Elise's Birthday Blast

After a year of waiting, months of planning, weeks of buildup and several lists, Elise's birthday finally arrived! And it turned out as monumental as she hoped.

It was 5:28 when we first heard the stirrings of a birthday girl. "It's my birthday!" she declared for everyone to hear. "I'm six!" Kalina groaned, Matt pretended to be asleep and I shot out of bed, heart pounding, to remind Elise that it wasn't yet morning. Thankfully, it was still dark and at least several of us got back to sleep.

"Real" morning began, then, at a much more reasonable time of 7:00-ish, three of us trying hard not to hold a grudge and the birthday girl walking on air. We all rocketed downstairs for a bowl of "birthday cereal," chocolate Lucky Charms that the girls deemed too sacred to pour milk on until I told them it would turn regular milk into chocolate milk. Magically delicious (Matt might have another word for them).

And we started in on presents. Naomi was all too happy to offer hers up for unwrapping. She'd hinted throughout the week that Elise would be opening either a lamb or an owl, but managed not to spill the beans that they were, in fact, puppies, just as Elise had specifically requested. Puppies that had been lovingly introduced to the house, pretend-bathed and cuddled by the 3-year-old before being wrapped snuggly while they slept (she insisted on putting them on their backs in the wrapping paper).

But as Elise's birthday fell on a Sunday, soon it was time to head off to church. Although initially annoyed that the day wouldn't be one long party, she warmed up to the idea of church when she realized that, wearing her birthday button, lots of people were likely to say happy birthday to her. And they did! "I got a lot of happy birthdays and a donut!" she cheered.

When we returned home, Daddy had a present for Elise: a clue. It would be the first on a treasure hunt that led us through the house, outside and to real treasure once we assembled the map! Elise admitted later she was just expecting to dig up a little toy. As it turned out, the treasure was actually pirate-worthy: a silver coin minted in the year Elise was born, buried in a ziploc baggie beside the swingset.

Next we all headed to McDonald's, where we ordered Happy Meals, ate them on a special light-up table and played in the play area, just as Elise requested.

Birthday frozen
yogurt! Colorful and
sweet, you are what
you eat.

Somehow, Elise managed to keep adding small components to her special day, with us barely noticing--and she does it so sweetly we hardly mind. Which is why, shortly we returned from McDonalds, she and I sailed out the door again for a Mommy-Elise frozen yogurt date.

And then we opened more presents at home with Grandpa, and played with them as much as we could in our packed schedule. Stop having fun, Elise, it's time to have more fun! I didn't want to rush the girl, but I had to remind her we still had exciting plans, so we kept pressing forward even as we oohed and aaaahed over such things as roller skates, craft activities and the rock tumbler Elise has been begging for (but, as she later told me, didn't think she'd actually receive).

Kalina and Elise, by the way, patiently let Elise get all of the attention, most of the time, at least.

After a quick "supper," we were off to Monkey Joe's, a bouncy-house/game place that we thought would be the least busy between 5 and 7. We added our three kids to the general not-terribly-busy bustle, constantly reassuring Naomi we wouldn't leave her and remaining super visible so she'd believe us and relax. Which she did! Of the three, she was actually the one who was least willing to leave in the end.

Having a blast at the bouncy
house place.

The popular fishing
game!

Elise had a fabulous time bouncing and sliding, and so did Kalina. We also checked out the games and had fun winning tickets in various goofy ways. We enjoyed popcorn and a pretzel, managed to pick multiple prizes for each child without driving the prize counter person completely crazy, generally agreed we were all glad Elise had suggested the outing and decided we could actually picture doing it again sometime. Happy birthday to all of us.

We'd saved two presents for afterward, and cake, which Elise has been planning for weeks. Vanilla cake was topped with chocolate frosting and chopped strawberries, for a delicious combination. She added three kinds of sprinkles and candles, and we all enjoyed the final birthday cake of birthday season. Well done, Elise!
After opening her roller skates, Elise jetted upstairs to change into pajamas (our full day extended past bedtime), so she'd have time to roll around the house a little before the day officially came to a close. She's taken them off a couple times since...

Elise decorated her own cake (and her
own face)!

Happy birthday, sweet Elise!

In so many ways, Elise is more big kid than little kid, except she retains so well the joy of childhood that it's hard to place her age. I suppose six will have to do! The only extrovert (probably) in the family, Elise happily talks to anyone, telling plans and ideas, making little jokes, explaining her little jokes and informing. And at the same time, she certainly shows a reserved side, too--she's perfectly capable of blending into the background in group settings, without being completely ignored.

And in fact, it's a little bit impossible to ignore Elise. Forgotten middle child she is not, although she's much more of a rules-follower than most people would take her for. Disobedience and disorder, while they can be entertaining to her, make her uncomfortable and she's my main whistle blower when things are not going the way they should be. And yet, she certainly loves a little fun...

"What is it?" A rock tumbler,
of course! It'll be running for
the next month.

Elise is fairly close to: swimming, biking start to stop with no training wheels, writing her lowercase alphabet, reading cohesively, and completing first-grade math. She's coming along on piano, can recite multiple poems and Bible verses, enjoys singing for us and isn't afraid of a challenge. Elise can do monkey bars, climb a rope quite high (if it's knotted--but even if the knots are spaced more for a 10-year-old), befriend older kids, break eggs (even though she prefers not to), explain various scientific concepts, and create recipes that are starting to almost sound tasty (or at least not awful), even though most of them involve lots of sugary foods layered together. She also, however, seems to think that if she says it, it will work. Case in point: "Mommy, I know how to make chalk! Just put chalk dust in a bucket and let it sit for a year. After a year, the little pieces will have hardened into chalk!" Considering the only way Kalina and Elise play with chalk is to grind it into dust, this kind of "chalk cycle" would be pretty handy.

Elise's sense of fairness is strong, as are her sweet negotiation skills (you never really feel as though you lose, no matter which side you come out on). She has a penchant for science, and especially chemical reactions that turn colors or explode (or even mixtures that just look cool), and cool rocks. Elise has lots of big ideas, and would like to invent something or sell things from a card table in the driveway (lemonade, painted rocks, moss gardens--you name it). She easily picked up knitting and crocheting, as well as the ever-popular finger knitting and rainbow looming. In fact, she watched me crochet one day, and was able to successfully do it the next, with very little instruction. She has not, however, actually learned to fly--but don't tell her. The girl fully believes (it seems) that if she runs fast enough and flaps her wings, she takes to the air a little bit. "Mom, I flew a little! Watch!"

The birthday girl at
McDonald's

Elise is best friends with each of her sisters--nearly Kalina's twin, and also spending lots of happy time playing with Naomi. With Naomi, Elise expertly plays a dual role of playmate and caregiver--at least until the fact that she's 6 kicks in, and she gets annoyed with Naomi's 3-year-old sharing skills. She's also started to branch out, and easily develops friendships at her various activities, and also with the neighbor boy next door (who she apparently is now not going to marry, despite having planned on it for months).

In the future, Elise hopes to have a lot of pets, be a preschool teacher, and be on speed dial to help anyone who needs any kind of help. She also may be in a circus, and/or a movie producer and animal advocate. She has warned us that she might not have much time when she's a grownup, because she'll be so busy helping people.

Elise's treat memory survives, as does her cheerful disposition that keeps her from holding a grudge very long, or feeling down very long at all (although some things do get to her). She's also still infinitely quotable. She no longer brings Pink Bear and Soft Blankie everywhere, but instead brings a pair of kittens, about whom she's developed quite a history. For her birthday, she added several kittens and puppies to the group, so it'll be another interesting year in stuffie world.

Kalina made an Elephant and
Piggie bookmark!

While Elise still entertains an active imagination, she stays rooted in reality. As such, it can be hard to place her actual age. She'll discuss her plans for selling self-watering moss gardens, holding a circus (she'll be the tightrope walker, among other roles) or various inventions as though she's someone's mother--and yet we're still in a conversation about selling moss from the driveway, not-so-impressive playground tricks and unrealistic or highly impractical gadgets. She has a wonderful memory and can tell me her impressions of events years ago ("When I was little"), whether or not they're associated with treats. She giggles as she confidentially reveals what she used to be scared of or confused about or babyish about, as though we're 28-year-olds, sharing coffee and reminiscing about our childhoods together. ("Mommy, I used to take Pink Bear and Soft Blankie everywhere!" she laughs at herself as she runs off to round up armfuls of stuffed kittens.)

Elise finds real buried
treasure: a silver coin!

Elise desperately wants to be in the newspaper, and in fact believes she should be: after all, she's discovered six really cool rocks (white quartz and such) and a coin from New Zealand in the pumpkin patch. She plans to be famous someday. In fact, she has a lot of plans. "Mommy, mind setting me up with the computer? I need to print out 'Naomi's Art Book.'" Because she's making an art book with/for Naomi. Of course, if I go down the rabbit hole of typing it out for her, there's no telling where we'll come up...but at least we'll have had a marvelous time!

Yappy Birthday, Naomi!

Naomi is 3! A super adorable, sweet, smart, sensitive, singing 3! Here's to embarking on an amazing year covering a full range of emotions and experiences, and probably with not quite so many tantrums because, after all, three is different than two.

Because Naomi won't tune into this blog for at least a few years yet, I can spill the secret that we didn't actually celebrate her birthday on her actual birthday. As a traditionalist, this hurt my soul--but anything for my child, right? We were simply too busy to celebrate on the 21st, but could dedicate the entirety of the 20th to her. And so we did!

Naomi's day started bright and early--but since she didn't remember it was her birthday, despite having had the special occasion talked up all week/month, she was content to talk in her crib for a while while Mommy and Daddy gained a little more consciousness, decorated, and wrapped a last-minute gift (oops!).

The birthday princess's first request was to open a present, so I let her dive into a new birthday dress, which she insisted on changing into immediately. Then we woke up her sisters. Elise switched into party mode the second she opened her eyes, while Kalina took just a bit longer; nevertheless, they were both soon at the table enjoying birthday cereal (Lucky Charms, which actually has less sugar and more nutrition than the kids believe) with the birthday girl herself.

Of course, it wasn't long before "the-party-is-here-because-I-am-here" Elise suggested opening another present--hers, in fact. The three-year-old agreed, and unwrapped the soft, pink penguin she has surreptitiously tucked under her arm and headed for the door with at three or more different gift shops over the past year. Elise got a kick out of the idea that she was rescuing the toddler from a life of crime, and Naomi got a kick out of the penguin. Naturally, Kalina's present came next--a realistic looking stuffed fawn, as Naomi has been asking for a deer for quite a while. (Famous Naomi Circle Time question: "What's your favorite deer?")

Fortunately, Naomi didn't seem to remember that what she actually asked for was a real bunny and a real lamb. Of course, a real dog would have been perfectly acceptable as well.

Then it was time to zip upstairs and get ready for the birthday event: a trip to Purina Farms! It turns out Naomi's tastes haven't changed much in a year, and although she's wary of dogs up close, she loves them in theory (and in stuffie) so we headed out to see more doggies, kitties and bunnies.

We met Grandpa there, and were soon happily going back and forth between petting a soft bunny and watching one baby piglet try to play with another that clearly didn't want to play. We played in the hayloft (and enthusiastic Elise got Naomi to crawl through the tunnels!) and saw a doggie obstacle course show before calling it a morning.

Even birthday girls need a nap, so while Naomi took hers, I baked and Matt canned salsa. Naomi had requested a pink wedding cake, possibly inspired by some wedding cakes we saw at a local bakery. How could I possibly measure up, especially when my uneven version cracked, shifted and simply didn't look very fancy. Fortunately, a little colored sugar and copious amounts of frosting can cure almost any cake, and Naomi's eyes brightened at her beautiful pink wedding cake. Either that, or she just likes frosting.

After a big morning, Naomi and her big sisters opened more presents, including new Play-Doh and Wiki Sticks from Grandpa Les and Grandma. Fortunately, these entertained them well for quite a while as I put the finishing touches on the cake and Matt continued to make some (pretty amazing) salsa.

Grandpa arrived, and the girls continued to enjoy new birthday toys (and Grandpa) while dinner was prepped. What do you cook for a birthday girl who doesn't really like anything? Tacos, of course! And they were accepted.

During dinner, Naomi eyed the big present. It was big. It was rectangular. What could it be? We asked. "A dog," Naomi predicted.

Naomi loved her candles, loved having us sing to her and loved her cake. After thoroughly licking the frosting off her slice and receiving a second, which had its frosting similarly removed, it was time for the rest of the presents!

We couldn't resist the big package any longer. It was, in fact, a big dog! The one Naomi had wanted to cuddle with in Ikea, and Matt managed to sneak out of the store almost as if he were a toddler with a fuzzy pink penguin under the arm. Except he paid for it, of course. Naomi was delighted, although she found it hard to tuck under her arm at first. She decided that it was a baby puppy (baby Clifford, perhaps, without all the red?), and its name was Lolly.

All the rest of the gifts were opened in the context of the big puppy, and included a lot of smaller puppies as well. Naomi put them all carefully to sleep before she would consent to a bedtime story.

We love the giant doggie!

Happy birthday, sweet girl!

At three, Naomi remains sensitive and sweet, as she has been since her baby days. She shows empathy and thoughtfulness ("Mommy, were you lonely upstairs all by yourself?" and, holding me tight, "Mommy, I can keep you safe if Elise jumps out and says boo!"). She makes sure Biscuit always has enough ice cream and birthday cake (Biscuit has a birthday nearly every day). And although she mistrusts babies, men and anyone she doesn't know, she warms up to them once they become more familiar.

Naomi alternately adores her sisters and sees them as rivals (which they are). But especially one-on-one, and occasionally all three together, she's increasingly able to play nicely. She loves playing "circle time" and doing crafts with Elise, and reading stories and taking care of stuffies with Kalina.

Naomi added lettuce and bell peppers to her palate this year, albeit removing all but a couple bites of watermelon and pasta sauce, and occasionally mistrusting plums, mangoes, peaches and apples with spots. She is very gentle with small animals, she loves to dance to "beautiful" music ("Mommy, will you play the beautiful music?") and teach others to dance to beautiful music ("Mommy, do this") and adores stories and jokes (especially Grandpa's joke for the day). Sometimes she sings and makes up cute little songs.

My sensitive girl gets nervous about crowds, loud environments and new people and places, but manages to navigate them with some settling in and long wind-down/processing afterward, which usually involves fixing food for various stuffies.

Naomi loves notebooks to
write in and tear pages out of.

Naomi plays the piano quite well for a 3-year-old (less banging, more actual fingering) and has been blossoming with her crafting as well. She loves cutting things, taping thing, gluing things and hole-punching. She also enjoys notebooks that she can write in, and regularly writes her alphabet (it looks like lines, but we'll get there!), grocery lists and notes to her friends and family (especially 2-year-old Genevieve). Naomi usually enjoys drawing and coloring pictures for people, but often nowadays prefers for me to draw and color while she watches. Her pencil grip continues to be amazing, as are her counting skills. She's working on letter and number recognition, and can point out some of the letters (including mommies and babies) in her name.

While puppies, kitties and other soft animals continue to be Naomi's favorites, she's also starting to venture into the princess realm. Occasionally she turns in to princess Sofia, and she enjoys dressing up. If it were up to her, she would wear a dress every day, and a fancy one at that. Once she rejected brown shorts on the grounds that "but they're not pretty!"

Dissecting her cake. The
outside is the tastiest, but
at least the inside is pretty!

Naomi's still very into mommies and babies, and sometimes I even get instant feedback on my parenting as Naomi acts out scenes between mommies and babies with her animals. "Mommy, the puppies do not want to go to bed, they say, 'We don't want to go to bed!' but Biscuit makes them go to bed." Complete with whiny voice for the puppies and strict voice for Biscuit. Do I really sound like that?

The 3-year-old also seems to enjoy responsibility and housework. She'll vacuum alongside me with her popper vacuum (now that she's not as scared of the vacuum anymore), clean the bathroom with me and generally take care around the house. As long as it's her idea.

She enjoys being outside, swinging on her tummy, doing puzzles, making things with blocks and of course, reading stories. She's a joy to be around, and we can't wait to see what age 3 brings!

We enjoyed a mini playdate
animal party with a few
friends. Not pictured:
the giant balloon!

Grandpa reads a beloved new
Charlie the Ranch Dog
book for Naomi's birthday.

Me and my girl! And a doggie
statue.

Naomi also likes making
necklaces out of pipe cleaners
and Cheerios. She's wearing
one in this picture.

The 9-Day Trip

The train ride at Como Zoo!

When we told the girls we were going to be taking a 9-day vacation, they were duly impressed. Nine whole days! And who even knows how many nights? Wow!

But possibly the sheer magnitude of such an idea put them on edge as well, such that as I was scrambling around a hot and humid house on a Friday morning in late July trying to fit virtually all of our belongings into a few suitcases, everyone else frequently let me know that they were "scared." And while most of us learned that there was nothing to be afraid of, Naomi, who isn't really into new people and places, didn't quite believe me.

Poor Naomi. This was possibly not her favorite trip as a whole, although in the end she found lots to like--as did the rest of us--and whenever she tells friends back here about the trip, she makes sure to mention that she "wasn't scared on the trip!" (Not true!) Here's the play-by-play.

Our friends caught on to Rainbow
Looming right away!

We left at naptime on Friday, which only meant we were traveling with a slightly fussy Naomi rather than a sleeping one. No biggie--on Day 1 of the trip, anyone who's not scared is in a pretty good mood. The trip was easy and after a few snacks, stops and mad libs, we cruised into our friends' place right after suppertime.

Elise and Kalina had recently discovered the joys of rainbow looming (making bracelets out of thousands of tiny rubber bands) and we'd surprised them with thousands of new bands to share with their friends during the trip. Elise the Negotiator wondered when, exactly, we could open the bands. NOT IN THE CAR!! We agreed on Saturday morning unless we happened to arrive early enough to use them on Friday evening. And we did! This was a big deal to Elise, as we heard every hour or so, so immediately upon arrival she and Kalina got right down to business helping their friends, Isaac and Lilly, make their own bracelets. Naomi, who'd heard big things about 4-year-old Cora, quickly paired off as well.

Elise explores Pella with her
doppelganger. You can also see Naomi
trying to do the same with Cora, who is
often, but not always, on board with the
idea.

Everything was jolly until bedtime. Despite lots of reassurance from her family, Naomi was not looking forward to sleeping in a strange house in her "new" bunny sleeping bag. Kalina helped by reading stories and Elise "helped" by making jokes, but it's probably safe to say she dreaded it until she fell asleep. While sitting in the dark beside her, I mentally made a note that we might end up cramming her into a pack-and-play at Grandma's house. Only eight nights to go.

In the bright light of morning, all became sunny again. Naomi ate all of two bites of breakfast, and the older kids spread their bands across the living room, working as though in a sweatshop. Fun! Aside from making bracelets, day 2 of vacation was spent playing outside, picking bowls full of blue (and pink!) blueberries, digging plastic toys out of ice for fun, and exploring Pella. We stopped at a yummy bakery, braved the heat (the heat almost won) and saw a windmill. Naomi actually napped and bedtime went a tiny bit better.

Aunt Debbie's dollhouse
looks as nice as her real
house now!

Uncle David and Aunt
Debbie's new house!

Day 3 we spent in Des Moines. We started at a friend's house, where the two-year-old seemed to like new people even less than Naomi does (but was still pretty adorable). The girls headed to a park with Daddy while I had lunch with my old friend. Then we ventured to Uncle David and Aunt Debbie's new house, where all the girls helped her set up her dollhouse, and Kalina and Elise re-set it up after sweetly tolerating lots of help from their little sister. We played some games, walked around their lake and found the solitary goose, filled bags with pretty rocks (a theme of the trip) and ate a delicious dinner, complete with dessert. Back in Pella, Naomi seemed to be getting used to her sleeping bag.

We ate at Hickory Park
and Cy was kind enough
to welcome us and let
us climb on him.

In the morning, Matt and I babysat our friends' kids while packing up--no big hardship considering our kids played better with friends than without them. Then we left some rainbow loops and were on our way.

Our next major stop would be Grandpa and Grandma's house in the Twin Cities, but we had a couple stops to make along the way. First, we ate at Hickory Park in Ames, an old favorite of ours from the college days. The girls were delighted to find that it's pretty much impossible to eat there without getting ice cream. Yum. Not that Naomi ate much of anything except for ice cream (another theme of the trip).

Then we visited Aunt Jeanie, who sends us beautiful hand-made cards every year for our birthdays. Jeanie was kind enough to not only give us a tour of her craft room, but to let each girl make their own creation. Naomi stamped whales and cats, Elise made a sweet card (that she secretly planned to send to Aunt Jeanie as a thank-you note for helping her make the card) and Kalina opted for a bookmark as she is, of course, always running out of bookmarks. In her own signature style, she found a new way to use parts of stamps to get the image she wanted.

Everybody got to make
something with Aunt Jeanie!

Since Aunt Jeanie lives on a farm, we of course had to explore the yard, with its towering pines and the almost-as-towering field of corn, as well as the garden. It was hard to leave this beautiful place, but a taco dinner was awaiting us so we piled into the car for our last leg of our journey north.

Day 4 ended at Grandpa and Grandma's house, where Naomi was a little more comfortable in her sleeping bag (thanks in part to stories from Kalina), but settling down still didn't happen until late. Oh well--it's vacation, right?

