Happy 5th, Ev!

There is something about turning a whole hand full of fingers that makes things seem so different.  My baby girl is now five years old.  And she's not much of a baby anymore.

Less than a week ago, I took off of work so that I could take Everly for Kindergarten registration.  We walked into the school, checked in, and headed to the room where she would be evaluated.  She was quiet, but answered questions and said "thank you" when complimented on her shoes.  She walked surely to the first station with the woman escorting her, and I heard her answer confidently when asked her name, some rhyming words, letter sounds.  She moved easily to the next station with a sly grin on her face as she passed me, and then proceeded to catch bean bags, hop on one foot, and cut with scissors.  She moved from station to station, ready to show what she knows.  Ready to start.  Ready to do what it takes to get to go to school with her big brother.

We headed home and prepared for the next part of our day - the part for which Everly has waited years and that we promised would happen for her 5th birthday.  Grandma H. arrived at our house and we headed over to Grandma V.'s house to pick her up and travel to the mall, where Everly got her ears pierced.  She was tough.  She didn't flinch when the first ear was pierced.  She didn't move until about 10 seconds after the second ear was pierced, when she curled into me with a few silent tears.  She pulled herself together quickly, though, and was ready for a picture.

Fast forward a few days, and it is time for her to officially wake as a five year old.  It is hard to believe.

These five years have gone fast, but I have loved the adventure, the waiting to see what comes next.  And you just never know with Everly.  There is no doubt that she is a strong-willed, independent-minded girl who loves to get dirty as much as pretty, though.  We butt heads occasionally, but she is my kind of girl.  She is funny and smart and she seems to be learning to use her powers for good, as we have encouraged her to do - gaining attention in more positive ways than negatives lately, as she has learned that she can make us laugh as easily as she can make us scream.

My baby girl woke with a smile on her face on March 9th, ready to face the world as a 5 year old.  And me, ready to face the world with her.

Happy birthday, Everly-Beverly-Boo.  I love you.

What's making me laugh...

What's making me laugh these days?  Well, for one, Everly's reenactment of the combination of the these two commercials:

 And

Almost every Wednesday, at some point, she asks "What day is it?"  in her best camel voice.  She then follows it up with "Mike, Mike, Mike, what day is it?"  And if you don't answer, she will answer for you:  "Hump day!"  And if you do answer, she will follow it up with a "Woo Wooooo!" and "No cell phones!" for good measure.

How can you not laugh?  (I will try to get a video of it...so funny.)

I love the love

100th Day of School

I was kind of thinking that finding 100 of something would be an easier feat than dressing Cortlan up as a 100 year-old for the 100th day of school, but we managed to make it happen to some extent.  I was told that the cane could be cut down to his size, and that probably would have been a nice touch for the costume.  But thanks to some leftover white hairspray from Halloween, a genuine pair of 100 year old glasses and an old tie borrowed from a very special person, our little old man had a great 100th day of 1st grade.  There was no way that we could top the little girl in his class who came with a walker, though.

Winter Bliss

There is a ton of snow on the ground.  And it is still coming down.  And the roads are awful and the temperatures are frigid.  And I read an article this morning in the newspaper commenting on the fact that people are obsessing over the weather...a fact that has not gone unnoticed as I peruse my newsfeed on Facebook.

Sure, I would love to be on a beach soaking in the sun right now.

But you won't catch me complaining about what is happening outside of my door.  Because I love it.

I don't necessarily love the cold and snow.  But I know the cold and snow won't be here forever.  Soon enough, we will be in flip flops and shorts, seeing the flowers bloom, chasing kids riding down the street on their bikes, jumping into the pool.

The cold and snow won't be here forever, so I am going to enjoy the adventure that winter brings us...the not knowing what tomorrow will bring, peeking out of the window in the moonlight, the quiet blanket of snow with the tiny footprints from the rabbits that skimmed the surface covering the ground.  And the shoveling...I am feeling that from yesterday.  And the sled riding.  And the flannel sheets on the beds.  And the cuddling on the couch for movie time.  And the two-hour delays and snow days, even though they may put me behind a little at work.

This was Cortlan's week to bring home Milo from school.

Yes, there is such a thing as stir-crazy and too much togetherness.  But there is also the blessing of slowing down and relaxing because everything was canceled and I don't have five places to be and I have enough food in the house to feed us for a few days without needing to go to the store for a thing.  There is no go, go, go.

Yesterday, I didn't spend a cent.  We all bundled up and played in the snow.  We had hot chocolate.  I read several chapters of a good book.  I got some laundry and cleaning done.  My niece came over for a sleepover.  They built marble runs and tents of blankets and colored pictures and watched movies.

Today, I actually got a chance to sit and write a bit.  The kids got walkie talkies involved in the tent building and adventure making.  We had pancakes with strawberries and homemade whipped cream.  And some more hot chocolate.

Sometimes, it is nice to be forced to have nothing to do and no where to be.  We will be on the go again soon enough.  In the meantime, I am loving this.

My Birthday Boy

There is a little boy I know who turns seven years old today.

And he is one-of-a-kind.

He has grown so much over this past year...he can now do a cartwheel, ride his bike without training wheels, jump into the deep end, and read me a book.
He is a big first grader - an expert at making turkey and cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and riding the bus.
He loves science and learning (but doesn't really like homework). He loves Phineas and Ferb.  He loves to laugh and make me laugh.  He has perfected the art of sarcasm and thinks it is funny to take everything literally.  Don't dare say you are thirsty without expecting a "Hi, Thirsty! Nice to meet you!"  And when you say "What?", you have "The Curse" (whatever that is).  He notices everything and remembers everything.  He is gentle; he is smart.  And he is good at antagonizing his sister.
He won't volunteer to go on stage when given the opportunity, but he is brave enough to try the roller coaster, even if it isn't his favorite.
He lost three teeth this year and has two very loose ones at the moment - one that we have tried to pull out every night for the past week or so that we call his snaggle tooth.
He doesn't have a favorite food, but he does like chicken divan and hummus and pizza and dessert and he asked for spaghetti and meatballs and "a little salad" for his birthday dinner.
He used a real drill for the first time on Tuesday.

This little boy still sleeps with Mr. Giraffe.  And he still needs me to tuck him in at night.  And he still holds my hand.  And he still tells me he loves me.

But this little boy is getting bigger.  And I don't just mean in the height and weight sense of the word, though that is true, too.
He is getting bigger problems and bigger abilities.  He is getting bigger ideas and bigger dreams and a bigger sense of himself.
I can see that who he is shapes his decisions more than I do these days.  And though that isn't always easy for me, that is the way it should be.

This little boy turns seven today.  He is one of a kind.  And I love him so.

And Speaking of Santa...

When we got home from the mall, Cortlan realized that he forgot to mention a very important present.

He sat down and wrote this very important note to Santa and gave clear instructions to Caische to deliver it.

I love this kid.