House of Estrogen

Letter to Nina, Age 11-ish

Dear Nina,

I seem to have completely dropped the ball on writing letters to any of you on or near your birthdays. In the grand scheme of things though, it really shouldn't matter when I write these letters, as long as I write them once a year or so. At least I like to tell myself that.  That said, you had a big milestone this week, so what better time to write a letter!  Tuesday, you graduated from elementary school.

 

(First day of kindergarten picture)

You couldn't be more ready for middle school. At 5'7, you are now taller than every elementary school teacher you've had over the past six years. Not only have you physically outgrown the pint-sized chairs and desks, I think you have mentally moved beyond it and have just been ready for this chapter to come to a close.

 

After the ceremony, as friends in your class shed tears about their last day at the school and posed for pictures with every classmate, you eagerly held on to your diploma and exclaimed, "Can we leave now?"

 
It wasn't that you didn't enjoy your time there or aren't going to miss your friends who will be attending different middle schools. You had many happy years there and will definitely miss certain friends. You are ready to move forward though. You have seen what a great experience middle school has been for Elise, and you are excited about this next stage in life. You are ready for new friends, new challenges, and new experiences in a new school. For some of your friends, graduation day was an emotional day filled with sad goodbyes, reminders of elementary school memories and a slide show that tugged at their heartstrings. For you, it was simply the last hurdle to cross on the way to the finish line.

I am excited for you. I love that you are open to the new adventures that await you in middle school. As you love tell anyone who mentions middle school electives, your parents are making you take band next year. You love to point out what cruel parents we are to force this on you, but secretly, I think you may actually be looking forward to participating in band. You are such a music loving soul. You love to listen to music, find new songs on iTunes, and you thoroughly enjoyed playing the recorder in music class. Your one and only aversion to band is the stage appearance twice a year for the concerts. Your dad and I are taking the "we know what's best for you" role on this one. I predict that you will love it. Band has been such a positive part of middle school for Elise - the fun, the music, the band director, the friends, and the performances. We are hoping for a similar experience for you, and I think the many pros of band outweigh the cons of a little stage fright twice a year. How it all plays out remains to be seen though. We have assured you that if you hate it, you can drop out after the first year.

Right now, your major love is volleyball. You play any chance you get. Your goal is to be a manager for the middle school volleyball team in 6th grade and then play on the team in 7th and 8th. I think it is great that you've found a sport that you love. It is definitely a good fit for you.

 

Like band, volleyball was another activity we "forced" you to do. About a year ago, you had become rather sedentary. There weren't any activities, hobbies, or sports that interested you. We told you that you needed to choose something to do outside of school or we were going to choose something for you. You never made a selection, so without even asking you, I signed you up for volleyball. I didn't necessarily think you would love it. I wasn't even sure if you would like it. I just wanted you try something new. Of course, there was also that little overly optimistic voice in my head that said, "She has the height for volleyball... maybe she will love it, get really good at it, and get a scholarship." We are all allowed those pie in the sky parental dreams occasionally, right?

You played in a fall league for the team with the most losing record in the league. You lost every regular season game, but it hooked you. You had the time of your life. Last week, you started playing for a new summer league team which encompasses an older age group and higher skill level. I think you will grow and learn a lot as a player in this league. You plan to play in the fall again too. Volleyball has been great for you. It gives you a focus, an identity, a team spirit, and a great outlet for blowing off steam and getting some exercise.

Your other big interest lately has been sewing. You received a sewing machine for Christmas and have spent many hours designing, creating, and sewing. I think you enjoy the design aspect best. You are going to a week of fashion design camp this summer, and I'm anxious to see what you learn there. You have taken to doing a lot of "upcycling" - taking old worn out, outgrown, or out of style items from our closets and upcycling them into something new. This is one of your upcycled t-shirt creations.

 

I feel like this has been a big year for you... you have grown a lot, matured a lot, and really turned into the middle schooler that you soon will be. You have taken on more chores around the house and more responsibilities for taking care of yourself. If I need help putting Addie to bed or making her lunch, you jump right in. Of course, with this new tween maturity, we sometimes get the tween attitude as well. You have perfected a grimace that I have interpreted as a cross between, "I hate you", "You are the meanest parent ever", and "This is my evil look". Your glare with those piercing eyes can be a bit disconcerting. I'm hoping it is just a phase. Fortunately, you don't use it on us too frequently.

This coming year will bring a new school, new adventures, new friends, and lots of change. You seem wholeheartedly prepared and ready to tackle all of it though. And that... that is awesome.

I love you, Nina!

Love,

Mama

 

 

 

Letter to Nina, Age 9-ish

Dear Nina,

Although I missed writing you this letter when you turned 9 and again at 9.5, I don't think you've really changed that drastically over the past year, so this age 9.75 letter should suffice. Actually, I take that back; you may not have changed much as far as interests, hobbies, or personality, but you are growing taller by the minute. You are already the tallest in your class, but I think you've grown at least 2 inches in just the last couple of months. You used to come up to Elise's mouth, and now you come up to her eyes. I definitely think you will pass her in height before high school. Thankfully, you like being tall. I can remember being very self conscious about my height growing up, so I am thrilled to see you are more confident in that respect. You embrace your height (as you should) and wear high heels as often as I will let you. You would be walking around in stilettos 24/7 if I would allow you to buy them. Sadly for you, you are stuck with low heeled boots and chunky wedge flip flops as our compromise. You have gotten your braces off, and it is nice to see a non-metal smile again.

Art has been a big interest of yours in the past year. You have taken numerous classes in cartoon sketching anime and manga characters. You love it. You come home from class with all your sketches begging to buy fancy Japanese brush pens online. You have also been to several art camps and enjoy pulling out watercolors to paint in your free time.

You love science, and in writing this letter, I realized I neglected to write a blog post about your cool science themed ninth birthday party. I'll throw in a few pictures here to make up for that oversight. It was a lot of fun. You can tell by your face in the pictures that you were having a blast.

You have great friends in the neighborhood, and on evenings and weekends, you are rarely home. When you are here, there are always friends with you. Sleepovers are popular with your gang. I'm not a fan, but you manage to twist my arm into having one here once a month or so. It is 9:30 at night as I write this, and you and a friend just ran here in the dark with flashlights from the friend's house to get your sleeping bag and PJ's for a sleepover. You all thrive on independence and making your own plans. You and your friends are so active and creative. I never find you together zoned out in front of the TV or playing video games. You play with dolls, do gymnastics, do science experiments, build zip lines, create craft projects, set up lemonade stands, or give each other manicures.

Speaking of lemonade stands, one of my favorites was when I told you I was going to run to the grocery store to buy lemonade mix and cookie dough. I wasn't gone more than 15 minutes. When I returned, your dad was in the garage and said to me, "Take a deep breath when you walk in there. Just remember they are really excited."  I walked in to this.

Six girls in my kitchen making a pitcher of lemonade out of the single serve Crystal Light packets

and "treats" out of crackers, marshmallows, Magic Shell, and sprinkles.

Like he said... deep breath. Deep breath. They were excited. They took initiative. They were creative. All those are good things. My kitchen was destroyed, but what else is new?

Overall, I think nine has been fun for you. School is going well. Friendships seem a bit easier than they did at eight. You are generally a happy, fun kid. Sometimes, I think being the middle child is tough for you. You have your share of protests: "It's not fair", "She always gets that because she is the oldest", "She never has to do that because she is the baby", but you push through it. It is your lot in life, and you're learning to deal with it.

You definitely have a tender, sensitive side that was seriously tested this year when your dad had his bad bike crash. You struggled so much seeing him hurt and seeing me upset. The school counselor helped you through it, but I think you will always be easily affected by situations like that. That may be both a blessing and a curse. You'll be compassionate and sympathetic but vulnerable to your feelings. That is part of what makes you my Nina though.

Keep having fun being nine, Nina! Those double digits are coming up fast!

I love you,

Mama

Letter to Nina and Addison

Dear Nina and Addison,

I've really dropped the ball this year with your birthday (and half-birthday) letters. I love the idea in theory... a letter to you every six months to reflect on your interests, your personality, how you are changing and growing, and how you make me smile and/or tear my hair out. My hope is that they will be fun letters for all of us to read in the future when some of those memories of you as children have faded. As much as I want these letters to happen twice a year right on schedule with your birthdays, life gets in the way sometimes. This year, you will get an "age five-ish" letter and an "age nine-ish" letter since your birthdays and half-birthdays have come and gone. I promise to get back on track for ages six and ten... or at least try to... or try harder. We'll see. Please know my intentions are good... I just can't always keep up with the follow through.

Love,

Mama

Letter to Nina, 8 years

Dear Nina,

I'm a full two months late with your letter this year, but better late than never, right?  Some days, it is hard for me to believe that you are only eight. You are as tall as most of Elise's ten year old friends, but more than that, you are just so self-sufficient. Whether it is washing your hair, making your lunch, doing your laundry, or making breakfast for Addie, you rarely ask for help. You are independent, take care of yourself, and usually seem so much older than your eight years.

Then there are the times like a couple weeks ago when you called home in tears late at night from a sleep-over at a friend's house wanting to come home. Your allergies were bothering you, and you just wanted your own bed. That night, I was reminded that you are still just a little girl. As you got in the car sobbing, needing your mom, and needing a hug, you hardly even seemed eight. Those moments are fleeting. You are growing up so fast. I think those moments are good for us though... to remind us that there is still a little girl in there under the tall, slender, fashion-conscious, self-confident exterior.

School is going well, and you are so enthusiastiac about everything science related. You loved participating in the science fair this year and can't wait to go to science camp this summer. You spend hours quietly and patiently working on a "dinosaur dig" or science experiments at home. You tune out the rest of the world as you concentrate.

 

You are such a thinker and a problem solver. It makes me wonder what you will be when you grow up - an engineer? a pharmaceutical researcher? an archeologist? You love to solve puzzles. We took a family trip to Great Wolf Lodge last week, and you were more excited about the MagiQuest game than the water park. You spent hours running around the hotel with your wand trying to solve different quests. You were completely in your element.

Of course, I could be completely wrong about your future career. You love to design dresses and put on make-up. Perhaps you'll be a fashion designer, make-up artist, or stylist. You and I have a great time watching Project Runway together.

Outside of school, you are most involved in figure skating right now. You did skating for several months, skated in the holiday show (You were very hesitant about signing up for it but then had a blast), and then burned out. You did a couple months of gymnastics, but now you are back to skating.  You don't have any desire to compete yet, but you have so much fun with your friends at the rink. I think you love having an activity and group of people that are all yours. You jump out of the car in the mornings of ice skating camp and walk in there with your head held high and a spring in your step, knowing you belong. I don't know if or when you will decide you're ready to compete, but for now, you're just having a ball. I can remember feeling the same way about my rink friends when I was a skater, so I know exactly what you are getting from it... that sense of belonging and comaradarie. Enjoy it!

You are also still involved in Girl Scouts. You joined a new Brownie troop this year, and you seem to be enjoying it. You were very geared up about Girl Scout cookies this year and wanted to work a lot of cookie booths. I think your 400 box goal was a little higher than your energy level, but you did sell 300 and worked hard for them.

I'd say your biggest challenge right now is dealing with the ups and downs of friendships. Girl friendships at age 7-8 are tough, particularly when there are three of you on the same street. I remember Elise having all the same issues... the cliques, the hurt feelings, the frenemies. Fortunately, it gets better. You have a great group of girl friends, and if you can survive the catty 7-8 year old fights, your friendships will be even stronger. I grew up in a neighborhood with two other girls my age, and it was hard for me too. I promise it gets better.

Nina, you are a fun, funny, determined, passionate girl. I love you and can't wait to see how things unfold the next eight years.

Love,

Mama

Letter to Nina, 7 years

Dear Nina,

Happy (belated) seventh birthday! It seems with every birthday, you come out of your shell more and more. Gone are the days that you would stand on the sidelines of any activity for what seemed like an eternity before getting brave enough to join. I think elementary school has pulled some of that shyness and hesitation out of you. You seem so much more self-assured and outgoing now. I've loved watching the transformation.