Elise on the Frog Hopper,
just before the slight drop
and the thumbs down. She's
in the very middle.

Day 5 was an extra-special one: Daddy's birthday! And a trip to Como Zoo, where we rode the carnival rides since we hadn't really done that before. After a successful train ride, Elise tried the slightly more adventurous Frog Hopper. Fortunately, a thumbs-down sign stops the ride, so Elise was soon off--but she tried! Although she's not planning to ride it again anytime soon, she did enjoy being up high and seeing the other rides, and I believe she also enjoys telling the story (with a dire warning to her sisters to never ride on the Frog Hopper).

The teacups! Daddy got the honors
of riding along, even though Mommy
totally would have if there hadn't been
a vertigo risk!

We then rode the pony carts and after a long wait, the teacups, which Kalina had been yearning after for a while. Naomi, to my slight surprise, tried everything her big sisters did (except the Frog Hopper, of course), possibly due to the fact that she actually has big sisters to ride with. We tried cars and the teacups again, refreshed with a snack and then, to end on a very high note, panned for fossils, minerals and gems! All three girls were over the moon with their own little bag of pretty rocks (Elise even more so than the others, because she's Elise). Naomi napped away the afternoon at home while her big sisters sorted, sifted, gushed over and identified their rocks, and Daddy and Grandpa golfed.

They also caught a toad and played with the decorative rocks around the patio, which they discovered could be written on by other rocks and turned into fairy furniture and food. And then we ate cake and ice cream with Daddy!

Doesn't everyone look
lovely at Pinocchio?

The next morning, all the girls had a very important date to see Pinocchio in the children's theater. We left plenty early and were rewarded with the chance to see some statues at the art museum next door and use the bathroom before, except for the two youngest, of course. After rather precariously determining who would sit by Grandma for which part of the performance (after all, we were negotiating with a two-year-old), we settled in and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Even Naomi remained spellbound during the entire 1 1/2-hour production!

Then we all enjoyed lunch at a bakery, enjoying some slightly new flavors and our free cookie for dessert. Back at home, everybody except the kids was tired and ready for a nap, so Kalina and Elise played with Naomi while she pretended to attempt to nap, while the grownups checked out. Later we explored more outside, including the lake just around the corner from the house.

On Day 7, we decided the girls needed some low-key, yet out-of-the-house fun (lest something or someone get broken) and checked out a really neat nearby playground. Kalina and Elise enjoyed exploring and trying out some different playground toys while Naomi let the grownups take turns being pulled around by the hand to do the same.

Fun with second cousins!

Later, we headed to Aunt Rita's house for a mini family reunion where we met two new girl second cousins (once removed?) right about Kalina's and Elise's age and their very happy baby brother. The big girls thoroughly enjoyed their new playmates and played outside all the beautiful evening. Naomi, however, wanted nothing much to do with anyone new, and instead sequestered Grandma in the small (but magical) upstairs playroom with her. The toddler did come out of her shell a bit to eat dinner (chips and fruit on her plate--a pretty typical meal for her while we traveled) and especially for ice cream.

Panning for cool rocks is very
serious business.

The next day was our last full day at Grandma and Grandpa's. And it happened to be Grandpa's birthday! If you asked Naomi, anyway--she thought it hilarious to wish Grandpa a happy birthday whenever she saw him. Unfortunately, Grandpa will have to wait until December for the real thing.

Matt took some amazing
pictures of the hawk. We were
not quite this close, but close
enough to get this shot.

We surprised ourselves in the morning with a walk around the lake, including a stop at the playground halfway. If we had known we'd end up out for two hours in partial sun right around lunchtime we would have packed accordingly. As it was, we thoroughly enjoyed the first 3/4 of the walk! We even spotted a hawk eating its prey up in a tree--perfectly visible and perfectly content to let us observe it. We could almost hear it crunching, and we were all too fascinated to be grossed out.

Later that day, Elise caught a tree frog and we explored more of the neighborhood. Matt caught a small fish followed very closely by a leopard frog that Kalina spotted. ("Get the fish off the hook and catch this frog!") Grandpa Les removed a few more toes (he always puts them back on, though!) and we examined all the rocks again.

Doesn't this just look like the coziest
place to sleep?

And then it was our last night! Sometime during the trip, Grandma read Naomi a story called My Favorite Things. The end of the story asks the question, "What's your favorite thing?" Naomi's answer? "Sleeping at Grandpa and Grandma's house."And so it was that we all had a good trip--even Naomi!

