Happy Nine Years, Kalina!

Kalina's two-story box house,
complete with library!

Kalina is 9! She has settled so adeptly and confidently into 9 that it's hard to remember that she hasn't always been this age.

In keeping with tradition, we started the day with birthday cereal (Lucky Charms) and a host of goodwill. As Kalina walked down the stairs she gasped in delight, Kalina-style, at the beautiful decorations greeting her. But those decorations didn't happen all on their own--Kalina's own biggest fan put them into motion.

On birthday eve, Elise and I went out shopping as we'd recently discovered the thoughtful gift Elise had ordered wasn't going to arrive on time (if at all). Her mortified tears turned into constant cheerful chattering as we headed to Petland (a fact Elise shouted to the world as soon as we closed the door behind us) to find some mouse gear. We also found puppies, a bunny, birds and other cute animals it was very hard to leave behind. Probably harder for some of us than for others...

Celebrating a couple days early with
Grandpa Les and Grandma

After making our purchases there, we headed across the parking lot to Target, since all of our birthday decorations are buried somewhere in the mass of boxes at our house. Elise obligingly helped me make good decisions on various celebratory goods, made an attempt at snagging some extra treats, and blew up balloons on the way home. Thank goodness she did--my braces and Matt's surgery made the task difficult enough later that we almost got Elise out of bed to come help some more. She assured me the next day that that would've been totally fine.

Virtually as soon as Kalina walked down the stairs in the morning, Naomi shoved her present into Big Sister's arms and Kalina good-naturedly opened it right away. A stuffed baby goat greeted her. Naomi truly gives from the heart, remembering how much Kalina had loved feeding the baby goats at Grant's Farm. And of course, it's not a birthday unless there's a stuffy. New this year: she kept it a secret the entire time!

Then she opened Elise's present. (Elise: "We almost got you a puppy! But we decided on these instead.") She had found some things for the mice, and also a couple of Kalina's favorite books.

The morning was filled with the "it's my birthday!" glow, which makes everyone generally get along and play happily together. We visited the stream in the backyard, checked the mail, opened a few presents and fixed one of Kalina's favorites for lunch: bagels and cream cheese.

Kalina's early birthday at an
amazing stream. The sun
stayed long enough to make
it pleasant!

About a month ago, before we moved, we'd held a pre-birthday party for Kalina with all her friends. She decided to have it at a beautiful stream that's perfect for wading and catching critters--Kalina's very favorite activity. We had a great turnout, and the rain held off exactly as long as it needed to--which was until we were all in the picnic shelter drying off and having lunch.

So today, fortunately, Kalina was feeling fine about not having a bit celebration, but we did want to do something special and so headed to the local pottery painting place. The girls each chose an animal to paint, and Elise convinced me to get a plate big enough to eat lunch off of. My worries that it would be impossible to do any painting were totally unfounded. Actually, the girls helped, as I stamped their hands (three coats each) as my design--since I'm really not that great at painting flowers or anything anyway.

Painting pottery

Kalina's red squirrel was adorable and she cherished every minute of painting and looking at cute pottery animals, and Naomi's puppy bank will be pretty in purple and pink. Elise's turtle is very sweet, with polka dots on its shell. Her empathy for the woman cleaning brushes exceeded her artistry, however, and she opted to forgo additional coats of paint on the polka dots since she'd already put her brush in the sink and didn't want to dirty another. And Naomi, who was short on sleep and really did have the option of bouncing from wall to wall of breakable objects, chose instead to sit or stand patiently even though she was finished before everyone else. Everyone seemed a year older today!

Back at home, Kalina opened a complicated K'Nex set and dug right in while we waited for Daddy to come home so we could go out to supper. He walked in the door with a beautiful bakery cake and flowers for the birthday girl, and we rushed him out to Jason's Deli--Kalina's favorite.

The meal was great, and we enjoyed our first round of ice cream for the day. Back at home, Kalina was awed at the beauty of her cake. She helped light the candles and grinned as we sang and took pictures. Possibly because of the big meal and ice cream (we were on round two, along with the cake), she only took about two bites of the cake. And possibly it was because the frosting wasn't her favorite.... But what a beautiful cake!

Then we carefully opened cards, and slowly opened presents, until Naomi wasn't going to last much longer (but of course couldn't miss anything) and we needed to rush to bed. Kalina's birthday was lovely, as always. But I get the impression that with Kalina, it's not the special activities and treats that make it lovely--it would be a wonderful day just by virtue of the fact that it's hers. "It's my birthday!"

Oil change and tire rotation
in Grandpa's workshop!

So, what's Kalina up to these days? She's interested in all things STEM, possibly excluding the math part. She's been known to offer keen insights (for an 8-year-old) helping Grandpa Tom  with vehicle maintenance, come up with Rube Goldberg-esque inventions, avidly study water flow and filtration (plus catch lots of critters) and build all kind of structures, both real and imaginary.

Contrasting with her enjoyment of machines and inner workings, Kalina continues to flourish as a ballerina. She and her class startled us with their graceful, complex movements in their ballet performance, and Kalina is known at home for turning routine activities and events into lovely dances. What a joy to be around!

