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.

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!