Elise taught Grandpa how to
Rainbow Loom!

Grandma taught Elise how to knit!

Kalina is 8 and June was great

Kalina decorated her own
birthday cake by her request.
We enjoyed vanilla cake,
vanilla icing and
sliced strawberries. Yum!

Backstage ballerinas,
beautiful inside and out.

There are dozens of things I could write about the month of June. We began with a beautiful ballet and performing arts recital, which Elise was proud of because she didn't mess up in a place she often messes up and Kalina was delighted with because she enjoyed being a Lady Licorice villain. They both performed very well, Elise earnestly doing her very best to give the audience a good show (and succeeding!) and Kalina adeptly and gracefully leading her class around the stage.






And then Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit! We did several crafts we're still talking about, and Kalina figured out swimming under water in the hotel pool. They both took their first pony rides and fed birds at Grant's Farm in a very magical morning. The pony rides were "bumpy" and lots of fun--neither Kalina nor Elise were the least bit scared, although Naomi, who was expecting smaller ponies, opted out.

The 100+ parakeets in a feeding cage were enchanting. The bird Kalina singled out and bonded with hopped onto her arm, a couple more made it to Grandma's hat and shoulder, and one walked onto my arm. Then, with only a few minutes of convincing, bribing and baiting, another finally hopped onto eager Elise's arm. Naomi was vehemently opposed to letting any birds come close to her, so we all got our wish. Perfect!

We also managed to catch plenty of nice fish with Grandpa, including Elise's first catfish, of which she was super proud, and a small collection of minnows and a tadpole.

But of course, June wouldn't be June without a celebration of our oldest girl's birthday!

A few weeks ago I asked Kalina if she'd like to do anything special for her birthday. She thought for only a moment before her awed, enthusiastic voice replied, "Get a library card!" Later, she realized she also wanted to hold a birthday celebration for her mice. I knew we could manage these, and probably a few more surprises as well.

Kalina is a girl that exudes "It's my birthday!" enchantment, regardless of the fact that there are presents and cake and other festivities. She woke up glowing, and glowed all day long, whether brushing her teeth or unwrapping a new pair of roller skates.

This particular morning was a busy one: after a bowl or two of birthday cereal (Lucky Charms, in this case), and a present from Naomi (a sweet stuffed lamb--Naomi's own idea that was very well received by her big sister, who good-naturedly agreed to the name Naomi suggested) it was time to head out to VBS. But wait! The heavy Birthday Girl button didn't work very well on Kalina's light shirt. We needed one more present, which conveniently happened to be a pretty birthday dress. Birthday Girl button in place (which has earned its weight in extra birthday greetings from friends and strangers alike), we headed out the door. Kalina was thrilled that all of VBS sang happy birthday to her at snacktime.

Kalina's mice celebrate their
"birthday," too!

Lunch was also to be special: Kalina and I were to go out on a birthday lunch date, complete with shopping afterward. After all, isn't it sometimes fun to pick out your own birthday present? Kalina thought so! We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and wandering around Petco for an hour oohing and aahhing over everything from bird treat holders, to a friendly cat and a cat with a funny haircut, to a new kind of rodent wheel. But what held Kalina's attention the most was a new mouse cage. After examining several, calling Daddy for permission and even researching in-store via smartphone, Kalina chose a wire cage with connectors that would allow her to hook up her tubes into all kinds of neat configurations. Happy birthday Kalina, and happy birthday Cupcake and Brownie! We lugged the cage to the van, shared a free cookie from the people at Jason's Deli (thank you, birthday button) and headed for the library where a nice librarian who recognized my name (thanks to the hundreds of books I request every year *hiding my head in shame*) and helped Kalina sign up for her very own library card.

Back at home, Grandpa, who had been watching Elise and Naomi, was recruited to assemble the cage, with plenty of help from Kalina, of course. Soon, Brownie and Cupcake were celebrating their birthday with a brand-new home so extensive they could get lost in it! Sweet!

We went out to Kalina's new favorite pizza place for supper, then returned home for cake and presents. Kalina loves to savor her moments, which meant that each card and gift was lovingly unwrapped, explored/read and only reluctantly set down so we could open another. And even so, bedtime was quite late! But it was a pleasure to see Kalina so thoroughly enjoy all of her gifts and feel so loved to be thought of by all of her favorite people.