Kalina truly lives in the moment, with intricate ideas and funny little jokes. Far from running from other kids nowadays, as she was known for in the first third of her life, Kalina now easily makes friendships, and often leads her group of friends. True to her introverted self, however, she's also just fine being alone--especially when there are books, projects and nature to entertain her.

Speaking of books, Kalina discovered Narnia this year and has not put it down for long. It's her go-to, and she reads and re-reads her favorite chapters (yes, by the chapter--a practice that would drive the rest of us crazy). She finds the humor in these books, and also the wonder. For her, they're the epitome of a good story. But Roald Dahl also suffices, except for the "scary" books.

"Blanket Time" preschool!

And Kalina has taken great strides in her big sister role. She's proven herself capable of getting her littlest sister "ready for the day," a feat that involves imagination, negotiation, convincing and lots of patience--all of which she wields in exactly the right proportions, and especially on the days when I fail miserably. She invents games and activities they can all enjoy together, and is her sisters' biggest fans, enchanted by both of them. As long as they don't interrupt her in the middle of a good book, of course....

Of course, I'm writing this in the summer, when we've been done with school for a month. It's possible that not all of this would be true if I were asking Kalina to finish up her math problems, or get her spelling done. Just possible.... Although to be fair, Kalina's fortitude was much improved this year. She didn't always greet tricky spelling sentences or comparing non-equivalent fractions with open arms, but they weren't quite the end of the world that they used to be.

Kalina as a Canadian
snowflake in her ballet recital!

Kalina performed beautifully in her piano recital, and memorized lots of pieces this year. She earned Memory Master in her co-op. She caught countless critters, including bumble bees ("They won't sting me because if they sting someone, they die." This theory proved to be true most of the time--and like many good biologists, she learned the truth the hard way.). She can kind of swim and can tread water for more than 2 minutes. She made meringues mostly on her own and other recipes as well. She can draw well, and she wrote her first chapter book this year. Kalina is more capable of cursive than she gives herself credit for (it's not, after all, quite perfect) but doesn't enjoy it (it's not, after all, quite perfect).

She can climb trees, ask questions I really have to dig to find answers to, clean a mouse cage (except the heavy part), empty the dishwasher without complaining (on a good day) and take pictures and videos on a phone. Kalina's lost eight teeth so far. She still calls me mommy, and she sleeps with Lisa every night. She can finish a mid-sized chapter book in one sitting and is very patriotic. She has saved up for the past couple years, hardly spending a dime (except once on charity, and another time to buy a piece of amber with a bug in it) and has more than $130. On the road, she studies license plates and remembers the plate numbers of several of our friends' vehicles. She has a large fossil collection, most found in nature.

Kalina bonding with a bird
she's feeding.

Kalina is grounded in reality but still loves to play, and will happily put on shows with her sisters, or make up preschool activities with Naomi. Her creativity knows no bounds--sometimes to the detriment of the house I just cleaned. She has a good sense of humor, and makes up silly songs and phrases for the amusement of her sisters ("A bottle of antelope and a bottle of cantaloupe are entirely different things."). She also has a good sense of mischief, however, that can occasionally get her into trouble.

She still daydreams often. "Can I please just think?" She asked recently. Kalina is still enchanted by baby animals and her little sisters. Her favorite treat is ice cream and her favorite food is probably bacon. She can also do a number on a can of black olives, and enjoys the Russian food called pelmini, which she makes with me every year (for two years in a row, anyway!).

Happy nine years, sweet girl!! You are such a blessing to our family!

At Ikea. So patient--yet not so
subtle! 

Kalina has inherited her
dad's knack for finding
four-leaf clovers!

Will you play with me?

Very neat color mixing. Elise
would have had it all the way
up her arms by now.

When the question is asked by a cheery, hopeful three-year-old, looking up at you with big brown eyes, there's only one answer: of course I do! Even if dinner is burning on the stove. Even if she was melting down about the color of her cup earlier in the day. Even if planning one more birthday party for Biscuit might put you over the top. Yes, Naomi, let's play!

And then, off you go. You might do circle time (the bread and butter of preschools) with a group of stuffed animals, asking them each their favorite color. Or create a birthday tea party picnic on the floor. Or draw endless people and animals (usually family members and stuffie family members) until either she's satisfied, or the drawing doesn't live up to her standards and playtime crumbles into a pile of accusations (you didn't draw it right!).

Yes, this is all very elementary, but it's not without its actual amusements (other than spending time with sweet Naomi, of course). For one, it's fun to watch her draw. Not only is her pencil grip beyond reach of many kindergarteners (and has been for years), but she concentrates so heavily, bending nearly double over the paper and taking every stroke seriously. Sometimes too seriously, driving herself to perfection far beyond her 3-year-old capabilities (or Mommy's 30-something capabilities). As frustrating as that is for both of us, it's not without its sweetness, as she then cuts, shreds, scribbles or crumples her paper into oblivion, and then shoves the remains into the trash can or as far back under the couch as she can reach (so, not too far).

Naomi wore the fawn mask
all evening, even at dinner,
pretending to be sisters with
her deer, Annie.

Most of the time, she confidently turns swirls and amorphous shapes into actual figures (something her big sisters didn't do until they were Elise's current age, Kalina preferring me to do all her drawing for her and Elise preferring to see what scribbles looked like on the paper), adding eyes, noses and frowns, as well as bodies and limbs. I'm trying not to read too much into the frown thing. Fortunately, many of those frowns have been turned upside down since I taught her to do smiles--but not all of them. Why???

