Elise at 12

 If there's one thing that annoys Elise leading up to her birthday it's celebrating fall before celebrating her. As such, we have something of a family rule that we don't decorate for fall, buy anything pumpkin-spiced, or even talk about fall much before she's aged up. This year, however, she decided that September could be its own season. So it's kind of, almost, okay to talk about fall. [We do remind her, every year, that Grandpa Les has it way worse, with a near-Christmas birthday. This does not seem to change her convictions about her birthday + fall, but Grandpa gets a good dose of sympathy from afar.]

Honestly, I agree. September, gorgeous and lovely, is really neither pure summer nor pure fall. So we celebrated September as the summer-fall shoulder season this year, as well as Elise's 12th. 

Elise is surprisingly low-maintenance when it comes to birthdays. She's happy with anything (as long as there's a party and sweets), and is content to stay within a budget, keep it simple, consider others, etc. She conscientiously drops hints about what she wants to receive, so there's little guesswork, and she'll gladly help with celebration prep. I know she'll have a great day, no matter what.

On her birthday morning, Elise managed to let us sleep in a bit, but still started her day with fanfare and sisters. Having asked for  hinted about a camera (a rather large gift), for months, the rest of her gifts from us weren't gigantic, but she did open a stingray Squishmallow from Naomi and a book and a bioluminescent mushroom kit from Kalina. 

We enjoyed yet another box of Lucky Charms for breakfast (seriously, we call that breakfast?!?), and I baked Elise's cake so we could decorate it later. Then off to church, where Elise was over the moon to see one of her besties, who we don't actually usually cross paths with in church. Her family made a lovely fuss over Elise, and Elise's day was officially made. 

At home, Matt made pancakes (a new tradition for birthday lunch? I kinda hope so!), and we opened a game of Spikeball from Uncle Tom and Aunt Clarissa! :) We tried to play, failed hilariously, and generally enjoyed ourselves so much.

Then Elise decorated her cake to the theme of sleeping under the stars, her highlight of the year, thanks to plenty of fondant. She was putting the finishing touches on when Grandpa and Marianne arrived for lots more fun.

We made the trip to Jason's deli, opened more gifts, and then expertly pogo sticked a whole lot in the driveway (she got a pogo stick from Grandpa and Marianne and mastered it almost immediately, having borrowed one once for a while). 

A week later, Elise had some friends over for some low-key celebratory fun as well. They began with a craft--decorating wood cutouts of their initials. We even allowed glitter (under stringent rules since I was less than confident about some of the girls' ability to manage it responsibly--no offense, Elise's friends), although I regretted it later when I saw that the glitter didn't stick as well when the paint dried. I also regretted a wet paint/dry glitter blow-dry incident that you can still find traces of in the half-bath.

We enjoyed pizza (from two separate places--the cheap place that is the only kind one girl likes, and the gluten/dairy-free pizza for two other guests. Thank you Matt for doing that running around!), and then headed outside.

Earlier in the day, Kalina and Matt had created an awesome orienteering-based treasure hunt that took the girls down the trail a bit. I'm not sure everyone stuck with it, but they definitely all enjoyed roaming the woods, and eventually they made it to the end (which was, ironically, very close to where they'd begun. Even more ironically, they'd almost started digging there at the outset.). 

Next, a campfire and lots of s'mores options: gluten-free Oreos, Rolos, York peppermint patties (which will forever be known as Yonk peppermint patties in our house--a hilarious mispronunciation Elise is officially able to laugh at now), pretzels, fruit-flavored marshmallows, and more. 

And then, quickly, gifts. We'd requested only simple things. We ended up with everything from a lovely plant to a glittery, noisy rubber chicken. Hmm.

______

At 12, Elise continues to amaze us with her good-naturedness (that she seems to be purposefully developing even more), joyfulness, and volume. And curiosity. And occasionally, daring. And strangeness creativity.

She's as emphatic as ever about certain types of scientific knowledge (plankton, etc.), and the outdoors, and baby snapping turtles, and whatever book/craft/pogo sticking/new pet/whatever other hobby she's into. It's fun, really, to be pulled along through all her interests. Most of the time. Other times they hit you a bit like a train.

Elise asks great questions and shows great empathy and thoughtfulness, with a very well-developed sense of social situations. It's not that she acts on that 100% of the time--but if she was annoying adults by chatting too late in the tent with her friends, she will freely admit she needed to have quieted down. She's an encouraging little soul, too, trying to push her friends and family to greater heights. Again, not 100% in the right way, but getting there, and with the right motivations. 

Her pets in the past year have included a baby prairie kingsnake, a couple little turtles (painted, snapping, I think maybe one other), triops, copepods, tadpoles (2 kinds), a preying mantis, probably a couple fish, and of course her frogs and the standard things in our house. And probably more that I'm forgetting.