When I asked Kalina if she wanted to do anything with her friends for her birthday, Kalina said she'd like to do an all-day, drop-off birthday playdate. We compromised on a six-hour drop-off playdate, with five friends because she really has five very lovely friends who get along well together, and pizza for lunch instead of the traditional Russian dish she would've rather had (but probably would've seemed a bit strange to her friends).

Kalina's rainy playdate party with
friends! (No faces and in the distance
for online privacy reasons.)  Did you
notice that Kalina kindly distributed
the family umbrellas among her
friends, wearing only a raincoat
herself??

The day was rainy, but that didn't stop the girls' fun. After initially following Kalina around from mice, to piano, to room, to basement, and back again, they settled into playing nicely together. I kept Naomi happy, pizza was delivered and nobody was in tears. I felt almost peaceful.

And then we started the craft. I knew making hand-sewn mice would be a challenge, but it was the only craft idea I could possibly come up with that Kalina was excited about. (Mental note: next time just pick something myself and be confident she'll love it--because she will.) As it turned out, although enthusiasm was high, sewing skills were all over the map. Fortunately, I was the only one losing patience with endless weird knots and short ends, and each girl managed to complete a mouse. They soon headed off to the Mousetrap board to feed them cheese and attempt to trap them. Fun!

Thank goodness another mom arrived to visit and help, and she helped me put cupcakes on the table for the girls to decorate, and generally manage the chaos that now ensued. But in truth, the "chaos" was sweet, simple, nice chaos and except for the occasional two-year-old tantrum, easily managed. The playdate ended up lots of fun, for me as well as for the girls. Except possibly those endless weird knots... (How did you do that?!? And why?!?)

Kalina treated us all to a
homemade fairy punch one
day.

It's been a big year for Kalina. As a seven-year-old, she gained lots of confidence and ability in activities she's been pursuing (whether of her own accord or her mother's) for years. Kalina learned the basics of a couple new instruments, most of the cursive alphabet, the sign language finger alphabet, how to knit, how to bike without training wheels and how to swim underwater. She was the best ballerina in her class after a two-year gap in lessons (really), took off with piano and enthusiastically dug into Spanish, in addition to making great strides in her other school work. In the kitchen she can chop (carefully), make scrambled eggs and cookies and mostly follow a recipe. She knows her globe very well, has lots of Bible verses memorized and can talk intelligently about many subjects in science. She's been interested in how things work lately and worked her way through a book about inventions. The girl can remember a tune she's only heard a couple times, long ago, and pick it out on the piano, then add simple accompaniment.

Kalina is very gently working on training her mice and continues to pursue meaningful relationships with every animal she sees. She currently wants to be a pet shop owner specializing in mice, rental penguins and axolotls. And yes, she still adores Lisa (formerly known as Lamby), sleeps with her, brings her places, dresses her up and occasionally talks to her.

Kalina plays a duet with
Uncle Tom

Kalina loves stories of when she was little, and has a heart for those who may be a bit helpless themselves (little children and, of course, animals). She's sensitive, dreamy, sweet, smart, funny, trusting and full of beauty. While Kalina may never be on time of her own accord, she puts her whole heart into whatever she's doing, and it truly shows. She likes to organize things and beautify the table, for instance, and has even been known to straighten her own drawers and nightstand without being asked, but would much rather be on "toddler duty" than clear the table, sweep the floor and other such proletarian tasks (although vacuuming is okay).

She dances instead of walking at times (especially when we're in a hurry), excitedly captures all manner of bugs and worms in her hands, and even once, bravely killed a bee that she believed was going to sting her friend. (Yet if you ask her to go down to the basement alone she'll immediately recruit a sister to accompany her--thank goodness she has two.)

Naomi loves to match with
Biscuit!

The girl spends much of her spare time reading everything from Peter Pan (unabridged) to other less-classic fairy books, and has branched out to other memorable characters such as Ramona Quimby. Some of her very favorite books were written 100 years ago by author/conservationist Thornton Burgess, about the lives of little animals in the woods.

Yes, Kalina's head is often in the clouds, but she's responsible and kind enough to come back to earth on occasion. And we're all very glad she does, because we're so thrilled to have spent eight lovely years with our dear, sweet Kalina!





And now just a few pictures from the Fourth of July:

It's nice to know that the Hanks
fireworks tradition will be passed
down...sort of...

Over the Fourth of July, Elise taught
Aunt Debbie how to finger knit!