Of course, there's quite a bit to learn when you play with Naomi. Her posse of stuffed animals usually includes a dog family, a fawn, and a few other random ones. She likes to dress up as Princess Sofia, but it's important to know that Sofia's sister, Amber, is mean. Sometimes she's nice, but she definitely started out mean. For some reason this is of paramount importance and we make reference to it all the time.

Naomi enjoys pretending, so sometimes I get to be an owner while she's a baby puppy or a baby bunny or a baby fawn. Occasionally I'm her mommy and I'm taking her to a pet shop to pick out any pets she wants (this is fun because it's something I actually want to do in real life). Sometimes she's the big sister for her baby doll, and I'm the mommy. Occasionally she's a crying baby who needs to be picked up. And fairly often, she's a princess. Sometimes a little too much of one:

Me: "Oops, Naomi, you knocked that off the table. Once you pick it up, we can keep drawing."
Naomi, very rationally: "But Mommy, I'm a princess, and princesses have servants."

Naturally, I explained to her that princesses still have to do things for themselves, but she wasn't at all convinced until I cited an example or two from her princess books. She complied, but I get the impression that she only did it because Princess Grace did. Even then, she wrestled with the question, in a very logical, and not explosive, state of mind, for the next couple of days.

"Mommy, why do servants cook princesses their dinner?" She's just about got me on that one--the inconsistencies are evident, and it's certainly a slippery slope from cooking dinner for princesses to cleaning up their messes. If Naomi keeps the princess phase going until her teen years, we may be in trouble.

Naomi made a Valentine
decoration!

Of course, Naomi knows that in many princess stories and fairy tales we find mean stepmothers and stepsisters, wolves, foxes and other creatures that mean harm. She always hopes they're only pretend:

"Mommy, are wolves in this world?" she asks, worriedly. "Mommy, are monsters in this world?" "Mommy, are stepmothers in this world?" Um, I hope not for you...

We have a lot of little games we play as well: for instance, I always forget how to turn off the lamp in her room. We try all types of buttons, but only Naomi can find the one that actually works. Or, occasionally I "run out" of Naomi and have to find more of her in the pantry (where she almost fits quite nicely!).

I think our favorite playtime, though, has to be when the big sisters are out at their Friday classes. We gleefully escape home to bake together (with tastes), paint, do special craft projects, ask and answer lots of questions, do lots of circle time and read stories, all on Naomi's terms and uninterrupted. It's during this time when Naomi's personality shines the most: sweet, and yet serious (and a little silly, of course).

Which is why when Naomi asks, "Will you play with me?" the answer just has to be yes!

Two new posts in one day?!? Yes. Don't miss the one about what Elise has been up to, below.

Made from scratch, by Elise

Elise has long been interested in chemistry. To her, this chiefly consists of mixing things--baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, you name it.

Lately, however, she's combined this hobby with two others: treats and rock climbing, so that at any point when I come into the kitchen I might find her perched busily on top of the counter, reaching for the marshmallows so she can add them to a milky, floury, sugary concoction in a bowl next to her. A sprinkle of Cheerio dust, a pinch of salt and a good mix later, and we have the makings for a cake! Dessert for tonight!

How does Elise create her confections? First, she thinks of a few key ingredients: oats, flour, sugar and milk are staples, as well as candy hearts left over from Valentine's Day, chocolate chips and marshmallows. Usually she likes to add some kind of fruit as well, and perhaps a drizzling of honey.

Then, she makes a recipe card out of construction paper and writes her ingredients and any other instructions. She notes common measurements she's seen me use, and writes down a baking temperature of 350, usually for about 12 minutes. For example:

Mini Cupcakes (spelling all hers)
1 cup shoger
1 cup flawer
1/4 millk
1 cup chopped up strawberries
a drisling fo Hony

And frosting, of course.

I believe when we actually made this recipe, we cut the sugar and flour down to 1/4 cup, and we added a pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, marshmallows and maybe a little vanilla.

Here's another:

edible pond
food color
yogert blue
dip Bred in the yogert put karet cyons on the bred (karet cyons = carrot coins)

Elise has tucked these (and more!) away in my recipe box, and even at one point made her own recipe-writing desk out of a cardboard box. Kalina decorated the recipes, so they make a sweet little collection.

Fortunately for me, Elise, prepares all her recipes on her own, occasionally with help from Naomi or Kalina. Of course, I might need to reach eggs, help with spills, refill salt containers, find appropriately sized baking pans and measuring cups, put things into and pull things out of the oven (at 2-minute intervals so we can check to see if it's done), and myriad other insignificant tasks, but it's clearly Elise's project. I can just sit back and relax while dessert gets made! Elise has also been faithful about the other half of baking: cleanup. A couple reminders, and she's totally on it!

Really, the only tricky part it trying to figure out when the recipe is done baking, as many of Elise's creations fall into categories of their own (unleavened cupcakes, milk-cakes, strawberry-peanut butter fudgecakes, etc.). We seem to be successful every time, though, especially once the creations are cooled and drizzled with honey, sprinkled with more sugar or topped with frosting.

