Kids in the kitchen

Our Rice Krispie
castle to "help us
learn about castles!"

With temperatures in the single digits and the pandemic still very much present, we've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen nowadays. Sometimes I think I should just move in. But we've also made a lot of amazing food, which brings me to the topic of kids in the kitchen.

I first started cooking with Kalina by my side when I found myself ending up cooking often (3-7 times per day) and always with Kalina, well, by my side. Because she never left. In fact, once I even started writing in my head a cookbook of recipes you could easily complete with a baby in a front carrier, without injuring the baby (it had one recipe: PBJ). 

So Kalina spent many meals riding on my hip, as did her sisters. As soon as she was steady enough, I pulled up chair, barricaded it with other chairs, and stood her on it so she could "help," hovering over her lest squeeze herself through the small gaps and tumble off. And help she did! I'm pretty sure she could break and egg and measure baking soda accurately at 2 or 3, as could the others.

Of course, that's not the full story. Most of the early days of cooking with kids including watching them like a hawk as they spill an unknown and unmeasurable fraction of the baking soda on the counter, wiping up and recalculating after they break eggs half in the bowl and half out, and bringing out the broom at least once or twice, and often the vacuum.

So cold our bubbles flattened!

Which naturally generated some stealthy behavior on my part. The challenge, on occasion: to throw together something without the toddler at the time seeing--because sometimes I didn't have an hour and a half to make a batch of cookies. Once I nearly succeeded in making an entire batch of pancakes in blissful ease all by myself, only to be sabotaged when I was nearly finished. "I want to help!" -Elise. No biggie--the 2-year-old can certainly stir a batch of pancakes, right? Not without pulling the bowl off the counter and all over herself and the chair, she can't! Fortunately (for me, anyway), Matt walked in the door from work shortly afterward and was able to supervise a quick bath while I whipped up another fancy breakfast-for-dinner meal. Look at me go!

It didn't take the girls long to learn that baking = chocolate chips about 90% of the time. They quickly learned to love baking, and all the little tastes that go along with it. Still. Still the tastes. 

By age 5, Elise was creating her own cupcake recipes that we all somehow pretended to like (maybe we only liked the frosting?). First, she added too much milk and salt to the flour concoction. They took 30 minutes to "bake" (read: cook off all the liquid) and the texture was...less than cakey. But with enough butterscotch chips and apple chunks, paired with the frosting, they were tolerable. Next, too much egg. Matt "saved his for later" and "gave the rest to Grandpa," while I consumed some, hid the rest, and made sure Kalina's helping was 2/3 frosting so she could get it down without making any of the obvious comments. Then we adventured into such "extras" as baking soda and vanilla, and reasonable amounts of sugar and salt, which helped. By age 8 or 9, the cupcakes were quite tolerable, and at 10, she discovered the merits of lemon peel added to her "chocolate bite" cupcakes, which seems to have completed the recipe. She's even handed it out.

Naomi has been
sewing felt
animals completely
on her own! (The
purple puppy is
not one of her
creations...)

Fast forward a decade, and everyone is helpful. Actually helpful, as long as I'm not in a hurry. They can chop with real knives. They can handle raw meat (if they're not too grossed out). Cookies are not a problem. And Elise is finally willing to cook with, and learn from, a cookbook. (She still firmly believes that a recipe doesn't really count unless you made it up yourself, though.)

Things that haven't changed: We still make a pretty big mess (granted, sometimes it's because our projects are bigger) that no one wants to clean up. However, while the broom always comes out, the vacuum and mop often get to stay put. Also, the tastes--they've gotten both sneakier and bolder.

I've also still retained some of the habits of panic-cooking that I gained over years of just waiting for some meltdown or catastrophe as the veggies are burning in the pan or my hands are covered with raw meat. Even now, I attack the meal. No relaxing music while I leisurely and lovingly put together dinner. Even though I almost probably could, since meltdowns are a bit rarer (or at least different) nowadays, if I weren't simultaneously teaching pre-algebra, accompanying voice practice and guessing the answers to strange riddles.

I do, however, summon my patience, still, to let the girls help nearly as often as they want. Even if it means dinner will be 15 minutes late due to beginner carrot-chopping or biscuit-making. It's literally all I can do not to shove the child out of the way and take over, and I probably have once or twice over the years, but this is one of the ways in which being a parent grows you. Sometimes I even keep my voice patient as I say, soothingly (I hope), "I'm trying really hard to get this in the oven fast, Sweetie! So let's focus and get 'er done! Thanks for your 'help!'" Sometimes I hope they can't audibly hear the quotations around "help."

As Kalina has grown, she's enjoyed making meringues, deviled eggs, guacamole, and honestly anything that's a little bit "fancy." Her cookies will all be evenly shaped and beautifully decorated, and anything that's hand-shaped will look uniformly neat and tidy. But she's also good with chopping up veggies when called on for a special project, and enjoys peeling onions and garlic. She also made up a sandwich-themed PBJ casserole one evening, and has plans to make some more (ham and cheese, BLT, etc.).

When asked on a random night if she'd like to help with dinner, though, she'd rather read 90% of the time.

Unless, of course, we're making something exciting--like world cuisine. Every February we cook delicious Russian food, to go along with the frigid weather, and this February I think we outdid ourselves. 

Pelmini and borscht! So
yummy!

We always make borscht, pelmini, and blini, and this year added in piroshki, which were a bit high-maintenance, but super popular. Elise has been trying so hard to like pelmini, and found she finally did this year! She also almost likes borscht--enough to fix herself a nice bowlful, and eat a few bites. Kalina enjoys it all, as long as there are plenty of potatoes in the borscht. Naomi likes anything bready and fruity. Truly we're ready to open a Russian restaurant because it's all so yummy, and not too hard with the fact that the girls are usually actual helpers, and not the "wink-wink, nod-nod" types of helpers, unless of course I'm in a hurry.

Doesn't she look like
someone out of a
Beatrix Potter book?

Naomi in the kitchen is a bit of a different matter because she's in this easily grossed out phase (it's been a long one and a doozy) and won't touch anything that has even touched meat, or even sat on the same cutting board, even if the meat has been cooked. She also won't touch veggies that she doesn't eat (so, most of them). She won't help make anything she doesn't want to eat, except under duress, and wants to add chocolate chips to everything (don't we all?).Other than that, she's a great kitchen helper! She'll always have plenty of baked goods to eat.

The kittens are clearly
ready for warmer
weather!

What Naomi does like is to break eggs, and then let the slime drizzle through her fingers before submerging her whole hand and playing with the yolk. That's what she likes to do, but only manages to when I don't catch her at it. Potatoes? Disgusting. Raw egg up to her wrist? Sign her up!

And finally, possibly the best thing about kids in the kitchen, other than all the fun projects we take on, and the companionship, is the fact that at lunchtime I can say, "Go make lunch," and they can each pull together something reasonable and balanced efficiently and with hardly any help. Elise goes for grilled cheese, Kalina might boil herself an egg or pasta, or make some guac if there's an avocado, and Naomi instantly thinks bread and jam (to which I usually make her add peanut butter). And while they think that means they could totally survive on their own, at least I know it's a step in the right direction. 

Double digits for Elise!

It's a truly happy birthday indeed when you get to
hold a kitten.

 Elise turned 10! Amid all the appropriate fanfare, thanks to careful planning before our big trip. She noted all the times people exclaimed "double digits!" to her throughout the week, and seemed slightly disappointed that there weren't more. Still, it was a good day.

As per custom, we started the day with Lucky Charms. But these weren't just any Lucky Charms: these were fruity Lucky Charms! Elise has been excited about these for nearly a year, and stressed as well. With the last birthday of birthday season, she worried that her sisters would choose this cereal for their birthdays, and she wanted the new flavor to be a first for everyone on her birthday. (Complicated, right? This is my life.) I made no promises, but she got her wish. The pink, loosely strawberry flavored tidbits got us off to a great start, in one sense, anyway.

Naomi made all kinds of fun
animals for Elise: a parrot, a 
cat, a unicorn and a squirrel.

Naomi was quick to offer up her gift, a make-your-own felt donut animal kit. And of course, Elise was all smiles as she surveyed the decorating job we'd all helped with the night before, and the birthday button we pinned onto her. Celebrating comes so naturally to this girl and she relishes every minute.

The turtle cake!

Our day was going to be packed, so I got started right away on Elise's cake: white cake with almond flavoring (she has excellent taste!). Elise loves nothing better than decorating her own cake on her birthday, and we made this one look just like a colorful sea turtle. She has great ideas when it comes to cakes.

As Matt had taken the day off, he joined us as Elise opened a few more presents. We quickly got stuck on a coral reef game and, naturally, had to play it right away. Thanks to some sort of birthday magic, Elise won! She was nearly dominated by Matt, who fortunately got into the birthday spirit just in time. 

They work! We made her wear
alllll the padding outside.

Then she opened rollerblades, as I'd remembered that once she'd thought 10 would be a good age for rollerblades. She'd since forgotten, which made the surprise even better. She couldn't wait to try them, so Matt took her out on the trails after a little practice in the kitchen. She loved the smoothness of them and rollerblades several times daily, usually with a sister running along beside.

Amazingly, all of this activity took us right up until lunchtime, which was to be Matt's famous chocolate-chip pancakes. [This birthday brought to you by...sugar.] Afterward, we hurried to get ready for Nature Club, and it's ensuing party, which started out super-simple (just Nature Club + cupcakes) and ended up accumulating a craft, goody bags and decorations. Honestly, though, we wouldn't have it any other way for our sweet Elise.

Elise still loves goody bags above all else, and she'd taken care to put them together the previous day. Kalina, Matt, and Naomi decorated the deck, Elise compiled the craft supplies, and I made sure all the details were handled. The weather cooperated by being my definition of perfect: 70 degrees and sunny.

Guests were early, but we were ready. The girls rushed out to the stream to find supplies for the nature craft, and Naomi and her little 5-year-old friend (she loves 5-year-old friends) pulled half her Calico Critters and dolls outside onto a picnic blanket to play. House rules right now include outdoor playdates, but not indoor--much to the consternation of several 5-year-old friends. But we make it work and I'm secretly delighted by the arrangement for all the reasons you can probably guess.

After a bit, we started our nature craft: making nature-print necklaces out of oven-bake clay and natural materials. The girls got really into it, and made an average of 5-6 each. Fortunately, thanks to the other mom who stuck around, I actually remembered to bake them. Unfortunately, because of my rush to toss them in the oven after having forgotten for so long, I forgot to check the holes to make sure they were big enough for the string. Fortunately, we made it work.

The girls played on the zipline while we cleaned up (Naomi and her friend were still going strong in the driveway with toys). When I heard "let's go to the stream!" I quickly called them up for the decorated cookies we'd picked out the day before. Because I know how the stream often goes, and how the result is not conducive to cleanly eating cookies. 

Everyone but Elise devoured theirs (I think she finished hers the day after her birthday, liking to nibble and savor), and then she opened her presents. Her friends apparently know and love her very well, as she received all her favorites. 

And then it was stream time. Miraculously, no one ended up too dirty. The parents arrived as we were distributing goody bags and trying to poke thick cord through small holes to finish necklaces.

It wasn't hard to blow out all the
candles on this chilly evening!

Then, we quickly switched gears for the birthday dinner with Grandpa and Marianne! Elise had chosen macaroni and cheese for her meal (my stovetop version), which Matt supplemented with grilling and I supplemented with steamed carrots. Unfortunately, I hadn't found the usual pasta or the usual cheese at the store but, like many things 5 days after a big trip, we made it work. 

Opening a camp chair, like Kalina's. She also,
predictably, received a towel set, just like her
sisters did.

Elise loved every card and gift she opened, and she loved feeling celebrated, her favorite foods, and seeing her people. What an amazing 10th birthday!

At 10, Elise is in her element: she's able to carry out her own plans, she enjoys all her relationships, and life isn't too hard. The world is hers. 

Except for all the daily injustices: having to sit in the back of the van without a window that roles down because she's the only one who doesn't get carsick, having dental work, having to do school, having to clean up ever, etc.

She's quite vocal about these, but fortunately, about the good things, too. She knows how to sweetly and sincerely compliment like none other , and is still a word wizard, making us all laugh, but firmly at a 10-year-old level.

Regarding oobleck, a cornstarch-and-water substance we played with to discuss the states of matter: "Man, I bet scientists are doing a lot with oobleck!"

From a conversation: Me: Nobody loves you like your mommy loves you. Kalina: What about God? Me: Well, that's true, but... Elise, beaming: You've got to try!

Elise faithfully writes in a diary every night, and has for more than a year. (She's even inspired Naomi to as well!) She writes stories regularly, and tells them more often--especially to Naomi, who's an eager audience, and she's developing a series about uni-animals in a forest. 

She's still more adventurous than the rest of us, but also cautious--she has her limits, for sure, although they aren't always where we'd want her limits to be. Still, it's nice to see she has them. She bikes faster and climbs higher than the rest of us, but it's nice to have someone leading the way. And she's more likely to take risks, but would be considered risk-averse in other families. It's fun for us to have someone who's "out there," and will star in our plays and do the silly stuff the rest of us are a bit nervous about. She's got spunk.

Elise loves natural beauty and is getting pretty decent at drawing it. She continues to adore the outdoors, but is moving away from her dream of becoming a survivalist because, "I have a feeling that when I'm an adult I probably won't want to anymore. I mean, do you see adults becoming survivalists?"

With the goal of landing a decent part in a musical (because not many plays for children are produced by the places that are easy to drive to), Elise has been taking voice lessons from her piano teacher since February. She's enjoyed singing, and is learning a ton, including how to stay in tune. 

Elise loves language arts but doesn't like math. She's also super excited about history (middle ages this year) and anything biology (marine biology this semester). She dives into thick books and will likely finish all her birthday books (and there are a lot!) within a couple weeks.

She loves to chat with adults, and thinks little ones are cute, and she continues to be easygoing and fun, unless you're trying to get her to do math or put away laundry. Elise takes things seriously, and although she's supremely cheerful, definitely reaches a limit with people who either distrust her or needle her.

Her favorite animals, other than kittens, are probably tadpoles, and we managed to find two or three different kinds this year. Baby turtles--the kind not much bigger than a quarter--are also a favorite, and we maintained quite a few aquariums this summer. Fortunately, she's happy to help with all the caretaking. 

She still loves to bake and cook, and she "perfected" her cupcakes by adding some lemon peel. She wants to write when she grows up, and maybe be a park ranger. 

Elise received super-soft, warm,
teal boots. Doesn't get much
better than that.

Elise likes nature, crafts, good books in a variety of genres, streams, climbing, writing, baking, tasting, the color aqua-blue, sweets, cheese (and things with cheese in/on them), soft things, warm things, her watch,  skorts, jackets/sweatshirts, swimming, rollerskating to upbeat music, anything scented, yarn, silly things, virtually any animal, clever advertisements, the planet Venus, adventure clothes, running ahead, putting on plays, talking, helping Naomi (sometimes), marbles, and taking apart her treats to make sure the save all the frosting/chocolate chips/etc. for last. 

She strongly dislikes, and often lets us know: dentists, dental work, braces, her bracket (another form of dental work), windows in the van that don't roll down (hers), vegetables, math, having her hair brushed, injustice, baths/showers, super-obvious advertisements, romance, and dead-end arguments.

Rollerblades!

Elise is a great negotiator, but is at least least occasionally polite and reasonable in doing so. IF she had a vice right now (don't we all?) it would be distraction, as she can ping-pong around a room/house and never return to the original spot. To do what she was originally supposed to do. Sometimes this frustrates her (I tried to do my math, but things kept coming into my head!), but mostly it entertains her.

She has a mature understanding, many times, about what's reasonable or what's not. She often says things like, "I would have asked for a second cookie, but I know that since we got popsicles earlier in the day, you'd say no. So that's why I didn't ask." We can tell there's a lot going on in her head, and we often get to hear about it. 

Elise is truly her own person, and she couldn't possibly be any dearer. Happy birthday, sweet Elise!!

Me and my birthday girl!

Our Little 7-Year-Old

 Naomi is 7! But if you ask her, she'd rather be 6. She's had a lot of fun as a 6-year-old, and is concerned about growing older. Nevertheless, she managed to enjoy a pretty amazing birthday.

[For some reason the photos won't allow me to text-wrap around them, so this post is going to be super choppy. Hope it works better next time....]

Sisters are still the #1 way to make a birthday special, and Kalina and Elise rose to the challenge, celebrating every little moment with her. We began with birthday cereal: chocolate Lucky Charms, which even Matt tried a little of among his Cheerios, reacting about how you'd figure to Naomi's complete delight.

And of course, there were presents: a birthday dress for Naomi and Elise's gift to her, a book of pompom animal crafts. Naomi's been happily making pompom animals on her own, but this book took it one step further, so a large portion of the morning was spent making a tiny multicolored hedgehog and, for Elise, a red squirrel. Kalina began a bunny, making an amazingly perfect pompom that is currently...an amazingly perfect pomom and nothing more.

Naomi also opened a stuffed red panda, which she'd been asking for but, as she later confided to me, she didn't think I'd actually be able to find. I'm not sure the red panda has felt the floor under its paws since. Kalina helped her make an impromptu bamboo craft out of popsicle sticks so the panda would have something to eat.

After a pretty low-key morning and Matt's famous chocolate-chip pancakes for lunch, we opened another gift (a laundry set with a washer/dryer that really turns--because Naomi has a lot of laundry from her dolls and Calico Critters), and then headed to the neighborhood pool. Which has been packed this summer, for obvious reasons. 

Amazingly, we had it to ourselves--or at least it felt that way because our presence nudged out the two sunbathers who had been enjoying some peace and quiet. We felt bad, but hadn't exactly been canonballing into the water, so not too bad. 

Naomi has been learning to swim, so she paddled around a bit and we enjoyed our floats, and dumping Daddy into the pool and such for nearly an hour before unattended teenagers and then 5 young boys and their babysitter showed up. By this time, we were chilly enough, with the temps only reaching the mid to upper 80s, that we decided to call it good. 

A Zoom birthday! Quite fun--
if Covid has done one thing
for us, it's gotten us connecting
more!

Back at home, Naomi enjoyed a few presents, and we chatted with Grandma and Grandpa on Zoom. Before we knew it, it was time to pull everything together to have Grandpa Tom and Marianne for dinner. I hustled out the door for dinner and balloons, and everyone else tidied up.

The lighting is off,
but it was a very
pretty cake!

While Naomi enjoyed her pizza and breadstick meal from Fazolis, it soon became clear what was really on her mind: her purple-frosted angelfood cake! With rainbow sherbet on the side, in case the cake itself wasn't sweet enough. Although a little timid of her candle, she relished her moment and then devoured the cake. After a few more gifts, we called it a night: birthday officially celebrated!

Notice how the red panda,
named Cuddles, appears in 
every photo for a while.

The next day, we held a tiny outdoor friends party for Naomi, because we do like to celebrate! She wanted a Build-A-Bear party like last year and fortunately, Build-A-Bear came through with a stuff-at-home kit. So, for way less than the cost of making Build-A-Bears at the mall, we distributed small animals to her 3 guests (and Elise, who steeled herself to be okay getting the unchosen animal) and used the fun plastic machine to pump in some stuffing. 

I'd been a bit concerned that maybe some of Naomi's friends would be "over it," and not get as charmed about the whole Build-A-Bear process as, say, 4-year-olds. Conversely, I also worried that they'd be way too into it, and erupt in tears if they didn't get the exact animal they wanted.

Kalina noted that the
stuffing machine uses
an Archimedes screw,
no batteries required!

In the end, the only "problem" was that one girl didn't want to use the stuffing machine and instead wanted to stuff her animal herself. Which, as you've probably deduced, wasn't a problem at all, unless you count the fact that I thought the stuffing machine was super cool and I wanted everyone to play along and use it. Even though that would make more work for me. But I let it go and we all got on marvelously.

Kalina and Elise were excellent help, as Elise added the pizzaz to the "heart" ceremony thing they do at Build-A-Bear, and Kalina fetched and helped at a split-second's notice.

When the bears (actually, 1 unicorn, 2 kitties, and 1 bear) were stuffed, someone suggested making parachutes and launching them off our deck. Someone else suggested materials, and soon we were semi-floating animals down to a blanket below. Alright.

Covid candle-blowing,
single-serve style.

Then, someone complained of being hungry (the girl who is always hungry when she visits our house), so we broke out the cupcakes and juice. It took all of 2 seconds for the cupcakes to be devoured. Which was a minor issue because Kalina and Elise were hiding goody bags and clues around the yard for a mini treasure hunt, assuming that the girls would be distracted for a good 5 minutes. Fortunately, a friend of mine had stuck around so she managed to keep the girls in one spot while Kalina and Elise scrambled to finish and I took care of something inside the house.

Not sure where we'd be in this
world without sisters.

Soon, the girls were off racing around to find the locations their clues sent them to, and then enjoying the zipline and swingset. The girls knew each other, if only vaguely, and they all got along like old friends. Last of all, Naomi opened her gifts. She was delighted to receive a soft cat that you can actually take for a walk. And that meows at us. And scares the actual cats. She also received cat costumes, which also scare the cats--but not before we got at least one good picture. So this was not the very best day for our kitties, but Naomi sure enjoyed herself!

She's also zipping through thank-you notes like a pro; faster, honestly, than anyone in the house ever gets them out. 

At 7, Naomi frequently wavers on the line of big girl vs. little girl. For one thing, she can go out and play with her sisters without returning 5 minutes later in tears due to some injury, real/imagined and physical/emotional. She can keep up, emotions intact. This is huge. And yet, Naomi also loves to dabble in the little-girl world of pretending and baby animals.

Naomi's relationship with Elise has developed a lot this year--they're better friends than ever and actually share interests. Elise is delighted to have a rapt audience for her sweet stories about magical animals, and Naomi is thrilled to be Elise's writing partner. "Kalina is good at editing and Naomi is good at encouragement," Elise compares. They also both enjoy yarn crafts and general silliness. Naturally, Naomi and Kalina get along wonderfully as well, but Naomi and Elise are enjoying more togetherness than they have in the past.

Naomi reads fluently and phonetically, but she still often prefers picture books chapter books. She questions the need for much conflict, let alone tragedy, in any story. "Why couldn't they just make it work out okay?" she will ask through near-tears. She loves Mr. Putter and Tabby and the Wellie Wishers books, and anything about animals or anything silly, like Amelia Bedelia. Before I read her a chapter book, she'll often ask if anyone dies in it. 

She's excellent at puzzles, writes very neatly when she takes the time to (which is not always), spells quite well, knows her way around a globe, and plays piano quite well. Now that she's conquered reading, site-reading music is no biggie, and she likes to sound out her own little tunes. 

Naomi also enjoys singing and occasionally turns everyday moments into a musical. Which is sweet, and especially hilarious when she turns on her Italian/Spanish impression (on meatball night it's Italian, when Matt's doing Spanish with the kids is more Spanish) and kind of sing-songs her words. She cracks us all up.

Although Naomi's a lovely caretaker, she can't stand anything human-body. If one of us so much as mentions the word "blood" or "bone" she covers her ears and begs us to stop. She's totally good with Band-Aids, though. And will handle slimy things that I run from.

While not super adventurous (she's still learning to bike and swim), Naomi can be coaxed into trying new things by getting used to the idea. Except foods--nothing can convince her to try new foods unless they fit into the "fats, oils and sweets" category of the food pyramid. When I mentioned that it can be convenient to try to branch out, she replied, "But Mommy, it will be easier when I'm an adult!" She kinda had me there....

Naomi's been described as super sweet, easygoing, and great with younger kids by her friends' parents and grandparents. In fact, she loves hanging out with kids a couple years younger than she is, to indulge the part of her that enjoys being young, to smile at their cute antics, and, probably, to feel big for a change. But she also gets along great with her friends who are her own age, and even a few of the older girls' friends, making her a well-rounded little person.

She has a silly sense of humor, and sometimes, the zanier the better. When she gets into a fit of giggles, she finds it hard to stop--and we find it hard not to join in. She's incredibly ticklish still. She's also generous with her friends and sisters, especially when it comes to sharing windfall treats.

Naomi loves dot-to-dots and mazes, and makes up her own crafts. She will do anything to check a box in her schoolwork and likes a good worksheet. She can easily tie shoes, catch a minnow or toad, make herself any animal costume, kind of jump rope and hula hoop, roller skate across the kitchen (but not exactly with correct form), make up jokes, solve multi-digit addition with renaming if she really thinks about it, memorize poetry, empty the dishwasher, put away laundry, name continents, oceans and some states, make herself a PBJ, sew (kind of), and braid her dolls' hair. She still gets really creeped out by being alone on any level of the house or in her room, but we're working on it.

Naomi is alternately a little sunshine trying to cheer everyone up, and a hard, competent worker. She decompresses by crafting, reading, or taking care of animals, and she's definitely an introvert. If she's too tired, she worries, but otherwise generally roles with things pretty well--as long as she's not taking them personally or anxious about change. 

The girl has been wearing 2 French braids every day for a full year. I think she likes how they feel. She also still sticks to dresses, with exactly one skirt-shirt outfit she finds acceptable, plus her American Heritage Girls uniform. She likes new clothes and shoes, but they come with their own stresses--especially if she loves the look but finds it uncomfortable. Fortunately, her preferences are easy to work around, and are loosening up a bit.

Naomi is a little sweetheart of a girl, and we're so blessed by her, every day!

To divert you away from the saccharine sweetness of this photo,
I'll mention that the kitty ear headband was too small on Kalina
and caused actual, physical pain. She's that good of a sister.

Kalina is 12!

Happy birthday, Kalina!!!

Kalina has gained the distinction of being the first coronavirus birthday of the immediate family! Woohoo! Or, not so woohoo?

Fortunately, many of Kalina's interests are simple to fulfill and often take place outdoors, so her personality aligns well with pandemic precautions. We celebrated with kayaking, a Dairy Queen ice-cream cake, opening presents, enjoying the presents, and a deck dinner (Jason's Deli delivery) with Grandpa. She thanked me profusely at the end of the day for such a nice birthday.

On Monday, a few friends came over for stream exploration and a cookie cake outdoors. We were super grateful to be able to do something fun with friends that was still relatively safe.

After our adventures in
lighting the ice-cream cake,
we had to take pictures
pretty quickly.

Plus, there are kittens.

Kalina is 12! The year has been nothing but sweet. She's fun to be around, easygoing, imaginative, and usually very accepting of her little sisters (although everyone has their limits).

Kalina is noticeably able to work hard without complaining--which usually shows up in her schoolwork. She's more focused than ever before (although the kittens are going to pose her biggest challenge yet). And she's more of a box checker than I would have imagined. It's not that she likes work--and I'm never allowed to forget that for long--but she likes it better if it can be erased from the board when she's finished. Don't we all?

She's super organized, too. With a nightstand and shelves looking much better than her sisters', she's already saying she needs to reorganize them. I think she enjoys it, she's great at it, and I am secretly hoping she'll tackle a few of my drawers and cabinets. Will trade dinner for organization.

Birthday girl sisters make the day!!

Kalina's mind is sharp and she is quick to point out contradictions or things that don't add up. Despite being abstract, she highly values logic and reason. She has no patience for gimmicks or tricks, and can spot them a mile away.

Still dreaming of walking on the ceiling (there's all that empty space!), designing unnecessarily complex systems, and creating whole rooms with specially made shelves for kitties and other critters, Kalina's imagination only seems to be growing. I can't wait to see where it takes her. Her art teacher has noted her creativity, but Kalina still only takes on art projects in a group setting. Kalina's piano teacher has also commented on her musical abilities and the way she always not only nails her scales and arpeggios, but also builds on them. Logic + creativity. When she hears classical music, she's laser-focused on it.

We didn't get pictures of us
canoeing, but we did get
pictures afterward in the
really fun tree we like to
climb. This time, we got to
hang out with baby robins.

At 12, she's not super outgoing, but gets along well with and enjoys people she's with. She's a loyal friend, although she definitely needs alone time to process. Books are still very much her go-to, and she never minds re-reading a book, even a half-dozen times in close succession.

Kalina enjoys big group projects--she loves working with the food pantry, setting up a campsite, building a pet enclosure, or anything like that she can be immersed in. And she's an idea person, so if there's a problem to be solved, she's likely to come up with creative solutions. Not all of them practical, but sometimes.

Kalina can memorize like nobody's business--words, facts, or music. In fact, she'll often do her piano lessons muchly from memory, not always opening the book until after she's played the piece and they've talked through some of the details.

She's taken on the viola this year, which she plays nicely but is getting burned out on because she's not yet part of an orchestra. We're really hoping that happens this fall. She's proud of all her musical abilities, including her perfect pitch, but gets frustrated with the daily work involved.

She flosses daily without being told. To the point that even the dentist had no words for her.

Kalina dug right into building tracks.
They're getting increasingly complex
as she learns all the techniques.

What she likes: puzzles and games, watching the funny things animals do, all our outdoor activities, logic and sudoku puzzles, vacations, camping, places that look like enchanted forests along the trail, guacamole, science fiction/fantasy, the number 64, long and complicated words, making poison dart frog tanks, chaos that she creates, telling elaborate stories, volunteering, birds of prey, Lego minifigures, the globe, the Periodic Table of the Elements, black holes and other astronomy quandries, hard-boiled eggs, quotes from books or famous people, marble tracks, the Archimedes screw, and cats, still.

What she doesn't like: pink, technology/screentime (except the occasional high-quality movie), picture books that are written in terrible rhyme, shopping, jewelry, doing her laundry, the thought of driving someday, work that's not her idea, pop music, sports (except the occasionally family game of something), a page full of math problems, contradictions, busywork, and bananas, unless they're on a peanut-butter sandwich and accompanied by marshmallows.

Kalina is a rare treasure of a girl--firmly down to earth, but with her head soaring in the clouds. Love you, Sweetie!

The traditional picture that I wedge
myself into every year.

Naomi wiggled her way into Kalina's
birthday blog thanks to her wiggly
tooth, which she saved for Grandpa
to pull, having heard stories from Elise.
Turns out, she didn't need to worry
about saving it, as it was more firmly
in place than we thought! She was so
brave!! Way braver than I was, not
being able to watch or listen.

The kitties liked Kalina's
new camp chair, too.

Okay, so we weren't 6 feet apart the
entire time, but we were for most of it.

Our traditional Jason's Deli meal
without the deli.

Outdoor gifts!

Kalina, age 11

And just like that, another year in the life of Kalina has gone by! It so happens that this year, Kalina's birthday fell on a Friday. She enthusiastically opted to invite friends over for a party that same day (which got my vote), as well as hold nature club, which conveniently fell on that date anyway. I knew it'd be a big day, but at least it'd pretty much be only one. Besides, it's fun!

Kalina was in a cheery mood all week, which is somewhat easy to do when you're picking out decorations and tablewear for your party, and anticipating all kinds of good things. A few of the best moments happened on Thursday, when Matt and I each managed to hang with our birthday girl for a few hours on our own. I took her to Jason's Deli (her favorite) and then helped her decorate for her birthday (she wanted to make a tree out of streamers--always an artist!). She enjoyed dinner and a walk with Matt, including a fast walk back home to bring fishing polls back to potentially snag a catfish (no luck).

According to Elise, Kalina began her special day by waking her up singing a whispered, "Happy birthday to meeeee..." Cute. But maybe not as cute for Elise. The girls all devoured chocolate Lucky Charms for breakfast, but fortunately saved a lot of the marshmallows for later. And then forgot about them. Shhhh.

Sweetly, the sisters began shoving presents at Kalina as soon as everyone shared breathing space, although Kalina declined them all until she had finished breakfast. Elise had spotted her first gift for Kalina, donut erasers, in Target long ago and hid them away so she could come back in claim them. Which, amazingly, we did! Elise also gave her a pyramid Rubick's cube. Naomi had remembered a book Kalina had gifted to another friend, as well as the longing look in Kalina's eye when she gave it away, and gave Kalina a copy of that same book. Nice work, girls!

The day being hot after a beautifully cool month of summer, we headed to the pool as soon as a few rooms were deemed clean and ready for the party. This is how, by the way, wise moms manage to get kids to somewhat cheerfully work on their birthday. I felt so smart. The pool was lovely, as was a lunch of pasta.

After lunch, we opened a card game and played through it, with Kalina winning every round, Naomi doing a different activity entirely (thank goodness--it would've been a disaster for her), Elise trying her hardest to keep up, and me trying my hardest to fail without anyone noticing, just so we could keep the mood upbeat. Matt, working summer hours, soon arrived home and we enjoyed an hour or so of calm before the storm of activity that would soon follow. Kalina opened a music player, a world puzzle, a whole ton of books and cat pajamas, among other things.

Then it was time for Nature Club! We lectured the girls about the dangers of bacteria in stagnant water, and directed them to a spot we had deemed "safe" for them to wade in the stream. In truth, I know nothing about such matters--just that some places in the stream look really gross, and others look relatively okay. And they all totally believed it. The weather being so hot, we made the girls drink plenty of water, and then turned on the sprinkler for a few minutes. It's amazing how wet one can get in just a few minutes of sprinkler time. Matt went after a large catfish and a large carp, much to the girls' delight, and then started teaching everyone how to start fires. In a very safe, well-supervised fire pit, of course. Elise had the idea to try flint and steel, and Kalina, just when we were about to give up and move on, actually ignited her cotton in a burst of birthday magic.

The cotton caught fire just as
Matt was about to say, "Let's
try again another time!"

Although I'd planned for about 20-25 minutes to catch my breath between Nature Club pickup and birthday party dropoff, I instead got all of about 30 seconds. After letting Nature Club run late (so Kalina could ignite the cotton) and as Kalina was frantically changing out of her wet clothes, I was frantically searching the house for cash for the pizza delivery guy (their card machines weren't working) when I noticed people standing on the doorstep. Apparently, I'd missed the doorbell and both the first guest and the pizza guy were 10 minutes early. I literally had to tell the poor guest in our entryway to "wait here for just a minute, I'm so, so, sorry, what pretty flowers, I need to pay the pizza guy, I promise Kalina will be here in just a second" and the poor pizza guy to also wait, but on the doorstep. In the end, a birthday-girl-sister earned her keep by unknowingly lending me $27 from her envelope of allowance money. Thanks, Elise, hope you enjoyed the pizza! (As of the typing of this blog, it's already been repaid.)

After this hurried transition, however, I was able to get the table ready and welcome other guests a little more appropriately, and even catch my breath.

Kalina, meanwhile, was enjoying the outdoors with her buddies. When they came in, she was engrossed in a Harry Potter trivia contest with two of them. One would quote a line from one of the 7 thick books, and the others would compete to say which book and character the quote had come from. All this completely from memory. As two more guests apparently either weren't interested in Harry Potter or weren't allowed to read it, I reluctantly diverted attention away from the game. They all embarked on Two Truths and a Lie, practicing their deception skills instead of their free-recall memory. But who's counting? Actually, it was super fun.

One challenge during this time was to actually let Kalina enjoy her party without being too loved by her sisters. Although Matt and I felt a little terrible pulling Elise and, to a lesser extent Naomi, away, we knew our oldest probably needed a little time to feel, well, old on her birthday.

It helped that the escape room game we were playing was clearly rated for ages 10+. Normally I don't point to age ratings, but sometimes it's necessary so the birthday girl doesn't get drowned out by younger enthusiastic sisters. Meant in the nicest way, of course.

Kalina, who adores ice cream but, in true Odegaard style, is somewhat ambivalent toward cake, opted for a Dairy Queen Oreo blizzard cake this year for her birthday. I love making birthday cakes for my girls, but I couldn't help but silently cheer that I could bypass baking on this busy week with the help of a phone, a credit card, and a helpful husband on his way home from work. Plus, the cake tasted amazing. She lit the candles (fruit themed!), and we managed to sing before the cake melted.

After we ate and I whisked away the dishes and Matt whisked away the (reluctant) younger sisters, it was time to break out the escape room game. I explained the concept and the girls immediately insisted they actually wanted to be locked in a room. As most of the locking rooms are bathrooms, we settled on simply closing the door to the bunny's room. Then, they'd have a bunny and an escape room, so, win-win.

But first, snacks. I'd set out a big bowl of cheese balls, another of saltwater taffy and a third of veggie straws. Never mind the fact that the girls had just wolfed down pizza, watermelon and large pieces of very filling ice-cream cake. They devoured the snacks like a swarm of locusts, as though dinner and dessert had been a work of fiction.

Then, Kalina grabbed the timer, we opened the box, and they were off! I left them to it, delivering water, allowing endless snack refills, as though the previous snack had been a dream, and occasionally providing clues (many of which they didn't really need). I'd initially been concerned that the girls wouldn't be interested in an escape room--that it might go over their heads, or be too intense for a party. As it turned out, neither of these things were obstacles. The game's puzzles definitely took some figuring out, and I had to help them initially to learn what kind of solving to do, and occasionally we had trouble sharing/feeling left out, but overall the girls worked together, did an awesome job and had a ton of fun. As the game features an extra 30-minute add-on, we might just get together again to finish up.

Best Kalina quote during the game.

"Maybe it's not about what we see. Maybe it's about what we don't see."

They're breaking out of the
bunny room!

What a fun party! Kalina declared the day "amazing" and went to bed a super happy, well-loved 11-year-old. Mission accomplished.

At 11, Kalina is, ever, always, herself, and no one else. She was never an impressionable baby ("Look, Kalina, all these other children sleep through the night!"), nor an impressionable toddler ("See, everyone else is okay not being within arms' reach of their mommies!"), or an impressionable preschooler, young kid, or anything else. While she does seem to actually appreciate the well-timed tip every so often ("Maybe don't wear floral patterns on top of completely contrasting floral patterns"), she happily marches to the beat of her own tune. Which she has composed beautifully.

In fact, Kalina composes so many things beautifully that we can no longer tell her piano compositions apart from her regular pieces. She knows chords and note relationships with a greater depth of understanding than I've ever had, and is constantly amazed at what she can come up with. Starting the ball rolling on actually practicing piano...that's another story, for another blog. Not the birthday one.

When Kalina learns things, she learns them well. She immediately picked up on machine sewing this year, applying her skills to new and different creations. She's also taken crochet to new heights, crocheting fruit-themed bookmarks and actual picture designs that she plots out with graph paper, including a tree landscape and the solar system. She's much more adept at switching colors with ease than I am, and much more creative about her crocheting as well.

Kalina loves cacti, Harry Potter anything, watermelon, cold pasta, sushi (just what it looks like; she's never actually eaten any), swimming, biking, geography, tornadoes, knots, The Greatest Showman, camping, small children, thunderstorms, walks, tennis shoes and socks.

She likes to pretend to be a cat (sometimes to the annoyance of her sisters), can't take one nature photo without taking a dozen, and still considers "rainbow" her favorite color, because she just can't decide. Kalina does not like: pink, dresses, skirts, jewelry, spelling practice, most chores and amusement park rides.

The girl writes better than most adults, specializing in vibrant descriptions. She's nearly mastered the five-paragraph essay and plays cleverly with words. Lately she's decided that science writing, probably for children, would be a good career route, because she could incorporate photography, too. Her big ideas still usually cross the line into impossibility, but I'm glad she still has them.

Kalina still enjoys the "magic" of self-opening doors at places like the grocery store and the library, theatrically flourishing her hands as if she's in command and making me smile every time. She's an orderly girl and maintains a well-organized desk, bed, nightstand and closet shelf with no prompting from me. Thank goodness.

New this year is the whole idea that Kalina can "babysit" her sisters at home for short periods of time without me. When alone with Naomi, she often plays with Calico Critters, or other sweet little games. She's a bit nervous to use the phone, and she won't stay home completely by herself, but so far we've had no mishaps.

She'll happily spend most of her free time reading, but sometimes arranges Legos, crochets, explores the creek or helps me in the kitchen. Less happily, she antagonizes her sisters and has this passive-aggressive way of digging in her heels...but I digress.

Kalina's generally sweet, clever, helpful, creative, quiet, cautious and fun. She waffles between complete ambivalence and supreme engagement. This year we learned the word "introvert," which has helped her understand herself and her frequent need to recharge. She's very loyal to family and still generally doesn't mind if Elise joins in with her and her friends--just occasionally, which we all understand, even Elise.

We're ever, always so grateful this amazing 11-year-old is part of our family! Here's to another wonderful year!

Elise's Amazing Two Days

If you've chatted at all with Elise in the past couple of days, you know that she's 8! You also probably heard something about butterflies, Legos, Adventure Peninsula, Smores, and a betta fish, plus probably a lot more. She's had some great days lately.

Elise turned 8 last Tuesday. In keeping with tradition, we took the day off of school (but not piano lessons, which until she realized she could wear her birthday button and probably get an extra prize from the prize bin, she was super bummed about). She requested just a simple day at home.

The lead-up:
Elise, Saturday: "The day after tomorrow, will I get to say that tomorrow is my birthday?"
Me: "All day!"
Me all day Monday: "Elise, when's your birthday?"
Elise, grinning every time: "Tomorrow!"

Unfortunately, things went quickly downhill as she fell ill with a cold and fever over the weekend. So possibly my best gift to her was to force her to rest and recuperate with the result that she was, actually, pretty much recovered on Tuesday.

Of course it was hard to get to sleep the night before, for everyone, and of course it was easy to wake up the next morning. At 6:00, I heard the bathroom door open and close, but fortunately it wasn't until 6:30 that I heard, "It's my birthday!"

There was a bunny to take care of, and birthday-ish clothes to put on, and plenty of general excitement. Finally, presents! Birthday cereal! Celebration!

And the morning was every bit what she hoped it would be: nice gifts from nice people, a fresh box of Lucky Charms, and plenty of time to do the Lego sets, start the sewing kit, page through the books, etc.

We made her cake, and as it baked, we went on a walk with the two critter cages Kalina had given Elise. Amazingly, by the end of the walk, we had a new pet for each cage! A caterpillar that's still alive, and some sort of small, green stick inset, which was mercifully released. Plus some algae to look at under the microscope!

We enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for lunch, and then Naomi gave Elise her gift: the opportunity to go make some Lego people at the Lego store--a favorite activity. Of course, I was planning to do the driving. Elise chose to redeem her gift on her birthday rather than wait, so after I royally messed up her cake icing (adding cocoa when it was supposed to be white!), we piled in the car for the trip to the mall, followed by the piano lesson.

At the mall, Elise painstakingly pieced together three Lego people before I realized I could offer to let her choose a $10 Lego set instead. As the pieces available in the minifigure bins were disappointingly repetitive, Elise delightedly found a cute little animal set she'd had her eye on all along. Perfect! Off to the lesson, after doing the library drive-thru (yes, a drive thru! Happy birthday to me!) and the gas station.

Meanwhile, Naomi, who was not having the best day but whose mood improved the second we were released from her sister, and I formed the Birthday Squad, rushing to Target for more frosting to rescue Elise's birthday cake, plus more necessities. She gratefully accepted a sticker at checkout.

Naomi, at checkout: "Mommy, do you think I'll get a sticker?"
Me: "I don't know, but remember we don't ask."
Naomi: "But Mommy, do you think I will? I really want one."
Me: "We'll just have to wait and see!"
The cashier, of course, couldn't help but overhear. "Here's her sticker." I was possibly more grateful than Naomi.

And the birthday was a whirlwind after this: I rescued the cake, Grandpa came and we went out to eat, and then Elise opened the rest of her presents and shared her rescued owl cake with everyone. Yum! It was a great day.

Since we actually had friends to invite to a party this year, Elise decided she'd like a small, nature-focused party with just a couple guests. But that wasn't all that happened on Saturday: it ended up being a day jam-packed with fun.

But it didn't begin that way. Having run through the schedule in my mind, and seen the Legos scattered throughout the house, I knew this was only going to work out if we reigned it in a bit. So until it was time to leave for her first activity, monarch butterfly tagging, Elise was busy helping me get things in order for her party. Thank goodness we'd already put together the goody boxes the day before! Whew! :) (Elise still adores goody boxes.)

Butterfly tagging was restricted to ages 8+ (a detail Elise enjoyed, especially since she'd been left at home the year before), and Matt took both the older girls while Naomi indulged in Blues Clues with her otter and I continued to get ready for the party (we also played a few board games, so she wasn't entirely ignored!). Matt had the brilliant idea of collecting their tags and skipping the ranger talk, seeing as the girls could probably give the talk themselves, and so our group was the first on the prairie. Whether for that reason or due to a sheer plethora of monarchs (which there is this year), it didn't take too long for them to place 4 of their 6 tags. Plus, everyone got to catch at least one butterfly--even re-catching some they'd already tagged! Amazing!

As if that wasn't enough, Matt agreed to stop at Petco on the way home so Elise could use the birthday pet certificate that was burning a hole in her pocket. After weighing the various merits of hermit crabs, betta fish and hissing cockroaches, she decided on a fish. Its name is Opal, and it's beautiful, with blue and red fins and a whitish purplish body.

And the birthday party hadn't even started yet! The two guests arrived, plus one guest's older sister to play with Kalina (they made a really fun space-themed Lego stop-motion movie), and Elise was able to show everyone everything cool in and around the house, included some of the unique pets, the stream and her new betta fish.

After watching her pet tarantula eat, the girls dove into a forest-animal sewing project, in the screen tent (the weather, by the way, was stunningly perfect). I hung out with them, and was eventually only needed every couple minutes or so, as Elise and another girl already knew how to sew. Their attention span for this lasted nearly an hour, and would've lasted longer if I hadn't let them know their parents would be coming in half an hour or so, and thus raised the alarm of, "But we haven't played much in the stream!"

Off the girls raced to explore. Possibly a little too much: within 5 minutes Elise was back, mentioning, "Um, we might need a little supervision..." So I went to supervise, trying to strike the balance between, "Yay, it's a birthday," and "Yikes!!!" Eventually, once the giant branch was done being lowered onto the narrow ledge with two girls on it (the ledge, not the branch) and everyone had dashed off to a safer locale, I wandered back to the house to help Matt get the campfire and s'mores ready.

A few minutes later, I heard calls from the girls, and saw that they were now proudly standing across the stream, in a place no one previously knew how to get to--and announcing that they weren't going to be telling how they did it.

Elise, now so completely over the moon we might never get her back, named the place Adventure Peninsula, and still hasn't stopped talking about it to absolutely anyone who will listen. Being Elise, she eventually brought her sisters there, and then Matt and I, and Grandpa, and she'd probably bring you if you so much as mention the word peninsula. Or stream. Or hello.

The girls triumphantly returned and enjoyed s'mores, gifts and goody boxes before it was time to go. I was glad we'd chosen to purchase whistles for the goody boxes, as now when Elise goes off exploring, she at least has a means of getting help if she needs it.

Shortly after the party, we attended an AHG campfire, where we all enjoyed another round of s'mores.

It'll be hard to top this birthday, but knowing Elise, someday she will!

Our sweet Elise at 8 is now a fun mix of sugar and spice. Agreeable, fun, pleasant and even "adorable," as she was recently called but someone who'd just met her, she can also out-eye-roll a teenager. We're hoping she gets it out of her system now--because some of the looks she gives us when she disagrees with our decisions could wilt a flower. She has a very strong sense of justice, as long as the justice is clearly within her wishes. Which means that everything outside her wishes is, clearly, unjust.

And yet, fortunately our girl is mostly sugar. She adores her sisters (although occasionally at arm's length, especially when feeling pestered), makes good decisions, saves her money for a reasonable amount of time before spending it, loves animals, is improving at drawing, does the bunny chores every morning, plays piano very nicely, has read Harry Potter (but is okay not going on yet--they're a pretty high reading level), still really likes to cuddle, has a great laugh, still talks really loud when she's excited, can memorize a times table in 5 minutes and forget it just as quickly, can manage a recipe mostly on her own, still obsesses about treats, likes manageable adventure, climbs anything like a pro, roller skates quite well indoors, doesn't do well with suspense or awkwardness in books, and still does a masterful job of bridging the gap between childhood and adulthood.

Elise is still super into mermaids, and is working on fleshing out her idea of Eliseland, which includes everything she loves and an area for mermaids. She lives there alone, but has a house next door for visitors. She's writing a series of chapter books about mermaids who rescue ocean animals. There are 7 ocean zones she's working with, and 7 mermaids for each zone. Soooo.... She's about two chapters in and has drawings of most of them by now.

She's also into squirrels (she occasionally feeds one from the back deck), the ocean (except, apparently, when she's on it), unicorns, rescuing animals (she also has a series about this that she's working on), nature, the stream and bugs. She likes weird pets, just like Matt, and will tell everyone that she has a tarantula and an axolotl, and now a betta fish. Elise is great at sewing, and loves making little things out of felt and embroidery floss.

Elise loves to reminisce about "little Elise," and remembers remarkably well what she was doing or thinking even as a two-year-old, telling stories and reminiscing about what was going through her head. She thinks she was pretty cute, but doesn't realize that she still is.  Yet she's clearly considering the future: she plans to live off the land in the wilderness of Alaska when she grows up. Alone, probably, because she figures no one else has the same dream. But she'll have plenty of animal friends. She spent part of the year training--running laps, doing pushups, etc., to get in shape for this venture, and she's been discussing survival kits with Kalina a lot.

Elise's enthusiasm is unmatched when she's really into something--and overpowering. Nothing else matters until her muse is fully explored, and nothing compares, especially all the boring ol' work I make her do. What's more, everyone else needs to understand and appreciate whatever she's into, preferably on the same level. She does this so sweetly it's never a chore, and many of her interests endure even after the initial high, but even a sweet tidal wave is still a tidal wave.

Elise began to get self-conscious this year, although her perceptions and hesitations are usually reasonable. She took off her Birthday Girl button at Build-A-Bear when we stopped in on her birthday because she didn't want the salesperson making a big fuss over her--apparently she noted what happened with Naomi and wanted to go incognito. But who can blame her? It's the kid version of the birthday sombrero and serenade--blech.

Elise is often the one to rescue us from bugs when Matt's not around, or even when he is, since she insists they be treated humanely. She's generally very resourceful and intuitive and willing to tackle projects on her own, which is just a breath of fresh air sometimes. She can reliably be counted on to remember things and handle a task, as long as she's on board.

Her ideal outfit: Cozy sweatshirt, skirt and flip-flops. Her arms get cold, but not the rest of her and flip-flops are just...so...something. She sneaks tastes from the kitchen every chance she gets.

Kind and generous, Elise at her best is a complete sunshine without which we'd be a somewhat dull household at times. There's no one better to help celebrate any kind of holiday. She's quick to forgive, quick to join in, and can be surprisingly patient. She's often so sweet with Naomi, reading to her, playing nicely with her and increasingly considering her an equal (although we're not there yet). Elise still, on the other hand, considers herself not a day younger than Kalina, and holds her ground so well that not even Kalina herself would argue that. She's helpful, honest, loyal and tries her best, taking life seriously most of the time.

We're excited to see what new adventures abound for our sweet Elise this year! We know they're out there, and are confident in her ability to find them. Love you, Elise!