Elise still loves all things science, reading, writing, and theater. She's currently in Annie and in a show called Puffs, about the Hufflepuffs' experience at Hogwarts, in her theater class. She also continues to enjoy her voice lessons and loved planning and organizing the campout for AHG. Nature Club still continues, although it's been a bit bombarded by neighbors and is maybe not as big of a thing as it used to be, sadly. She's one busy girl!

People frequently mention how fun Elise is to talk to--a neighbor was even happy to drive her to theater classes last semester. She has no problem speaking to people of alllll ages. It's as though age doesn't exist--although she can definitely tell when people aren't acting their age, and she does value a certain level a maturity from kids who are old enough to know better. :)

Her sweet tooth still reigns, but she's just as likely to pop tomatoes into her mouth as chocolate chips (or, almost), and she even wants to try adventurous foods. She still climbs higher than we'd like, but is not afraid to do a lot of other things that we would like (get shots without a fuss, kill the spider, make friends with a new child, etc.).

She likes to tap into her creative side, whether by writing poetry and illustrating it, or, more recently, painting tiny canvases in national park-inspired scenes.

Here's some poetry she wrote in her math book, just like those monks copying manuscripts years ago added their own thoughts to the margins to make life more interesting:

The sunlight shines upon her fur,
So now it seems to glow,
And why she looks so pleased and smug is something I don't know.
The sunlight soothes her worries;
She purrs without restraint.
It's very clear this sunlit cat is perfect, without taint.

And on the next page:

I rub her chin, I pet her tum.
She blinks and smiles and rolls.
It is my job to pamper,
She pays me with her purr. 

And for the final stanza, she changes it up:

She's always, always sleeping,
Unless she's busy licking.
I try to let her rest as best I can.

In order to conserve time so she could write the poetry, she omitted some steps of problems and shortcutted her way to the final answer. Personally, I'm wondering if we should be doing math at all--after all, she could probably make her way in the world just fine with a little cat poetry and a smile. 

Speaking of math, it remains on her list of things she won't do without a fight. Also included: dentistry (still) and grammar. Other things she won't do without a varying level of nagging: clear her dishes at the table, brush her teeth/hair, clean her room, turn out her light and go to sleep (basically anything recurring).

She freely admits that she gets distracted easily and this keeps her from getting schoolwork done and sleeping at night. To the point that I had her take a self-test for ADD (turns out, her answers lined up almost perfectly in the "gifted" column, with almost none in the ADD column, so there's our problem...).

But she maintains enough focus to produce lovely art, hold interesting and in-depth conversations, learn all about microscopic (and non-microscopic) critters, plan an entire campout for AHG, bake amazing key-lime bars, learn a TON of lines for the play she's in, crochet an entire blanket, kayak and hike long (ish) distances, scatter joy around the world, and all the rest. Not bad for a 12-year-old!

Naomi's Ninth

Naomi was super excited to be
the birthday girl!

Naomi is nine! And nine is a big deal. Her birthday wish list, written on the dry-erase board, included the following:

A glue gun (later crossed off, because I didn't allow her to put glue all over the counter in an attempt to make solid glue creations)

A real pet Guinea pig

A pencil sharpener

A tape dispenser

Erasers

Really big drawing paper

A specific Guinea pig book

Mini lights that you could turn on and off, to use for crafts.

A stuffed axolotl Squishmallow (Google it)

Only later did it include things like:

A stuffed Guinea pig

Another specific Guinea pig book

Much later. Saturday later, with her birthday on Sunday.

Fortunately, unlike a certain stuffed puppy crisis of Christmas 2018, Naomi had a delightful birthday even knowing that she wasn't going to get a real Guinea pig (yet, anyway), and that she'd probably written the stuffed Guinea pig on the list too late to actually receive one. If she was feeling emotions such as "disappointed" or "frustrated," she bottled them up well.

But it'd be hard not to have a great day when waking up to a sweetly decorated dining room (llamas were the theme), plenty of gifts that she actually did request (nice of Target to have so many back-to-school sales just in time for Naomi's school-supply requests!), Lucky Charms for breakfast, and a sister sleepover the night before. 

I will never get tired of saying how grateful I am to birthday-girl sisters for making each others' days special. The two older girls pulled out all the stops even after losing sleep to a sister sleepover.

And even when, in addition to the stuffed axolotl from Elise  Naomi got the super cool gift they both probably would've asked for if they knew it existed: a 3D printing pen. I'd had the idea when Naomi gave up on the idea of a glue gun. "Wait... I think they make a product like that that's way cooler... Amazon?!?"

Eventually we made
guinea pigs instead
of random strings.

Although much of the melty plastic was initially used to make long vertical strings and other kinda weird little sculptures, Naomi eventually learned how to make a bunny... sort of. There's lots of room to grow, but the YouTube videos sure look cool.