 

I think I comment about your fashion sense in nearly every letter to you which may seem shallow or unimportant, but it is just such a part of who you are. You never leave the house without first accessorizing yourself from head to toe with necklaces, bracelets, hair clips, pins, scarves, belts, boleros, and boots. It is such a treat to see your choices each day.  I've gotten much more relaxed about letting you out of the house the way YOU want to be dressed. It is such a fundamental way that you express yourself. Your fingernails and toenails are always painted in shades of purple, blue, green, or hot pink. For your birthday, you only asked for three things: "diamonds, rubies, and pearls."  At least you have good taste in jewels!

 

You are currently trying to grow out your bangs. I'm so tired of seeing your hair in your face, but you are quite adamant about "long hair and no bangs." When you get your mind set on something, there is no changing it. You are stubborn, persistent, and unwavering in your decisions.  You'll be a strong woman one day.

 

Despite your initial enthusiasm with jump rope, in the last month or two, you have not been excited about the single rope part of class. You went so far as to fake an injury one week to get out of single rope. You whined, moaned, and complained about your ankle while sitting on the sidelines for the first thirty minutes of class. I was 90% sure you were either faking it or blowing a minor injury out of proportion, but nothing the coach or I would say could get you out there. I finally asked, "Are you going to jump when double dutch starts?" You said yes, and the minute the class switched over to double dutch, you were miraculously healed and jumped right in.  We decided together that it was time for a break from jump rope. You still jump quite a bit at home though, so I hope that one day you'll go back to lessons.

Your current favorite activity is playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii with your dad. It certainly isn't the most educational, athletic, or creative endeavor you could have chosen, but the two of you have so much fun together. I think it is good for the middle child in you to have that special bonding time with your dad. It is hard competing to be "Daddy's little girl" with two other little girls in the family.

Your relationship with Elise is the same as always - best friends one minute, pushing buttons and fighting the next. Day to day, we never know what to expect from the two of you. You definitely seem to live at the extremes. I see glimpses of the kind of best friends you could be as adults though, so I have my fingers crossed for the future. With Addison, you have more of the good times, but the sibling rivalry with her is definitely beginning to rear its ugly head. I guess now that she is three, you have decided she is fair game for tormenting.

  

Nina, you have an infectious smile and laugh. You are growing up fast, but I am enjoying the ride. Keep being you!

 

Love,

Mama

 

Letter to Nina, 6.5 Years

Dear Nina,

I am a little late in writing this letter, but you are so easy going that I don't think you'll mind. Your disposition lets the little stuff just roll right off your back.

You started first grade last month, and you are loving it! Your enthusiasm about school is such a breath of fresh air. If only we could all be so cheerful about the day-to-day grind. Apparently, you are quite the flirt. I've had mothers or grandmothers of at least three boys come up to me to tell me how their sons are completely enamoured with you and plan to marry you. I'm not sure what your seduction tactics are, but they appear to be working. We are seriously scared of your teenage years!

Earlier this week, I saw two sandwiches in the refrigerator. I asked about them and was told that you had made them on Saturday morning for your and Elise's lunch boxes, not realizing it was a Saturday.  You definitely have a get-up-and-go philosophy in the mornings!

Your biggest focus right now is jump roping. It has been so fun to watch you find your passion. You have tried swimming, gymnastics, soccer, and dance, but none of those stuck. Jump rope has reeled you in like nothing else! You practice in all your spare time regardless of the temperature outside.

  

You have checked off 12 of 13 skills required to move up to the next level. Tonight in class, you had a look of determination like I've never seen before trying to master that last skill. With a beet red face and sweat dripping down your neck, you tried it again and again and again. I was so proud of your persistence. By the end of class, you hadn't gotten it yet, but I predict you'll be out in the garage every day this week working on it. By next week, you'll be marking off that last skill.

Double dutch is your favorite activity, but you love learning new tricks for single rope too. This week, you've been working on double-unders, full turns, and speed jumping. The smile on your face when you master a new trick makes my heart do a little jump roping of its own!

You've had some horrendous ear infections in the last few months. It is worrisome that despite the tubes, you are still getting ear infections. We keep hoping you'll outgrow them, but at this point, it isn't looking too promising. Fortunately, you're a good sport about wearing the doctor-mandated ear plugs and a swim cap in the pool.

 

A good family friend said to me recently, "Nina seems like she just has the world all figured out." I love the way she put that. I think it describes you perfectly. At six and a half, you have developed such a personality and confidence. You certainly have your moments of meltdowns, back-talking, and fighting with Elise, but for the most part, I think you have made a spot for yourself in the world and are quite comfortable there.

Thanks for being you, Nina!

I love you,

Mama

 

Letter to Nina, 6 years

Dear Nina,

The day you have been anxiously awaiting has finally arrived. You are six today. This last year has been a big one for you - finishing preschool, starting kindergarten, and learning the ins and outs of being an elementary school kid. It is a new world, but you have taken it by storm.

You leap out of bed every morning at least a half hour or hour before anyone else in the family, but you just fend for yourself, playing on the computer, watching TV, or fixing yourself some breakfast. You're very independent, and I think you truly enjoy having the quiet house to yourself each morning. Once Elise is awake, and you can go back in the room you two share, you are usually the first one dressed. As soon as Addie starts making noise, you bound into her room and get her out of the crib by dragging her over the railing. It looks as awkward as it sounds, but Addie doesn't complain. Then you head downstairs where you start packing your own lunch. I rarely make your sandwiches any more. You have taken ownership of that job. You remarked this morning that you couldn't believe how much better than Elise you were at spreading jelly when you are so much younger. Elise is lucky if she is fully awake and dressed before the bus arrives though, so she never has time to make her own lunch. You take pride in doing it all yourself, so you have much more practice in the art of jelly spreading.

School is going well. When I volunteered in your classroom this week, I got to read some of your journal - what a treat! I loved entries like, "My bst frnds are Emily and Riley bcuz tha are nis and buteful." and "I am going on a flit to Teksis."  Kindergarten suits you. The 100th day of school was last week, and you had very definite plans on the design for your 100th day T-shirt. You are decisive... always knowing exactly what you want, down to the last detail. 

 

You played soccer this fall and seemed to have a good time. I think you may play again in the spring. You begged for over a year to take ballet. I finally signed you up for a 4 week session to see how you liked it, and that was enough for you! You had fun, but ballet definitely wasn't your thing. Some day I'm sure you'll find a sport or activity that you love, but I have no idea what that will be.

 

You have joined a Daisy Girl Scout troop this year and love finally being able to do all the Girl Scout activities you've watched your sister do for the past three years. You were so proud the first time you donned the blue Daisy vest. You had high aspirations for your first year of cookie sales with a lofty goal of 900 boxes. You were absolutely determined to win the digital camera; however, you quickly grew weary of cookie sales after about 125 boxes. Hopefully you'll be happy with the highlighter award instead.

 

Behavior and discipline continue to present the biggest challenges for your dad and me. You are a middle child to the core!

A few weeks ago, I discovered some opened foil pill packets on your bathroom counter with the chewable pills nowhere in sight. I yelled for you and Elise to come talk to me about it. Elise quickly denied having anything to do with the pills while you gave me a sheepish grin and said nothing. Your dad and I launched into a huge lecture about how dangerous it was to take medicine on your own, how you could have ended up in the hospital, how you knew you weren't supposed to take medicine without a grown-up, how if you had gotten sick, we wouldn't have known what was wrong, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??? and on and on. You sat there and smirked as if it was all a big joke. That just got you in trouble, and we started piling on the punishments in an effort to make you realize how serious the situation was. Through all of this, you never said much. You just clammed up and took all that we doled out. Finally, your dad was determined to find out what prompted you to eat the pills. He told you that he promised you would not get in any more trouble than you were already in if you told us why you had done it. You ran to your room, climbed up in the top bunk and started looking for something. We had no idea what you were looking for, but you eventually said you were searching for a small lotion container. We couldn't imagine what that had to do with the pills you had eaten. Did you chase the pills with a bottle of lotion? When you finally found it, the small container of normally white Lubriderm was now a small container of pink and purple swirled Lubriderm. You hadn't actually eaten any of the pills. They had been your dye to decorate the lotion... quite clever, actually. We were still angry that you had played with the pills at all but clearly relieved that you hadn't ingested them. When we asked if there were any that had been dropped or left out anywhere, you exclaimed, "only in the little blue box!"  Little blue box... that would be the RAZOR SHARP pill cutter you had used to cut the pills to fit them in the lotion bottle! My five year old plays with razor blades and pills... every mother's dream.  What a night that was. Our emotions ran the gamut from being furious that you had taken pills, to scared out of our minds at how serious this could have been, to relieved that you hadn't eaten any, to impressed at your ingenuity, to scared out of our minds again about the years ahead of us. You challenge us in ways we never could have imagined.