Elise added a box to her
scooter so she could deliver
treats to the neighbors. These
were standard chocolate chip
cookies made by Kalina that
were the best several of our
neighbors had ever eaten!

Of course, with Elise's generous nature, she's always willing to share. She made mini cupcakes for the kids up the street, and sent one home with Grandpa as well. So far, she's gotten rave reviews from everyone except Naomi, but we all know how picky Naomi is! Naomi even used to be afraid of ice cream, so of course she's only licking the frosting off a mini cupcake!

It's been wonderful seeing Elise put her kitchen knowledge to work, and without cookbooks, too! In fact, at the suggestion that she could flip through our kids' cookbook, she said she preferred to come up with her own. I don't blame her--after all, most of the cookbook recipes are a bit low on marshmallows.

Thanks, Elise, for being a treat to watch, as well as making us some lovely treats!

Also, we're out of sugar.

Holidays!

When I think of all there is to post about, I get tired. As though I'd spent a month and a half doing nothing but celebrating. Which is kind of true...

Thanksgiving meant four solid days of pure fun, beginning with picking Aunt Nancy up from the airport Wednesday morning and heading straight to Build-A-Bear (and Chick-Fil-A, and the craft store). Uncle Tom arrived, and then Uncle David and Aunt Debbie and Grandpa, and pretty soon we were playing board games, cooking/eating, shopping, and generally having a good time.

One highlight was visiting St. Charles, a cute historic town that has been converted over into shops and restaurants. Naomi, old enough to insist on coming along at the risk of missing naptime, visited shops and sat in a restaurant like a pro. She spent her (tiny) allowance in the first store on a little pink raccoon stuffed animal, and Elise purchased one as well. Costumed actors straight out of Dickens, Mother Goose and more, plus horse-drawn carriage rides to watch and the ever-popular candy store ("Now are we going to the candy store? How about now?"), made it an excellent way to kick off the Christmas season.

Although I don't really like the idea of kids writing out huge, detailed lists of toys they've decided to demand for Christmas, I couldn't help but turn them loose with one or two high-quality toy catalogs. After all, don't we all have memories of those magical, glossy pages?

Elise kicked it up a notch, bringing colored pens and a complicated code into the mix ("The ones circled in purple are Naomi's, and the ones circled in pink are mine. If they're circled a lot, we really want them. In this other catalog we only had one pen, so I wrote our initials by each one. If it has both our initials we both want it."). She shopped for herself and helped Naomi as well, in addition to sending a suggestion or two to the neighbors for the neighbor boy she plays with. Elise was totally on it. Even if some of her own selections were for two-year-olds, and others for 12-year-olds.

As for Kalina,
Me: Kalina, would you like to take a look at these Christmas toy catalogs?
Kalina: Hmmm... maybe
And then she spent 15 minutes looking at a page of bikes, none of which she wanted. She did circle a certain set of panda bamboo building blocks that she'd seen before.
When I asked her straight out what she wanted for Christmas, her answer was a dreamy "snow." *sigh* Here's hoping....

Their great-grandma's peanut-butter
logs, all by themselves! Yes, that's a
puppy apron/chef's hat I found for
Naomi for $3 so she can have a
Christmas apron, too.

I was amazed at how much the girls took on themselves this year. They decorated much of the tree (a little clumpy--"All my Grandma ornaments are going to hang on this branch!"--but still, decorated) and later, completed whole Christmas treat projects nearly on their own, Kalina being capable enough, Elise being highly motivated and Naomi being able to apply sprinkles without eating all of them.

Waiting for Christmas. Any
minute now...

They also took initiative when it came to what went under the tree. Elise and Naomi made little drawings for several family members, sealed in decorated envelopes until the big day. Naomi took this a bit further, filling a box with some toys for Biscuit, "wrapping" this box with one of her baby blankets, and shoving it under the tree. What a surprise when Biscuit finally opened it and some items that had been missing for a month reappeared!

We wrote letters to Santa, and Kalina requested mouse tubes, not being able to think of anything else. She did, however, have some good questions for him, as did Elise and Naomi ("What kind of house do you live in?" "Do you have Christmas lights?""Is Rudolph really real? Sometimes he's not in the pictures." "Do the reindeer have any pets?" Is Rudolph nice?" "What does Rudolph eat?"). Elise simply asked for a Beanie Baby puppy (and was quite confident she'd get it, having asked for a Beanie Baby kitten last year and received just the one she'd had in mind). Naomi requested a puppy (stuffed, fortunately) and a Snow White doll.

We also visited Santa this year and, everyone being big enough not to cry, got a picture. On the way over, Kalina mentioned she couldn't decide whether to ask Santa for snow or for her mouse's eye to be healed. Having planned carefully, we arrived when there was no line. Elise marched right up and plunked herself directly next to Santa, grinning from ear to ear. And Naomi surprised us all by walking confidently up with no fear. If there's a boy helping in Sunday School she's outta there, but Santa? No problem! She listed her requests just like her older sisters. Kalina opted to ask for snow, and Santa kindly and patiently explained that his elves were always very tired by Christmas, but they would get some reindeer dust if there was any left over and see what they could do.

Of course, plenty of other festivities filled our days--we spent the month doing crafts, making salt dough ornaments, Christmas caroling at a nursing home, seeing the Nutcracker, looking at Christmas lights, making Christmas cookies, hoping for snow and much more. It's a big month.

