, a sharp knife and Naomi.
6. She sometimes prefers to hang with the adults rather than run off with the kids.
7. The neighbor put her in charge of watering her plants while she's on vacation (Matt's helping).
8. She still sleeps with Lisa the lamb, from her baby shower.
9. She still says breakstfast for breakfast.
10. She still wipes dirty hands on her clothes (although, see #3: I'm hoping this problem will take care of itself.)

A sloppy s'more with a huge
marshmallow!

And now she's up to double digits, which she doesn't seem to see as a big deal.

Kalina's birthday was the hottest day on record in the area in 2018, and the day before, when we had her party with her friends, wasn't much cooler.

We were thrilled she actually knew enough girls to make a party, because it really is hard to start over with friends unless, apparently, you're Naomi. Even better, two of her friends happened to be birthday buddies with her. One shared the same birthday (but is a year older) and another is just four days older than her. Fun!

Kalina invited four friends. Three, plus a sister who's friends with Elise, were able to make it for an afternoon of playing at our house, having pizza, watching Night at the Museum 3 (she's seen the first two at other events, and loved them) and making smores over a campfire--yes, even in the 100-degree heat. For gifts, she requested that everyone bring a donation to a dog shelter.

Look at those marshmallows!

The four-hour party turned into five, and by the end we had an aquarium full of little frogs the girls had caught. The giant marshmallows roasted well, albeit sloppily, and they all managed to put on a rather nice talent show that included magic tricks we still haven't figured entirely out. We handed out goody boxes that we had fun putting together because they included geodes and rock candy.

The long-awaited gift from
Naomi.

On Kalina's actual birthday, we broke into the customary box of Lucky Charms, and dove into the presents. She opened a "new" camera while Matt was still around so she could chronicle some of the day. Naomi literally couldn't wait for Kalina to open the gift from her, and shoved the nesting-doll painting set she'd picked out and helped wrap into Kalina's hands as soon as the camera was unwrapped. Elise had found her a fossil-sorting set that was similarly a big hit, and which she opened right after breakfast.

A pound of fossils to sort kept her busy
for a while!

In fact, the fossil set took us right up to the time we had to leave for the rock/fossil/mineral event the library had planned just for Kalina's birthday for the community. We spent nearly two hours there, sorting specimens, stumping the experts with questions (nice that it wasn't me in the hot seat for a change!), examining some really unique rocks, excavating a chocolate chip cookie and negotiating for geode pieces (Elise the hero managed to score a piece for Kalina!)

More fossil sorting at the library

After a lunch of hot dogs, we (Naomi and Mommy) rested, and then we suited up for the pool. We got to try a new air mattress, but in a mommy-fail, I forgot to have Kalina open her new swim fins before the pool. Fortunately, at the time of this writing, they have been tried and loved twice.

What else do you do on a
super hot birthday?

For dinner, we enjoyed Jason's Deli with Grandpa, and then Boston cream pie, made by Daddy, at home.

And 10 has officially been celebrated!

At 10, while we do have indication that Kalina will one day be a teenager (judging by hints of an attitude...ahem), she remains sweet and fun. She continues to get swept up in the moment, and enjoys new experiences as long as they're not too daring. And she loves to learn new things, being more likely than the others to dig into nonfiction books.

Boston Cream Pie!

While she is likely to hold back in groups where she doesn't know anything, Kalina actually makes friends fairly easily when the kids are allowed to interact. She can be silly and a natural and cheerful leader in groups of people she's comfortable with.

K in magnetic stones.

Kalina still holds a huge fondness for animals and young children and their antics, and she can be highly patient and entertaining to toddlers, especially. She seems to be entirely at home with the bizarre nature of dealing with toddlers that has so often left me flabbergasted. She's volunteered several times in the preschool rooms at church and has not only had lots of fun, but also has really pulled her weight! Which she does also around here, occasionally, when I am not enough of a fun parent to cajole Naomi into putting away her crayons.

Kalina's super excited about: rocks/minerals/fossils, Russia/Russian, music (playing and composing), mice/rats, Sherlock Holmes, geography, Native Americans, storytelling, reading, puzzles, the number 64 (because of all its factors), swimming, birdsong, games, super long words, engineering and streams.

She adores reading but really picks and chooses her books, rejecting virtually all of the popular elementary-aged girl books in favor of better-quality stuff. Except Rainbow Magic Fairies--she still loves those (as does Elise). The only trouble is that after reading the same great book or series over and over and over, she'll then reject the similar, well-reviewed title I tracked down from the library.

"Now I know what a duck
feels like!"

Kalina: I have nothing to read. What should I read?
Me: Here Kalina, here's one that's similar to the one you love, that lots of people who loved the book you love also loved, and that got amazing reviews. I found it online, requested it from the library, and picked it up two weeks ago.
Kalina: Mmm, no. The first page was too complicated.
Me: How about this one? It's about a Native American girl, which you love, and it's written in diary form.
Kalina: I don't like diaries.
Me: I loved this one when I was your age.
Kalina: No thanks.
Me: How about this one, which you read an excerpt from and asked me to request?
Kalina: I'm just worried about that one.
Kalina: What books did you like when you were my age?
Me: Several of the ones I just suggested.
Kalina: Oh.
Kalina: I don't know what to read!
And by then, she's on her own.

Hanksite, plus two bonus minerals,
from Grandpa!

(She's just a bit picky--but she does choose a lot of good stuff. Except the fairies.)

Anything she does consent to read, she finishes in record time, so we may be repeating the process in mere hours. On the plus side, she will reread books half a dozen times if they're good.

Kalina can machine sew, build and start a fire solo, work with fractions and decimals, write decently in cursive (but generally prefers print), front crawl and backstroke, make pasta, compose lovely piano pieces, apply her own sunscreen (except her scalp), operate the washing machine, take a decent photo, discuss DNA, make a purchase by herself, ask for help from teachers and library/store employees, clean a pet cage (mostly), expound passionately on the fact that Columbus didn't really discover America, chat with people of all ages, catch minnows, tadpoles and crayfish, yo-yo, hula hoop and entertain younger kids for blocks of 5 minutes or more with the stories she tells.

She has strong opinions against art in general, but sees beauty everywhere (hence, the camera). She remembers quotes from books and people and can hum you a tune after she's only heard it once. New this year is her tendency to get wrapped up in her piano practice. Although she'll grumble an appropriate amount for a 10-year-old, during her practice time she'll compose amazing pieces and remember them (and sometimes even write them down). She's considering starting flute or violin, but also wants to get good at piano. Without practicing, of course (don't we all).

Often lost in the moment/her own world, Kalina lives firmly in the "here and now," rarely remembering tasks and deadlines unless she's for some reason motivated. But she's fun that way, because when she's excited about something, she'll easily carry the activity. Not necessarily the way that it's intended--but often enough. Her ideas are big and often impossible, somewhere between Rube Goldberg and M.C. Escher, so we have to discuss them in the subjunctive mood. But they're fun to dream about, and it never stresses her if we don't get around to them.

Kalina prefers fruity candy to chocolate and jeans to dresses, she likes rainy days, she thinks pink and purple are overrated, and she's developed an intense desire to make sure animals aren't hurt. She very rarely has nightmares that wake her (or me, anyway) up anymore, but had a really bad one after reading Just So Stories right before bed. Fortunately, she knows she has to be careful about what she reads at bedtime. She still doesn't care anything about what people think of her, but that's usually a good thing. She'd really like to live in an upside-down house, so she could walk on the ceiling and it would be completely clear of debris. And she doesn't like airplanes.

And that's our Kalina! 10 rocks!