Naomi was delighted to wear the Birthday Girl button at church--where they had a giant box of donut holes set out just for her (or for a volunteer recruitment event, maybe--but probably just for her). She loves going to her class and even made a new friend named...drum roll...Naomi! 

Fuzzy rug from Grandma and
Grandpa, and a cuddly sister!

Back at home, Matt had his super amazing pancakes all ready to whip up. Naomi opened a gift and played a quick game of Telestrations with me and her sisters, who were still, thankfully, not too worn out by all the celebrating to stick close to the birthday girl and continue to make it a special day.

There wasn't a ton of afternoon left after our late lunch, and before Grandpa and Marianne arrived, but Naomi had plenty of ways to fill it. Soon, though, we were metal detecting in the yard with Grandpa. Whose birthday is it?!?

Chocolate cherry
cake and llama
plates--a great
combo.

And then Jason's Deli, a rousing game of Telestrations (new family favorite?), more gifts, and lots of fun overall. Plus cake, and two different ice creams (if you only go to Jason's Deli once a year, you do kinda need the free soft-serve!), including Grandpa's special homemade ice cream. 

As a bonus birthday, Naomi also got to invite friends to paint pottery at a local studio the Saturday after. Although there was frequent confusion about which pastel color on the palette would turn which vibrant color when the pottery was fired, a patient attendant with a wet sponge was able to fix every mistake and help the girls enjoy their experience. 

See the worry in Naomi's face?
She's still nervous about fire.

Naomi painted an adorable orange and white cat (2 guesses where she got the inspiration), and enjoyed seeing her friends paint a mix of dolphins, horses, and other animals--plus Kalina's plate. We also enjoyed cupcakes and gifts, most of which were crafts. She's set up for a while now! 

It was a pretty awesome birthday, and so much fun to celebrate our sweet girl! Happy birthday, Naomi!

Naomi is gaining confidence as a 9-year-old, which shows up not only in how she talks to her sisters (which is ripe with pros and cons), but also in tasks that she takes on. Case in point: trying to earn 6 new badges over the summer so she can fill up her "flower" on her AHG vest. Ambition--I like it!

Naomi shows off her new
pencil sharpener, and I show
off my new 9-year-old.

Stuffed animals are still her favorite, but she's increasingly enjoyed playing with little kids this year, like neighbor girls and little sisters of friends, and her well-honed nurturing skills are transferring well. Moms/grandparents everywhere love her--she's a natural and she genuinely enjoys playing with littles.

Naomi desperately wants a pet Guinea pig, but also openly recognized that eventually she "might not be as into Guinea pigs anymore." So she wants a pet one before she's lost interest. Hmm... maybe we won't just run right out to the store for that one. However, if she maintains interest, and maybe at some point we're short a bunny...

She uncomplainingly and unfailingly takes care of the bunny, which she's claimed for her own (to the annoyance of Elise, for whom I don't feel much sympathy as she's unwilling to do anything about it) and renamed Oreo. She's done this partly to convince us she could handle a Guinea pig. And she's totally proved her point. Matt and I just can't handle cleaning out another cage.

Naomi's expanded her reading horizons, breezing through the only 3 Harry Potter books we've let her read and picking up a lot of historical fiction. She's been increasingly able to handle suspense and sadness in books, shows, and conversation, as well as even a tiny bit of blood and guts. We're up to, like, a paper cut.

Increasingly adventurous outside, Naomi will happily hold frogs and scale cliffs. Yet she's very scared of the dark, and ants. She's also a newly discovered claustrophobic. Worms are her least favorite.

Naomi's new skills include baseball (thanks, cousins, for playing with us!), practicing piano without needing much from me, violin, a pretty decent cursive, making pancakes, cleaning toilets, a solid doggie paddle and diving underwater, actually eating food she doesn't like (it happened! Like twice! Only because I made her, though...), using a porta potty (despite being claustrophobic and only, she informed me, because it was her only option), a few computer skills, doing her own hair, and drawing fairly well--her newest thing is to draw people sitting down. Like Mona Lisa. I think she may actually surpass my skills in that this year (not that that's much to speak of).

She had her first audition in a musical theater class this year, and earned a fun little solo part that she's really excited about. We're excited to see her personality shine through on stage, and she's been enjoying acting and learning to sing with a group. 

The girl loves flowers (always has, looking back--many wildflowers lost their lives to be stuffed into a vase after family walks), and is uncovering a new interest in interior decorating. We have vases with fake flowers that she arranged all over the house. And ceramic bunnies as decorative arrangements. And pompom animals. It's super sweet, and I'm counting the days until she can for real decorate my house for me. Until then I'm enjoying the colorful hodgepodge.

