Happy Birthday, Inwe!

She's 7. 7! Although it doesn't seem like yesterday that she was this baby, the years are passing too quickly.

Fireman

Dress up, role playing, and Halloween costume all in one, thanks to Daddy. The extinguisher squirts water. My computer felt it. Apparently, I was on fire.

Genuine Smile

My sister worked through lunch so she could leave early to help celebrate Larien's birthday. We took in a movie and met our cousins, Good4Water and BabyA, at a pizza place. After, we revealed her presents that made it to Madison with us. That made three. The others await us in NOLA. We can return tomorrow, but we will wait until our power is restored. Or, it will be Sunday--the day before school begins again.

Larien is 5

In exile, waiting to go home, but five years of age. When I have time I will write more about my enigma, my lovely, lovely enigma.

Very Long Beads

We catch them, our bruised fingers a sure sign that we did. The kids wear them. Some are as tall as they are.

Repetition Overcomes Fears

I have done my best not to transfer my acrophobia to my children. I have climbed on walls, looked over cliffs, and taken glass elevator rides as calmly as I could. Yes, I have nearly come undone as we crossed two bridges; the ride over the Huey P. Long bridge just before Christmas had to have been my greatest challenge in recent times.

The seats we purchased for the children are bolted to a regular six foot ladder. For a child to sit in the seat, he or she must climb the rungs, swing a leg over, and hold on to the sides as they get the other leg in the bucket. Larien accomplished this with ease. Her fears have nothing to do with heights. Finwe, being younger, needed help from me, but still managed the climb with little whining or worry. Inwe, the child who inherited my fear, needed more coaxing the first three ascents.

As you can see from the photo, she no longer has this fear, at least not of the ladders.

Kids with Loot

One rainy parade on Friday where only Finwe joined us in his backpack under the large golf umbrella (Thank you, Maverick!), one tail end of a parade on Saturday after wrangling with a broken down truck, two mid-day parades on Sunday resulted in a pile of beads, a few plush toys, and plastic cups. Somewhere in the pile are about 10 coins.

We didn't use the kid ladders for these smaller parades. We'll break out the ladders with seats for two bolted on top (wheels for rolling) beginning on Wednesday, when the real nightly craziness begins. Being five houses from the action is truly awesome. We hear the drums, walk down the street and catch the loot. When we need food, drink, or a potty . . . there we are, back at the house.

If you ever want to see the parades, stay with us.

Birthday Celebration

We had cake for when Aunt Maverick arrived on Friday. Inwe requested a blue and green cake. I couldn't accomplish stripes on a circular cake, so I made a target. She loved it.

Happy Birthday, My Eldest

On the day Inwe arrived into our world, I rode the highs of birth hormones, reveling in my little girl with big eyes. While all those wacky hormones have disappeared, I still look at her and discover bliss. Her messy hair, arms covered in temporary tatoos, and a chin that had to come from her dad all combine to make me smile.

She's six. Of all the adjectives I would use to describe this child, I would choose intelligent, artistic, and caring. Because she is the oldest, she feels responsibility for her siblings. Alas, she also delights in annoying both of them.

This birthday must be different. She'll have no friends from school for a party. Family only. Not that she expects a big party. Her first large party was last year. I'll bake a cake with blue and green icing as per her request. My sister will visit. We'll take her to breakfast and let her make the decisions for the day. She's shopped for clothes with money from my mother and her great-aunt. