The Five Year Stats

 

Ernie (excitedly) went in for her 5-year appointment this morning- first off, I was SO proud of her! She hid behind me when the nurse asked if she knew how to walk on her tip toes (she does it all the time.) After the nurse left, we talked about how the doctor will need to ask her questions, and Ernie had to answer so the doctor could see how strong and big and smart she was, otherwise the doctor would be worried. Because if you DON'T talk to the doctor, she might think you can't talk. Or won't know how well you talk. That worried Ernie, so she was pretty chatty with the staff after that :)

 

Baby girl is growing up big and strong- not so much of a baby any more. 51 pounds, 45 inches. Still able to lift most of her friends, but I'm so proud of my healthy, active, growing girl.

 

• She reads for hours every day.
• She's logical.
• She's kind and thoughtful.
• She's imaginative.
• She's a leader (read this as: really likes to be in charge and making the rules. Unknowns are a definite no-no in her book still.)
• She eats like a camel- she'll willingly go without dinner for days, waiting for the magical day we serve something amazing. Like sushi. Or ham sandwiches.
• She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but always asks for help when she's feeling uncertain about life. And if she asks for help, answer her FIRST request. Her faith in herself and her faith in your love for her will be restored, and you won't find yourself dodging the 20th request that day to please pick out her socks, or help her put her shirt on. Trust me, avoiding her requests is NOT the way to make this big girl into a Big Girl.
• She loves to cuddle, and it lasts about 3 seconds normally, because this girl's bubble is pretty huge, and she's always running to the next activity.
• And even though we drive each other up the wall sometimes (she told me this tonight) we love each other like crazy. And we adore each other.

 

Smart kid :)

Birthday: The Story

Ernie turned five this week, and it was kind of a big deal.  

She and I decided that her friend party would have a "flower fairy" theme, mostly because I found long-stemmed silk gerbera daisies on sale in early Spring, and came home with a handful of them.  She adored them on sight and tried to claim them as her own...so we saved them for "flower wands" for her friends at the party!  My sister offered to help out, and sewed up a big frilly tutu for each girl the night before.  With two batches of glittered play dough, a chocolate sheet cake, and some paper, we were ready!

All the girls got a strip of posterboard to decorate for a crown- I had anticipated letting the girls run around the yard collecting leaves that I would staple on, but when faced with 6 bouncing preschoolers we decided it would be a lot smoother if crayons were used.  Plus, probably safer for my yard (I was right, as you'll see.)

We played "pin the petal on the flower," and the girls had lots of time to run around being fairies.  Ernie got some lovely gifts- a friend who just happened to be in town for the week gave her a "Littlest Pet Shop" dog trio.  She spent at least 3 hours playing with those three dogs after the party- I was a little surprised at how much she loved it!  Another friend gave her a sprinkler that was a lot of fun- the girls had a little romp in the evening.  Play dough, stuffed animals, books....

I felt a lot less guilty that she was getting stacks of books from us, and not toys.  I've been collecting books for her since Christmas-  she got lots of her favorites- a Fancy Nancy tea party cook book, Max and Ruby books, Good Night Moon, The Giving Tree, etc.

We had a family picnic in the backyard- spicy tuna salad sushi, and then "chocolate cake parfaits" for dessert.  Her Fancy Nancy cookbook had a "recipe" for ice cream parfaits, so she and Daddy made really pretty plates for all of us.  

Oh yeah, the yard.  Two of the girls and Mimi were playing outside- I looked out to see Mimi on her belly on the garden box wall, stretching in as far as she could to grab handfuls of dirt.  There goes 3/4 of my beets.

Got her out, and then went back to find one of the girls attacking my mustard greens with a hoe.  AUGGH!  I'm just glad it wasn't the kale.  I've waited too long for that kale to grow in my cloudy cool backyard- I intend to harvest it this Fall.  But harvest it I WILL!  

Birthday Girls

I'll tell a story later....we're bushed!

Please Let the Record Show

For the first time, three girls left this house with their hair fixed. I know. Teeth brushed, too.

Plus, their bathroom mirror is dirty. But that's hardly worth taking record of.

Happy Father's Day

Dear Daddy:

Thank you for eating this breakfast at 6:45 am on a Sunday. I'm sorry you had morning fist, and had to eat your waffles with your hands, because you couldn't grasp the knife. I'm glad you couldn't see the clock until after we'd delivered breakfast and you made the girls so happy by looking so surprised. You looked even more surprised after seeing what time it was.

Ernie was insistent you needed licorice on your breakfast tray.

We love you more than all the gum in the world. In the ENTIRE world.

Thank you for playing with the girls, and for being the kindest man I know. Thank you for working so hard, and for being so optimistic, especially when I'm not. Thank you for leading our home, thank you for raising our girls, thank you for loving us so much.

We love you like crazy.

Mommy, Ernie, and Mimi

A Big Job

She made it about 20 feet.

We tag teamed this precious cargo into the house. The kids didn't know goodness like this existed on this earth.

Swinging

Up???

Shhh...

Don't tell them there was spinach in there! Both were begging me to make another batch- I know what we're having for breakfast tomorrow. (Frozen grapes and blueberries, loads of soymilk, and a few cups of spinach leaves and stalks. Oh yeah, and some sugar.)

What we have here...

...are some fancy-pants girls.

Cousin Time

Two Dudes

Siu Jeun's face Lights Up when Wonder Daddy enters the room. This kid seriously loves dudes.

While his parents were out on the town, SJ spent most of the evening shoveling down pancakes, grinning at my husband, and throwing nearly everything he could get his hands on.


We channeled that energy into tennis balls outside- Mimi thought that was great too.

If Wonder Daddy sat, SJ sat. (He tried to lounge like this on the stairs, right next to WD, but it didn't work out so well, so he contented himself with just sitting after that.)

Best Friends

These girls are inseparable. Aunt LoLo? We're all very, very glad you're back!

Lunch at the Beach

She Reads Herself to Sleep

An Island Adventure

Made it out to the islands for a day trip this week- we had GORGEOUS weather, and couldn't have asked for a better day!

Well, Ernie was bummed that after walks, beach time, reading, painting, running, throwing, brownie-making, brownie-eating, sandwiches, and a picnic....we didn't have time to build a fire and make s'mores. Heh.

Next time!

Family Visits

We had a great visit with Wonder Daddy's Aunt, Uncle, and cousin the other week- they came into town to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. Hooray! It was a fun weekend, and Ernie loved having a playmate (he's just 18 months older than her, they had a blast!)