Happy 6th, Naomi!

Happy birthday, sweet Naomi! I'm a bit late with this blog--but we've been doing other big things!

Naomi turned 6! We celebrated early by taking a couple friends to Build-a-Bear on a Saturday morning. And the store did its part by conveniently holding a really nice sale!

We met first thing in the morning, before the rush--although another birthday party was happening at the same time. Naomi had invited her two besties, both of which happen to live in the neighborhood. The older sisters tagged along, too. Elise decided she actually didn't want a Build-a-Bear, and she and Kalina visited the Lego store with Matt shortly after the mini-party got underway. They had a nice, time. :)

Back at Build-a-Bear, each girl hemmed and hawed over the various stuffed animals, and then over the outfits and accessories, of which they were limited to one, and please not, like, a light-up princess dress that costs easily as much as two human-girl Target dresses. Naomi picked a colorful bunny, which she aptly named Cotton Candy, and her friends both chose mer-bears. Naturally, we hammed it up and drew it out, giving the animals "baths" and trying on a few different clothing items.

I'd realized this could get quickly out of hand, possibly even with tears, so I mentally prepared for various scenarios the day before. I didn't mean to obsess about the price, but having spent other birthdays at Build-a-Bear, I know how fast the money flies in that store. That being said, I was prepared to spend what I needed to to avoid any guest returning home teary-eyed. I needn't have worried: one, a fairly practical girl, had her heart set on a relatively small accessory and the other had her down-to-earth mom in tow helping facilitate. And Naomi had been prepped ahead of time. So we all had fun, even the one holding the wallet.


After our bear/bunny-building fun, we headed to the food court for a mini unicorn party, complete with unicorn-horn hats and decorate-your-own cupcakes I'd devised that morning with the help of a large convenience store (and I wasn't the only party person last-minute-shopping, either!). The best was when we got creative with the horns (see pictures).

So much fun, and I didn't even have to clean my house!

Naomi had counted down the days to her "actual" birthday for weeks, and when the day finally arrived, she was all business. She knew the routine: new birthday dress (sometimes--not always), birthday sisters making a big deal of things, birthday cereal, and, of course, presents! She soaked it all in and enjoyed herself all day.

High on her wish list were Calico Critters, which Naomi can't seem to get enough of right now. True to form, she played with them nearly all day, taking breaks for games and crafts and a quick trip to the pool, seeing as this was set to be about the last hot day we'd be available and in town during the summer season. She's still playing with them virtually all day, whenever she has free time.

Part of the day's fun was watching the unicorn cake come together. Watching Mommy try to make the unicorn cake come together, anyway. In the end, it all worked out, although the cake ended up not nearly as Pinterest-worthy as all the other "easy unicorn cake" examples I Googled.

We had a birthday meal at Jason's Deli with Grandpa, followed by their free ice cream, so by the time we actually cut the cake, appetites had dwindled. Especially since we'd just celebrated my birthday a few days before. Still, objectively speaking, the cherry cake was delicious and Naomi felt truly celebrated.

At six, Naomi is still my sweet, silly and sensitive little girl. In no hurry to grow up, she nevertheless has taken big strides over the past year. Yesterday she swallowed some baked potato, for instance, and she seems to be resigned to learning to ride a bike--protesting at first and enjoying herself some time later. And she's gained weight and height, much to my relief.

Naomi pumps her swing high, puts her face under water, takes care of Andy bunny, does her share of chores (actually, probably more than her share if you really consider their ages), reads many words, wants to get things spelled correctly, manages monkey bars, imitates her sisters, rides a scooter well, takes off Band-Aids without a fuss, can make a PBJ sandwich, is nearly through her primer piano books, learns math facts without even trying, and lives in a world of pretend. She's heading toward a crossroads of big and little but, no matter what we tell her when she's "learning to swim," she's still more little than big!

I'm pretty sure Elise wouldn't have stood being the "baby" of the family at six, but Naomi seems to embrace the position--although of course we don't actually call her a baby. Her voice sounds so little (even when she's not pretending to be younger or more bunnyish), and life often just seems bigger than she is. Especially the parts of life in which she's cleaning up toys, losing at games, and not getting her way. She clearly plays the role of damsel in distress--however, not always insincerely. She's always been more sensitive than most, so many times, the emotion is real. If, however, you need a dozen bunny babies fed, bathed and put to bed, Naomi will be all over it, and she'll help them handle their emotions, too.


Naomi's currently a little bit obsessed with Laura, Mary and Carrie Ingalls (Naomi's Carrie, of course--the youngest of the three), which works well, because whenever we have conflict, Laura usually takes my side. I'm hoping Naomi doesn't grow tired of, "Do you think Laura would have even been allowed to complain about cleaning up a mess?" Because it sort of works, sometimes.

She still enjoys arts and crafts--often making things out of popsicle sticks, string, sequins and the like. And Naomi still occasionally makes crafts inspired by books--for instance, she made a tree from the Lorax out of a popsicle stick, which she colored, and a large pom-pom. We don't get quite the proliferation of drawings anymore, but I imagine they'll come and go in stages. In the meantime, the trees of the world are breathing a sigh of relief.

Naomi is often an orderly, rules-following, box-checking little soul--except when her youngest-child wild streak overrules. She certainly likes things a certain way, but if everyone else is making good decisions and being relatively amiable, she'll stir the pot with a big mischievous grin on her face. Especially if she has an audience. Case in point, the girl is virtually impossible to photograph unless you want her bizarre poses pictured. Which sometimes we do! Sometimes. On the other hand, if you give her a list of things to do, for instance a morning routine or a worksheet, she will often finish sooner than her sisters.

It's Mount Stuffmore, made by Naomi!
"Mom, you know those big statues
made of rock...?" This was before our
trip to South Dakota!

Naomi gets the giggles whenever she sees dogs, and sometimes babies, and any baby animals. And she loves younger kids, with whom she plays so sweetly and attentively. One of her favorite things to do to her sisters, however, is to give them big, uninvited hugs. It drives them no end of crazy. Naomi is also loving tag--or at least her version of it, with bases never out of arms' reach, and occasionally the person who's "it" also being "base." Her sisters now flat-out refuse to engage; however, sometimes a sympathetic parent (okay, me) will occasionally chase her around.

I experimented with my
new camera, and Naomi
was super patient. But she's
still only 6. :)

As for fears, some of her intense ones (wolves, bears, bugs, being alone in the bathroom, etc.) are dwindling. She has virtually no fear of wasps, as we were all but infested with them in the late spring and early summer. They've never hurt us. While grown workmen working on our house ducked and swatted, Naomi would stand, cool as a cucumber, making us proud. She now likes to rescue bugs.

Naomi sweetly makes up little songs sometimes, humming or singing. When she grows up, she currently wants to be a story writer, or a missionary, and/or a mommy. She adores her friends and family, but is fine playing alone, too. He bright smile and personality are totally irresistible, wearing down even the sometimes-annoyed sisters, and we couldn't imagine a nicer, more imaginative, or more up-and-coming little 6-year-old. Here's to the best year yet!