She also likes shopping with me, but mostly at stores that have "animal decorations" (i.e., ceramic bunnies and such). Usually, this means Hobby Lobby, but I've also convinced her to come along to Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond. Even the grocery store she doesn't really mind. 

She's asking really good questions lately, showing lots of thoughts and larger-than-life connections. We often Google things together.

Around the house, Naomi will happily do Elise's chores for her, but will freak out about washing dishes. Why? The plate may have touched food she doesn't like. Some things never change after 9 years--but we wouldn't have it any other way!

The mysteries of another pandemic Christmas!

More normal--but this
ornament, made last year, still
seems to fit. Plus it's
adorable.

Christmas felt more normal this year! Not entirely normal, as we again said no to a couple events and activities we would've loved to attend (our beloved Nutcracker, for one!). But it was nice to at least not feel the need to pre-check with the neighbors to make sure it would be okay for us to bake cookies for them.

Also, there was no astronaut when we picked out our Christmas tree.

The first major change was the major rush to Christmas shop. I usually prefer to begin my shopping the day after Thanksgiving, lest I get too caught up too early. And also since young kids have a way of changing their interests about 2 weeks before Christmas anyway (although mine are starting to level out, at least). But this year, having been warned about shortages and shipping issues, I started passing around the Christmas catalogs nearly as soon as they arrived after Halloween, and warning the girls that even Santa couldn't make guarantees this year. By mid-November, I'd even made a purchase! 

As would happen, the gift Elise HAD to have, and that I ordered promptly, and that was too big to comfortably send back, she tried at a friend's house and decided she didn't want after all. As it was already wrapped, I mentally determined she would make it work. Because that's what Elise does. But would she this time?!? Christmas mystery #1. 

The second major change from last year was the potential to see family! People were available! And not in quarantine! We made actual, concrete plans! But would it actually work?!? Christmas mystery #2.

And the third was that we put some of our Christmas lights in the backyard this year, in hopes that other neighbors would follow suit and we could have our own neighborhood luminary walk along the trail. We thought the idea was so good, we even put up posters! But would anyone participate?!?

Other than that, we baked our usual cookies, made and shopped for gifts, watched the performances, saw the people, created the crafts, read the books, sang along to the music, and generally celebrated the season. Here's what that looked like:

Christmas often starts with Thanksgiving in our house! Here are the lovely plates, bowls, etc. that all of the ladies/girls painted the day after Thanksgiving.

We bought our tree at a different tree farm this year (no reason, other than it was closer), and we LOVED the selection of white pines--Matt's and my personal favorite. We found one we could literally hug, that was the perfect shape and size, and that was not already chopped down, because we did the right thing and shopped before Thanksgiving (thanks to me for shoving us all out the door!). We also saw an amazing flock of white pelicans, possibly, flying super high in cool formations.

What wasn't our favorite: trying to decorate this tree. The ornaments kept sliding off, and you can see what's happening with the star. Plus, less piney scent than other varieties. But it's still beautiful, a month and a half later!

In the above photo, Elise attempts to get the star to stand up on our floppy, yet soft and huggable, tree. The first few attempts ended up looking like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

I was so excited to have a second tree so that all our lovely handmade ornaments would be displayed! Unfortunately, so were the cats. Every morning for a while, we'd come downstairs to something like this scene. Amazingly, it all happened in the span of time between Matt getting up and the rest of us. The worst part was when the cats destroyed Grandma Jan's beautiful handmade wool ornaments... I think the only time any of us briefly reconsidered our kitten purchase a year and a half prior.

Our contribution to the trail luminary walk (the lights around the trees are a bit dim in this photo)! The girls created a poster, and then spent an hour or so taping them up on mailboxes around the neighborhood, often via scooter. Did anyone else decorate? YES! A couple friends, a couple people who looked like they might have done it anyway, and one neighbor who put lights on all the pine trees in their backyard--beautiful! Did it actually look like a luminary walk? Not so much. But we're hoping that we're starting a trend. Which would probably actually be the first trend I've ever set, in my life.

This idea was initiated, by the way, by a conversation the girls had with a nice neighbor lady on the trails. She suggested we do an event with hot cocoa and carolers and such. She got the girls all excited! And then it became my project, as many projects do if they have any hope of survival.

Alas, this one was lost. Although we nearly had interest from the HOA for the neighborhood that begins across the street from us, an event never happened. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a few after-dark walks on the trails to check out a few, widely spread light displays!

Kalina at her beautiful early December orchestra concert! While not a Christmas concert per se, it was still lovely to hear her play her music, and to see her glow.

Having sold coffee and tea to the neighbors to raise money for AHG, we thought it only right to deliver their purchases with a box of cookies and, my personal favorite, gingerbread cake (with orange-cream cheese frosting this year!). On roller blades.

We made a few cookies for ourselves, too. 