Too pretty to eat. Right? Right???

Soon, it was time for Uncle Tom to arrive, with his pack full of games. This year, Kalina and Elise were old enough to go rock climbing with Daddy and Uncle Tom, and had a fabulous time (Naomi and I also spent an equally fabulous morning making delicious cranberry bread, doing circle time with her animals and reading stories).

Christmas morning wouldn't be
the same without new and old stuffy
friends!

We also took a Christmas Eve trip to the zoo, where we saw penguins nesting (one penguin was sitting on a chick right there!!!), cool bugs, a polar bear trying to get out and other fun animals. Then there was Christmas Eve service, a gingerbread house, sprinkling reindeer dust (which they had sneakily delivered to some neighbors as well), leaving cookies for Santa, a final recitation of The Night Before Christmas, checking stockings and finally, trying to get to sleep so Santa would come!!! Really, it's amazing they got to sleep at all.

And then Christmas came!!! It really came!!! And so did Santa. Everyone got at least one of the things they'd asked Santa for. And although Kalina didn't get snow for Christmas, she did get a little before Christmas, which contented her entirely.

Playing boat with Uncle Tom.
Watch out for sharks!

We opened presents, many consisting of Lego/Duplo products, and another of the one panda set Kalina had circled and several princess items, and watched as dreams came true. Okay, maybe not--but as Kalina had her giant Lego set assembled by mid-afternoon, Elise spent the day in euphoria after receiving her much-coveted Lego Ariel castle, and Naomi unwrapped a beautiful Snow White doll as well as a Sofia Duplo castle, spirits were high. Less so for Naomi who hadn't napped in days, and was feeling it.

Everyone but Naomi enjoyed a turkey dinner (I broke down and gave her tortilla with cheese--after all, it's Christmas), and we spent the afternoon with games, toys and these funny electronic birds that repeat everything you say in a hilarious birdy voice. What a magical day!

The next day we kicked it into high gear and, after saying goodbye to Uncle Tom, got ready for our trek to Minnesota! Fortunately the girls know by now that the drive is long, boring and worth it and settled in pretty well. Audio books helped, and I actually got to knit for much of the way. Not bad!

Naomi and Dean spent some
sweet moments reviewing a
photo from last year, hearing
stories and playing with
homemade playdough
together!

Even better, we crossed the snow line and were greeted with a white Christmas after all! We enjoyed four days of seeing Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle Brian, Aunt Laura, Uncle Chris and cousin Dean. Last year, Dean was a baby--certainly lots of fun. But this year, Dean could walk, talk up a storm and interact even more. Kalina sweetly helped and played with him and Elise giggled at his toddlerness, but it was Naomi's reaction I was really waiting to see. Would she see him as a rival for attention and toys? A nuisance? Invisible?

I never expected what really happened: while at first she tended to baby Dean (because last time she saw him he was one), by the last day, they were buddies! Similarly aged enough that they could do the same activities, but Naomi clearly enjoyed being the older, capable one. She considerately and proactively shared toys, took turns and didn't even freak out when I held or played with Dean. She's getting so big in so many ways (just not much in size).

Sea animals + bear outfit make
for a happy Elise!

While seeing Dean was a huge highlight, we had fun plenty of other ways, too. A trip to the aquarium at Mall of America was a memorable experience, especially for Naomi who worried in the tunnel that "the fish are flying!" Her anxiety about the fish (hmmm...who can relate?) combined with her compounded lack of sleep + too much activity meant we had to rush through the last part lest she begin to hyperventilate, but she held up so well in general no one held it against her. Kalina and Elise enjoyed touching starfish and anemones (not Naomi--again, can anyone relate?) and Naomi at least enjoyed watching rays, seahorses and jellyfish. Fun!

After stuffing ourselves with one of Grandpa Les's famous breakfasts (Elise: "Mommy, can you ask Grandpa Les for his French toast recipe?"), we climbed around in an indoor playground (Elise made a friend and tried to set up a playdate) and the older girls spent hours sledding and building a fort with Matt and Uncle Brian while Naomi tended to stuffed animals and princesses inside. We also got to see some of Matt's aunts, uncles and cousins, right down to a 5-week-old new arrival! And there were lovely Christmas cookies after every meal! What could be better?

Perplexed by Perplexus!

And of course, there was Christmas #2, where Kalina opened up the puzzle that kept Matt, Chris and Brian all occupied for hours on end. We never figured out what was more amazing: that Chris solved the puzzle, or that he didn't shout it from the rooftops when it happened. At any rate, Kalina put in a good showing as well!

Elise enjoyed a couple craft kits and a magnetic marble run ("How did you know I was hoping for this?!?"), and Naomi eagerly adopted various new animals into her ever-growing, carefully tended family. While Kalina and Elise opened new sleepers (they adore sleepers), Naomi also opened new two-piece fleece pajamas that she at first took to be a sleeper (which she firmly does not adore) based on their fabric. Her mommy and Grandma, both of whom agonized over whether she'd rather match her sisters in a sleeper or stick with a two-piece, will never forget her reaction:

Uncle Matt made Dean this
cool truck!

Me: Do you like your new pajamas?
Naomi, wide-eyed and distraught, but quietly and sadly honest: No.