 

When I got my new car, you were the first one to christen it as a mom-mobile. You wrote on one of the seats with lip gloss. Awesome. Thanks.

You and Elise continue to have a love-hate sister relationship. One day you'll spend the entire morning together concocting some elaborate role play with dolls, and the next day, you'll both be screaming at the top of your lungs, "I wish you weren't my sister!!" while kicking each other.

You can always find a way to make Elise cry, and that thrills you to no end. Last night, you accomplished your goal by saying, "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit" after refusing to give Elise any ice in her water. You were right there at the ice and water dispenser, but torturing your sister by depriving ice was just too satisfying. The fighting makes me insane, but it also makes me thankful for the good times.

 

Your fashion sense may send me to an early grave. I try so hard to let you express yourself with your clothing, but there are times I just have to stand my ground. Yesterday, you came out of your room in a really cute skirt outfit - a coral top with a coordinating coral, off-white, and olive green plaid skirt. It was a great set, but you had complemented it with a pair of bubble gum pink tights that clashed horribly. You were insistent about the tights, but I just couldn't let you out the door like that. I finally convinced you to wear off-white tights, but I caved on the matching tall coral fringe boots. I had won the battle of the tights, so I let you win the shoe battle. Off you went to school in your cute, preppy, plaid Gymboree outfit and your psychedelic light-up sneakers designed by some 60's hippy dropping acid. You definitely know how to make a statement.

You keep us on our toes, Nina. I love you, and I can't wait to see what comes along with age six!

Love,

Mama

Letter to Nina, 5.5 years

Dear Nina,

In the span of just a couple short months, you have changed and grown up at a pace that I haven't seen since you were a newborn. Besides starting kindergarten, you have learned to swim, learned to dive, learned to tie your shoes, and you carry yourself with a new found confidence.

Your face lights up when you talk about kindergarten. Every day, when you come home from school, and I ask you how your day was, you exclaim, "Great!" I can tell you really mean it too. You are soaking it all up and loving it. Every new experience lights another fire in you - riding the bus, eating in the cafeteria, buying your lunch, going to music, art, PE, and the library, playing on the playground, sitting criss-cross-applesauce, and walking down the hall "hip and lip". I feel like I'm getting to experience the wonder of kindergarten all over again through you.

 

Of course, you have a new crush already. You came home the first week and told us with a twinkle in your eye, "C looks like A." We knew then that C was the new man in your life. Today, you bragged to Elise that C blew you a kiss in the cafeteria!

Robert Fulghum wrote the book, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten", and I'm beginning to think it is true. You are learning so much so fast that it just blows my mind. (As a somewhat interesting but mostly unrelated side note, the marriage vows your father and I took at our wedding were also written by Robert Fulghum).

Just this week, you learned to tie your shoelaces, and you have completely converted from being a flip flop girl to a sneaker girl in your excitement about tying your own laces. You're just beaming every time you do it.

Learning to swim has been your big accomplishment for the summer. Last summer, we had to twist your arm to get you to jump off the side. Now, you're diving in and swimming down to touch the bottom. I feel like you're a completely different child at the pool now that you know how to swim. I think you are proud of your new skills, and it shows through in your self-confidence.

 

As Addison gets older, she becomes more and more your little buddy. You really thrive in the role of big sister. Sometimes enthusiasm gets the best of you, and you love on her a little too hard. Mostly, though, you are very sweet, loving, and protective of her.