Unrelated, but possibly due to Christmas spirit, Kalina made crepes for us one morning, which was pretty noteworthy. We happened to have Nutella in the pantry and bananas on hand, soooo....

We love preparing and sending our Christmas cards! We do it assembly line style. This year, no one complained too much about signing the cards--even Matt! I think when even Naomi and Elise, who have yet to learn how to bottle up their whine well unless highly motivated, were trying to convince him it was really no big deal to sign 65 letters, he decided he could probably shoulder the burden as well.

Mandatory crocheting in the evenings as the girls made Christmas gifts for family (and a few teachers). They made dishcloths--even Naomi, for whom they were quite a challenge. She was frustrated watching her older sisters rush through them, but kept at it even when she really wanted to quit. And she's still crocheting every evening during storytime! So proud of her!

We really picked and chose our indoor events, but we were able to say yes to the luminary walk without much trouble! Almost better than the lights was the bagpiper, whose music we had to just about peel Kalina away from. Not as great: the Elvis impersonator, who was fun for about 5 minutes before just...not...being...that...great. And needing some new dance moves. And he had maybe one Christmas song, which to me is worse than being quite mediocre. 

Other covid-friendly attractions included the Christmas movies. I always feel like there should be some truly great Christmas movies out there--and there are. We've just seen them all already. Matt and I watched a couple pretty dumb ones before settling on one made in the 1940s that actually was pretty clever. The girls and I also watched some dumb ones, and I believe my credibility as a good movie-picker even slipped a bit.

It was a good thing we kept things low-key, as although Naomi developed a cold and laryngitis just in time to nearly ruin our plans, nobody got covid. The trek to Minnesota felt tenuous, but it happened. We couldn't wait to see everyone!

  

Although the snow wasn't packable at first, it was sled-able, and we took full advantage. Naomi loved doubling up with Julie, who was a adorable mix of slightly afraid and delighted at the same time. Another day, we were able to do some snow packing to make a snow alien, and Dean and Naomi had fun sled-racing. 

Gingerbread houses were fun to create! Amazingly, most of the candy actually ended up on the houses!

Matching jammies is such a fun tradition! 

Not pictured: Our amazing movie night, lots of great meals, board games, random cute things that both Julie and Dean said, and all the fun catching up with everyone.

A little Christmas morning silliness, back on our own turf! 

What do you have for Christmas breakfast when you haven't been home to buy groceries or make anything particularly yummy? Christmas toast! Using sprinkles. It worked, plus Kalina had a new cat mug for her hot cocoa.

From Naomi, Elise receives stuffed copepods to go along with her stuffed tardigrade. I'm not sure she needed anything else. But did she like the early-purchased gift for her Ninja Line?!? Maybe it was the joy of Christmas, but she very quickly decided it would work. And seemed to like using it. And has enjoyed it quite a bit since. I think we're in the clear. Thanks, Elise, for your amazing attitude, and for not making me try to return it.

Kalina asked for a dark medium-sized trilobite bent over a rock. Thanks, ebay! And Naomi hugs her Christmas puppy--a mini Holly that will travel easier than mommy Holly. She named it, appropriately, Minny.

The kitties got new bowls, with treats wrapped inside them! No one managed to open theirs until Christmas night, at which point it's entirely possible one cat opened both and devoured all 20-ish treats. Oops!

We had fun actually getting to see Grandpa and Marianne on Christmas this year! We enjoyed a lovely day together, and then two additional evenings of attempting to do a Zoom gift exchange with extended family (and eat the delicious buche de noel cake we'd made and decorated).

Unfortunately, that was close to the end of the fun, as a covid exposure kept us home, and visitors away, until after New Years. But that was okay--we'd already had a lovely holiday season. And stay tuned for our covid-exposure project....

Eight is Great!

 Naomi had super exciting plans for her birthday! Like unicorns! And cake! And presents! Woohoo!

Apparently, a little too exciting--at 11:30 the night before, she was still awake, and stressed about still being awake, setting a family record for sleeplessness on the eve of a big day. I don't think even Elise has made it that late due to sheer excitement. Sheesh. (The thunderstorm that set in at about 11:10 didn't help.)

This happened only because Matt and I were watching a movie. Fortunately, Kalina let us know around 11:00 that everyone was still awake. Um, thank you? 

I told them all in no uncertain terms, but tempering my words with kindness, or at least confusing them because I sounded sugary sweet and yet very firm at the same time (because Naomi can sense the tension and then has even more trouble falling asleep because "you're mad at me"), that no one may wake up any sisters in the morning, despite it being a birthday.

I questioned why I'd put so much time into all the preparations when everyone was just going to be melting down anyway. Except, to give my kids credit, they actually do really well (eerily well, sometimes) on way too little sleep. 

For a while, I sat beside my 7-year-old, silently willing her to just fall asleep, before she dismissed me, letting me know she wasn't actually super scared of the storm anymore. I guess she's growing up after all (although in truth, none of my kids has been super scared of storms at night--or at least, they haven't let me know until just recently).

Despite my honey-drenched words of warning the night before, at 7:30 on Naomi's birthday, the children were all wide awake. Awake enough, in fact, to startle Matt and I out of our slumber by blowing birthday horns upon entering our room. Matt, not able to rocket into the festive spirit quite that quickly, only just managed to avoid ruining the morning by saying things he'd regret later. I only thought them, and squeezed out a disoriented "Happy birthday Sweetie!" that probably sounded anything but cheery, but was at least present. Usually the roles are reversed nowadays: the parents up and the kids sleeping in. But not on a birthday, no matter how late we were all up the night before!

All that to say, Naomi was pretty psyched about her special day!

Breaking about 10 years of birthday tradition, I required everyone to have a bowl of healthy cereal before diving into the Chocolate Lucky Charms "birthday cereal." "We can't have both sugar for breakfast and a poor night of sleep," I insisted. The guilty parties put up very little fuss, and grabbed the Cheerios without a fight. And then a present or two.

Naomi had been guessing presents (and coming up with last-minute new ideas) all week. And her first one was, as predicted, a stuffed animal and a book, both from Elise. She also opened up a lot of Playmobil this year, being super excited about it at the moment, and unicorn-themed items, like a unicorn stapler with rainbow tape for her brand-new desk.

The day before, we'd found a cake--a Wal-Mart one, with pink frosting and yellow shell borders that we knew we could doctor up a little. Sure enough, Naomi had the great idea of adding frosting "clouds," and placing stuffed unicorns (and a friendly dragon) in them. Plus a candy Happy Birthday. Plus unicorn sprinkles. And voila! A magical unicorn cake. I love home-making birthday cakes and I also love picking them up and checking them off the list. This felt like the best of both worlds and definitely not a cop-out. 

The morning was broken up only by a few presents and from the high-maintenance baby hummingbird we were caring for temporarily (long story!). Naomi played, the older sisters created a joyful environment, and I finished prepping for her impending birthday party. 

After a delicious lunch of Daddy's chocolate chip pancakes (a new tradition?), we video chatted with Grandma and Grandpa. We enjoyed catching up, and Naomi enjoyed showing off all her new gifts. Like, all of them.

Then it was about time for her mini-party! Naomi's 3 friends arrived amid neighbors mowing lawns and cutting down trees--not exactly a festive atmosphere when you have to shout and make sure no debris hits you. We ended up indoors for craft time (painting squishies) and a few games (pin the tail on the unicorn and outdoors again for a donut pinata). The pinata was the best I'd ever seen, actually spraying candy (and the non-candy items I insisted on, too) for each of at least 6-7 hits, and not needing a golf club and a grown-up to break it in the first place. I'd been unrealistically nervous about the pinata (and Naomi's expectations for things to happen over which she might have no control--like being the one to break it open), and was relieved that it ended so well. 

Since Naomi only had 3 guests, they each got to customize their own cupcake (frosting flavor and mini-plastic-unicorn-decoration color). I realized I also had mythical creature frosted animal crackers, and fortunately, this amount of treat actually filled the girls, even the one who literally devoured a 4-day-old corn muffin the last time she visited because she's always, always very hungry (yes, her parents feed her). 

I then hurried the lagging guests through painting the rest of their squishies, as Naomi had one last activity she was very passionate about: staging a play.

It was late in the game (i.e., two days before) that I realized not only did she actually really want to perform this play she'd been formulating, but that the stakes were going to be high. But, despite lots of pressure; lack of sleep; a guest for whom, as I had to explain to Naomi, acting in a play would be akin to Naomi touching worms, a simile she could begrudgingly relate to; and a severe time shortage thanks to all the other fun we'd been having, the girls managed to perform something. There may have been a mini meltdown that we managed to divert. In the end, the play happened and it was cute, it was sweet, and it covered many, of the story elements Naomi had wanted to include. She did a great job of formulating it so that people could be any character they wanted, making everyone (I think) happy--even the girl who ended up just helping out backstage (much to her relief--I learned later from her mom she'd been worried about the play all week!). Kalina goodnaturedly accepted being volunteered to be a stand-in, and Elise, who'd naturally been planning to perform all along, helped fill out the character list. Thank goodness for birthday girl sisters, who are always the heroes of all of the birthdays in our house.

The guests left and we crashed for a few moments before getting the house ready for birthday dinner with Grandpa and Marianne! I enjoy Saturday birthdays because you pretty much only have to clean your house once to do all the celebrating, but it really is a whirlwind.