It took a bit of convincing, but once she saw they had pants and a shirt as all pajamas, apparently, should, she was smiling again! Grandma clearly wrapped up the right PJs!

We had a wonderful Christmas! Let's do it again next year!

Fancy cookies are far jollier when
the little elves do most of the work!

Santa knew we'd want hot chocolate
with our breakfast and brought these
special mugs!

Dean has arrived!!! His
cousins can't get enough of
him!

Dean loves his breakfast almost as much
as Kalina loved feeding it to him.

Cousins and grandparents!

The snow fort, complete with tunnel!

The kids' toys are more fun every year!

Happy Halloween!

Sometimes I wonder if Halloween can possibly get any cuter. I'm really not sure it can, but each year we seem to top the previous one. This year, we geared up by pulling together our costumes ourselves (except Naomi's, as she's still in the realm of adorable one-piece toddler costumes that you can usually pick up used for $5 or $10), completing a few crafts, reading some pumpkin books and singing a certain Halloween song over and over with Naomi. Ready!

Naomi's costume was the easiest: she's known for a year or more that she wanted to be a puppy for Halloween, so it was only a matter of procuring it. Elise initially wanted to be a sheet-ghost again, which was a fantastic costume a year ago. The eyeholes, and shifting and dragging nature of the sheet, however, were not so fantastic. As she was also debating being one of her stuffed kittens (she calls them mewses), I may have gently nudged her in that direction. She chose the orange one, and we were both happy. Kalina, who has taken to answer every question lately with a very firm, yet decidedly dreamy and slightly doubtful, "maaaybe," or "I don't know..." or "What was the question?" took a little longer to decide. Yet due partly to the fact that she can do an amazing rodent voice, she chose to be a pink mouse. And so we ended up with a pet parade in our house.

While hot-gluing together felt kitten gloves didn't go so well (I steered Kalina toward pink mittens from the closet instead for her mouse costume), putting together ears and finding workable tails did. Also helpful was the fact that Naomi showed just the right amount of enthusiasm for her costume--happily donning it whenever we had a Halloween event, and just as happily shedding it when we were done (and not insisting on wearing it every day, for instance).

Naomi made pretty fall
leaves to decorate our house!

Leading up to the big day, our neighborhood's tradition is to pass around "boo bags" filled with treats and delivered in the dark so the deliverer can sneak away without being seen after ringing the doorbell. Last year we gave, but didn't receive, much to the disappointment of the kiddos when they realized that fact the day after Halloween (fortunately, some older neighbors had delivered cupcakes, so it's not like we were forgotten, as I pointed out multiple times throughout the year as they renewed their gripe). This year, fortunately, we were "booed" a few days before the big date, and were able to return the favor by sneaking up to a neighborhood friend's house and doing a really good job of hiding behind a wall. Fun!

We acquired 2/3 of our pumpkins from the garden (most of the rest having been eaten already) and Daddy was home early enough to join us for a trip to the farmer's market for the third. We carved...you guessed it...a mouse, a cat and a puppy. Kalina did quite a bit of the carving, and quite a good job of it. Elise scooped like a pro, and Naomi preferred instead to tend to her animals, although she cared enough to check in every so often and make sure her puppy pumpkin actually resembled a puppy. She took some convincing with the ears ("Puppy ears are shorter!") but in the end, we were all happy.

Kalina enjoyed carving (even faces!),
Elise enjoyed scooping and Naomi
thought the process was pretty gross.

Since it's a big concept for a three-year-old to wrap her head around, Naomi and I practiced trick-or-treating throughout all levels of our house as we visited different animals' "homes." She also asked me to repeat over and over again the events that would happen on Halloween, so by the time the big day arrived, she was confident and prepared.

As the sun began to set on Halloween night, we scurried around finishing supper while rounding up scattered parts of costumes, finding candles for our pumpkins and generously deciding that Naomi should have the purple plastic pumpkin. (Elise had mistakenly believed that it was hers to give, but in light of her sweet generosity I didn't need to remind her of this point.) They waited patiently through pictures and then they were off! Naomi needed no convincing to trail after her big sisters, although longer legs would've helped.

As another part of our preparation, we'd all found jokes, in keeping with the area tradition of requiring a trick in order to hand out a treat. Elise thought of hers weeks in advance and made elaborate preparations. She begged a singleton white sock off of me (its partner is still out there somewhere, right?!?) and cut holes for each of her Tommy kitten's paws. Voila! A ghost costume! And here's the script to go along with it:
Elise, speaking in a tiny kitten voice and holding up her gray kitten: "What does a kitten say on Halloween?"
Joke recipient: "I don't know, what?"
Elise, putting the gray kitten inside her Halloween pumpkin and pulling out Tommy dressed in a ghost costume: "Meeuuuuue!" [Rhymes with "Boo!"]
And people laugh because she's just so cute and enthusiastic.
And yes, Tommy kitten is named after and inspired by Uncle Tom and both are the most mischievous members of their families.

Kalina's joke took more consideration. "Maaaybe..." But after narrowing it down to four, she was forced to decide quickly on the big night, lest people decide she hadn't earned her candy, and settled on "How do you fix a pumpkin? With a pumpkin patch!" She delivered it well and earned a lot of compliments as nobody seemed to have heard it before (We've all heard the one about witches at the beach--sandwiches!!--dozens of times before).