 

 

You continue to make me smile and laugh daily. This evening, we were talking about snakes... about someone in the pediatrician's office who had been bitten by a snake, about a snake your dad had seen on a bike ride, about how snakes shed their skin, and so on. I suppose you were wanting to join the conversation with your own snake knowledge, so you jumped in with, "Dad, snakes are not at all like koala bears." as if this fact had somehow escaped him. I love it!

 

I can't wait to see how the rest of kindergarten goes for you. You have more new experiences lined up for the next couple of months - your first track-out camp and your first real soccer team. I hope it all continues to be as fun and exciting as the last couple months have been. I just know this is going to be a great year for you!

I love you. Thanks for reminding me how wonderful life can be! Watching life through your eyes adds a whole new dimension to mine!

Love,

Mamma

Letter to Nina, 5 Years

Dear Nina,

 

Five years – what a great age! After weeks of asking the all-important questions, “How many days ‘til my birthday?”, “How many days ‘til my party?”, and “How many days ‘til we can get the High School Musical 3 DVD?”, you looked a bit shocked and incredulous when I told you happy birthday this morning. You quickly got over the surprise though and moved on to full bore excitement. You went running to the bus stop yelling, “I’m five today! I’m five today!” with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. This afternoon, we had your classroom party for which you did all the planning… a craft accompanied by Oreos – double chocolate Oreos and mint Oreos. You also dictated your birthday dinner menu, “macaroni and cheese, meatballs, and pizza.” I did a slight variation on that with a little broccoli thrown in for good measure, but that seemed to suffice. You always have strong opinions and aren't shy in expressing them.

 

 

You are the child who takes me to extremes. You make me smile and laugh like nobody else in one minute, and in the next, you are painting your doll with fingernail polish or dragging your baby sister around the house by her feet.

 

Your sense of humor is priceless… it isn’t always what you say, but more often your tone, voice, or delivery. You definitely make us laugh every day. This past weekend, while we were out for breakfast, you got up to retrieve a straw, and upon returning to the table announced with a grin, “I jollied right back here just like a little elf!” I don’t know where you come up with this stuff, but it makes me smile.

 

 

Your mischievous side will be the death of me though. Last week, you were coaxing Addie to climb the stairs saying, “Come on Addie… up here! Come on up the stairs!” When I rescued Addie and said, “Don’t encourage her to go up the stairs. She isn’t good at stairs yet, and she could fall and get hurt.” You replied, “I didn’t do that.” “Uhh yeah… you did. I heard you say, ‘Come up here.’” Then you sheepishly responded, “I didn’t think you heard that.”  Nice.

 

 

The doll painting episode will probably forever be seared in your brain as “the time that mom got really, really insanely mad.” I figure that’s not entirely a bad thing though. I very clearly remember the time when I tried the bold faced move of telling my parents that I would swallow some foul tasting medicine if they left the room and didn’t watch. The bright pink syrup left as evidence in the white porcelain sink exposed my brilliance, and that was the day my dad got really, really insanely mad. I still remember that day. Maybe you’ll look back on this day and just realize that your mom was human. We all blow a gasket occasionally, and that’s OK as long as we pick up the pieces.

 

This year will bring a lot of change in your life - starting kindergarten, riding the bus, and going to track-out camp. You are both excited and nervous, but I know you'll do great. Transitions have always made you anxious, and perhaps always will, but I know you're ready for kindergarten and will love it!

 

Thanks for all the laughs, Nina! Happy 5th Birthday!

 

Love, Mamma

Happy 4th of July! (Yeah, I know... I'm late)

OK... so I'm a little late with the 4th of July well-wishes, but in the weeks leading up to the 4th, I turned this house upside-down looking for this dress for Addie. I knew I hadn't sold it or given it away, but Independence Day came and went without my locating the dress. Wanna guess when I found it? Uh yeah... July 6. So, even though I'm running about a month late with the photo, better late than never, right?

Here is Addie in all her stars and stripes glory!

  

And here are Elise and Nina sporting the same dress in 2002 and 2004