For dinner, Naomi chose the traditional Jason's Deli, and then we dug into the cake, which was quite special for all the toppings. She's still a little nervous about birthday candles (fire!) so she shied away at first, but got them all blown out after a couple tries.

Naomi showed Grandpa and Marianne all the gifts, and then opened a few more. She was all ready to dig in and start putting things together, when bedtime happened. This was a tragic event, because it meant that the birthday was over. Really over. I agree, Naomi, it felt like it went too fast! Just like the last 8 years!

Naomi, at 8, is a sweetie who enjoys being young, but shows some sure signs of growing up, too! She can read just about anything, but often prefers a stack of picture books. She's equally at home discussing the Underground Railroad and the aftermath of the Civil War as she is making up imaginary dragons. She does her own hair, but insists on pigtails. 

Naomi still cares for and names all her stuffed animals, and many other animals, as well, her most popular being Oreo, Smores, Midnight, and Marshmallow (as it turns out, most animals are either black and white, various shades of brown and white, just black, or just white. The gray ones kinda stump her.).

She's intimidated by the idea of riding a bike, but flies on a scooter. She's pushing herself to swim underwater (and is totally getting it, one paddle at a time!), and I've watched her shoot baskets (at a slightly lower hoop, but still--considering she gets zero practice, not bad!). She doesn't really enjoy piano unless she's good at the piece, in which case she likes to sing along (and is asking to switch to voice lessons...we'll see).

And she's still very sensitive at the table, although she voluntarily licked a tomato this year and she's agreed to try to get used to spaghetti. We're determined to work more on it and ease her out of some of her anxiety Her favorite foods are all the sugary ones, and her least favorite is, assuredly, meat. 

Naomi can entertain herself for hours with craft supplies, and has trouble seeing a recyclable without thinking, "Hey, I bet I could make ______ out of that!" She's considering being an art teacher when she grows up, but mostly just wants to be a mommy. Which she practices for by befriending all the little girls who are younger than her, and keeping track of all those stuffed animals. I think she'd be totally fine with 30+ kids.

Naomi is much more of a trooper than most people would want to give her credit for, having hiked for miles over rough terrain, only about the first 30 minutes of which she enjoyed, and only complaining in earnest when I was about ready to as well. She constantly has to keep up with her sisters in this way, which is probably why she cried real tears when we suggested another Colorado vacation instead of our planned beach one. She'll take sand any day (she loves it).

Sometimes she surprises me with her knowledge--for instance, she had somehow internalized that plants and animals have different types of cells from one of the conversations I'd had over her head with Kalina and Elise. She put it on a poster she was making about animals. And then there's math and spelling... don't let the pigtails fool you--she's clearly not to be underestimated.

Naomi was the very first of all my children (not adjusted for age!) to figure out:

1. If you get all your schoolwork done before lunch, you have an entire afternoon of free time ahead of you.

2. How to swim underwater without getting water up her nose, and without face-mask goggles (although it's not a mastered skill yet, she's just made it further than either sister).

She recently managed to clip all her fingernails by herself (not sure what age this is supposed to happen, but she was good enough at it that I'm pretty sure we were overdue), and can sound out melodies on the piano, take care of some laundry, and take care of the bunny 100% by herself (she's super proud of this, and can also get him to cuddle up next to her).

Of the things she dislikes, worms, mentions of death in books, anything "human body" (blood, broken bones, major organs), most foods, and competitive games top the list. I can't blame her on a lot of these.

Despite her disgust at all things medical, she loves having loose teeth and, paradoxically, grossing me out with them, which she does quite well. She always leaves a nice note for the tooth fairy, with lots of questions.

It's beginning to be clear that the poor girl suffers from some real anxieties, but she does actually work on conquering them. Sometimes she ventures upstairs all by herself, she always calms down fairly quickly after being placed into a boat against her will, and, again, she licked a tomato. 

Naomi gets a huge kick out of puns and jokes, and enjoys making up her own. "All you do is find a word that sounds like another, or has the same meaning. Then, it's easy!" Showing even better taste, she adores the original Winnie the Pooh stories. Because they're amazing, and she knows it. And they really give her the giggles. She doesn't, however, like to be surprised by endings, especially if there's any suspense, and will happily read the last page/chapter before restarting the book from the beginning. Just to make sure there are no nasty surprises.

She's the most ticklish person I know, and Kalina's mastered the ability to "tickle" her from across the room, with Naomi begging her to stop. She still insists on dresses, although occasionally wears a skirt and shirt. The dresses are always cute, though, and she even has a dark blue one she saves for outdoor activities at which she might get messy. She's prepared. But she bemoans the fact that every place offering t-shirts (art camp, AHG) don't also make dresses. 

Most of the time, Naomi is happy to do her own thing, or play with her sisters, or complete a good worksheet (she loves worksheets, although she can't really admit it around her sisters). She loves word finds, codes, fortune tellers, and drawing lessons, plus any good book or little animal setup.