Naomi, of course, wanted a joke too. While I quickly scanned for one she'd have a chance at remembering, she came up with her own:
Naomi: "What does a puppy say?"
Joke recipient: "What?"
Naomi: "Woof!"
And everyone would laugh, because who wouldn't laugh at a little three-year-old in an adorable puppy costume telling a joke like that? Occasionally she goofed up a bit and asked, "What does a woof-woof say?" and people were a little confused, but we would all still have a good chuckle.

The weather was perfect and we made it most of the way around the block before our short-napping toddler began to get weary, and even Kalina was ready to call it a night. (Not sure how long Elise could've kept going...). After we dropped Naomi off at home, our last stop was the house we had boo-bagged and Elise couldn't help asking the parents, while the kids were out of hearing, whether they had boo-bagged us. The parents denied any involvement, but of course returned the question. As my kids don't lie, all they could do was smile. Caught!

Back at home, Naomi was already on her second treat under Matt's watchful eye, and he kindly allowed a Tootsie Roll before she headed up to bed. It took a good ten minutes to brush the sticky, squishy chunks from all the crevices of her teeth, but at least she was happy....

The girls were very satisfied with their hauls (Elise: "My pumpkin is almost too heavy to hold!"), and have spent many happy minutes sorting, organizing, dividing and planning out the order in which they will consume the treats (especially Elise). But Elise is never happier than when she shares her treats, and so her first act was to set aside duplicate treats for friends, soldiers and even for the neighbor girl's dad who was threatening to steal her candy.

And so it was another happy Halloween that was more treat than trick. Meeeuuuuw!

Our "First" Family Vacation

As a family, we love to travel to visit other people--friends and relatives alike. (Well, most of us--one of us still gets a little anxious when traveling and meeting new-ish people.) The problem being, that when we take a family vacation, we barely speak to each other. So we decided to change that by taking our first immediate-family-only vacation since the memorable Traffic Jam Trip to Kentucky before Naomi was born. Which makes this, as the girls noticed, our first full family vacation! Fun!

The idea was met with universal disappointed "oh's" as we broke it to the kids that while we were headed to an amazing natural resort-ish cabin/lake community, we wouldn't be seeing friends like last time, or family. I believe we even garnered a "boring." And this from kids who think gravel is exciting. Matt and I agreed we really need to do this more often...

Naomi tends the marshmallows while
Daddy gets the fire going.

Fortunately, as the kids adjusted to the idea that they'd be stuck with only their dearly loved sisters and parents for company, they started to get excited. And of course, by the time we pulled into the cabin, only an hour away, they were bursting out of the van and exclaiming about everything, from the fake owl on the railing (Old Mr. Hoot, as we named him) to the TWO sets of bunk bed (Elise had claimed the top for weeks) to the beautiful lake in our backyard.

Sooner than you'd think we were ready for our first rowboat ride around the small lake, with Kalina adamantly refusing to hop aboard "I'm not getting aboard that thing!" since it seemed tippy. But we soon convinced her aboard, possibly only because the rest of us were all aboard and she hates being left alone anywhere, and were commenting on fishing prospects when at the far end of the lake, around a slight curve, we noticed a small herd of deer drinking from a shallow stream. They noticed us as well but, being somewhat used to people, decided we were alright--at least until we got close. We saw these deer on almost a daily basis, but never for long.

Next came pizza on the deck for supper and a campfire, where we rationed out the marshmallows and chocolate in the event that we would be so lucky as to have a campfire each night--or at least, that was our excuse.

And although we'd had Naomi skip her nap in favor of the prospect of getting her to sleep in a strange place at night, we decided that since the sky was clear and the weather beautiful, we should do some stargazing. We found a flat, open place nearby that happened to be both near a lake and right by a virtually empty road--not ideal for darkness with kids, but a very short walk from our cabin and a really good spot nonetheless. We spread out a blanket, and Kalina and Elise flopped down on their backs while Naomi curled up on her tummy. It didn't take us long to figure out that darkness + soft blanket + lying horizontally was just what our sleepy three-year-old craved.

Up until that point in their lives, the girls had only seen stars faintly through tree branches. Constellations were something you read about in books or on educational placemats. Here, however, while on our guard for traffic (there was none) and kids rolling into the lake (which we didn't even come close to) we saw a relatively full array, including multiple constellations, both real and imagined, the Milky Way, and two planets.

We'd been studying space this fall, so the girls eagerly put their knowledge to work. Identifying constellations in real life, however, when you've only done so previously in a dark bathroom with a glow-in-the-dark book can be pretty tricky. I reached into the recesses of my mind and pulled out what I remembered from seventh grade earth science and was soon able to point out Cassiopeia, The Big Dipper, Polaris, the Little Dipper, Pegasus and Draco. My phone app may have helped, too. While Matt and Naomi bonded, I helped Kalina and Elise look for "the big sideways W," trace the handle of the Big Dipper along the treeline, use pointer stars to find Polaris and the rest of the Little Dipper and line up the triangle of Draco's head. After umpteen repetitions, I believed the girls had actually seen some stars in some of those constellations, if not the whole constellations themselves, and we all returned to the cabin rather proud. Elise declared to the entire lake: "I see the Big Dipper!" ("I want everyone to hear me, Mommy!") Kalina, for her part, "discovered" a new constellation that she named Chef Pig.

Back at the cabin, we quickly brought the night to a close with Elise savoring the top bunk (but a little scared), and Kalina and Naomi sharing the full-sized double bunk. Despite their insistence that it took them a while to get to sleep and Kalina talked to Naomi, I've never heard it so quiet after bedtime.

Feeding Ponyella grass. Plumpkin
(or Bun-Bun) is nearby. Spend any
amount of time with Naomi (or Elise
at age 3) and you'll probably end up
reading the book.

Bright and early the next morning, Matt attempted fishing (not much luck), while the rest of us prepared for a fun-filled day. The afternoons have been warm but the mornings chilly--the beach would have to wait. We headed out after breakfast to a hike around some horse stables, where Naomi was pleased to see Ponyella, a favorite character from a favorite book. Ponyella made the toddler's joy complete by nibbling on long grass we handed in to her. The trail was virtually encrusted by pretty rocks--nice enough that Matt gave in and let the kids keep some of them for the rock tumbler at home.

After this hike we tried another, where moss was the highlight this time. Then lunch, and a nap for Naomi while Kalina and Elise explored the lake by boat with Matt, including wading in the lake stream and catching minnows.

Elise puts her shells to good
use on her sandcastle.

At the beach in the afternoon, the girls mostly stayed on the sand, as the water was colder than we'd expected. Shells were plentiful, and minnows available, so everyone had a nice time. Elise made a sand castle and Naomi wandered around with buckets. Kalina set up a museum of minnows and shells and such, and Matt and I enjoyed a conversation.

After showers, dinner and a campfire we decided to stargaze again--even Naomi wanted to. The sky was clear, so we did, and located our familiar constellations, included Chef Pig, again. When Kalina got home, she drew a sky map from memory. You can't plan these things...

The next morning was a bit rainy, but we were all glad of the chance to sit inside and work on knitting and crafts. Soon enough, though, the weather cleared and we decided to walk around our "neighborhood" (minus the neighbors--we saw more deer than people) before lunch, nap and more boating for Kalina and Elise, which included the catching of about a hundred minnows, a decent-sized crappie and a quite big frog.

"Don't point that frog at me!" -Mommy

After lunch, we headed to a stream that came highly recommended from the friend who highly recommended getting a cabin here in the first place. With lots of big and small rocks forming pools and fun climbing spots, the kids were in their element. The water level was low, but the fun was not: we walked downstream toward the lake and found Crayfish Cove, where we caught 10 good-sized crayfish. We debated the merits of making them pets, bait or dinner, but instead, as a large-scale compromise, we simply released them at the end of our stream adventure. Another pool became Catfish Cove because Matt found small catfish there. The fish all eluded us, although possibly if it weren't for Naomi's (and eventually Mommy's) impatience, we might have outwitted them in the end. Either that, or we might still be there.

"I want to catch something!"
-Kalina
This was a common position
to find Kalina in whenever
we found ourselves near water,
which was a lot.

Walking downstream, we came upon some stunning rock ledges that were at just the right height for an adventurous hop-down. The stream trickled through the middle of them, creating neat mossy areas--but best of all were the fossil layers we found towards the bottom. Brachiopods and crinoids were exposed in an entire layer of rock. The girls also found some crystal patches, so the whole experience was one exclamation after another. "I found some more crystal! Fossils over here!  Take a picture!"

As hard as it was to tear ourselves away, supper beckoned. We let the girls watch Finding Nemo for (mostly) the first time, forgoing even the sunset as we were all kind of bushed. But we wanted one last campfire, and then when Naomi brought up "I want to go stargazing!" and everyone else agreed, we ventured out yet again.

This time, we headed to an open hill we'd found when we were exploring the neighborhood. It was located behind some condos, but definitely in a public place. This time, both older girls expertly found the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia, and soon managed to map out the Little Dipper and Draco as well. We located Chef Pig, the Milky Way, and the planets we'd been keeping our eyes on. A neighbor pulled into the driveway next to the hill, and we meandered back to the van. As we were starting to drive away, a friendly security guard stopped us and asked if we needed any help. Apparently, the only other people in the whole place had been worried that people near their front yard. Fortunately, we were sent directly on our way when we explained we'd been stargazing. Does no one stargaze anymore?

The next morning we managed a last boat ride, and a last hike, in addition to packing up. The hike, which we'd mapped out ahead of time, turned out to be one of the most interesting with giant spiders, all manner of mushrooms and fungi, some lovely views and a slightly harrowing stream crossing, not to mention a wiped out three-year-old. It also turned out to be one of our longest. But just as we were about to double-check and make sure we hadn't accidentally taken the long loop instead of the short one, we made the turn into familiar territory, and finished the hike. The girls held up well until (almost) the end, and Matt held up well holding Naomi for much of it.

We packed up in a hurry while the girls finished Nemo, and said tearful (Kalina) goodbyes to our home away from home. Naomi fell asleep 50 minutes into the 60-minute drive home, and I couldn't blame her.

We really need to do this more often!

 

Whoooah

Lots of crayfish

Kalna's museum with
minnows, shells and plants
artfully arranged.