Naomi enjoys her friends and craves playdates, even when they've had to be outside due to covid. Fortunately, her two besties live quite close and their parents also highly support outdoor playdates, covid or no, so she barely suffered at all during the past year and a half. 

Naomi's a little sweetie, and we're all just delighted to celebrate her! 

Sweet 13

Here's Kalina, having
overcome altitude
sickness at Rocky
Mountain National
Park. I was proud
of her for venturing
cautiously back up
to the heights!

 Kalina's 13! As the girls have reminded me for the past, oh, year and a half, she's now a teenager. This is so much fun for them. Less so for me.

They also like to pester me about when she can drive. Also not fun, but I'm secretly relieved she seems to want to learn, ever (many teens don't really anymore).

Since Kalina is 13, it seems strange to blog about her. Shouldn't she be doing the blogging?

So it's a good time to revert to more of a highlights reel. Pictures are below. We celebrated well, including kind of a last-minute kayaking/paddleboating party with a few friends. Amazingly, the only major wetness was from the occasional very light rain on our chilly day. On Kalina's actual birthday, the rain kept us from a walk at the Arboretum, but we enjoyed extra time board gaming, so it all worked out.

At 13, and aside from a few occasional lapses in judgment regarding treatment of her sisters and the cats, Kalina's hit a sweet spot of ultra-capable and pretty amenable, as long as you're not asking her to do anything unreasonable like sing on stage or join a basketball team. Is 13 one of those in like a lamb, out like a lion things? 

Kalina's favorite hobby is still reading, and she sleuthed out Sherlock Holmes this year--a wonderful find that I enjoyed, too--plus an author that Uncle Tom loved as a kid (and who is still writing). But she'll read almost anything, from a few of Elise's current faves to the around-the-world books I'm pushing on everyone this summer as part of the reading program I created (because I'm that kind of homeschool mom). 

Kalina's traditional
ice-cream cake. 
Yum.

Kalina's also been loving the orchestra she joined this year. She can often tell you what the other instruments are doing at various points in a piece, and is highly motivated to practice to keep up with the group. She was switched to first chair viola for the final concert, and is getting ready to audition for the highest orchestra in this particular program (just a homeschool program--don't get too excited) later this summer. She gets personally offended if people confuse her instrument with a violin. 

She's also been enjoying tennis with Matt, lots of board games (the more complex the better, sometimes!), hanging out with kitties, biking, kayaking, hiking, and, amazingly, helping out at various activities. She would like it to be known that she enjoys science and the outdoors nearly as much as Elise does, just more quietly. Especially astronomy, meteorology (seriously, since she was 2), ecology, and anything involving animals. She's kinda interested in robotics, too, and definitely has the mind for it.

I try not to post pictures
of other peoples' kids'
faces, so here's my
best shot!

Around the house, Kalina can tidy up a kitchen (or desk, or drawer) like nobody's business (a newfound, much-appreciated skill, on the same level as toilet cleaning about 3-4 years ago), and organizes her books by personal favorite ranking. She enjoys learning about house maintenance, and doesn't seem to mind weeding. She'll cook if there's a purpose (like frying an egg on the days I decide everyone's going to make their own lunch), and is a good help on the (rare) occasions she volunteers to help with something.

She's developed a solid affinity for plants, with a happy little cluster (except the one that died, and the other one that's dying) under her grow lamp. She reports regularly on their progress. And through the winter she enjoyed her usual stint of crocheting, even delving into quilting because she loves their patterns. 

Kalina has been taking on a leadership role as a newsletter editor and an honor flag ceremony member for our AHG troop, making a solid entrance into the middle/ high-school unit. We've discovered that she'll see several sweet friends both at our co-op and at AHG next year, which just seems perfect for her. 

Kalina's becoming more serious-minded, and is happy to plan for her future. She still wants to be a science writer, and mostly is managing that by working pretty diligently, but still trying to do as little work as humanly possible. Who can blame her? 

She's pretty even-keeled, not usually losing her temper or getting as excited as either of her sisters. Which could easily mean she'd be overlooked, but sometimes I'm not sure she really minds....

Kalina's dislikes haven't changed much: dresses, being the center of attention, rhyming books that do a poor job of rhyming and/or telling an actual story, a packed schedule, anything out of tune or not lining up, fashion, broccoli, handwriting, and probably a few things she doesn't tell me about because she's fairly tactful. Although she'll definitely call me out if my logic doesn't seem to line up.

She dreams about cats, making a cat room, making a catio, making cat shelves, etc. Her happy place is on her bed with a book and a cat--especially the one who's become accustomed to ear-scratching and will cuddle with her.

Happy 13th birthday, sweet Kalina! So proud of how happy, healthy, and mature you're becoming! May there always be a cat.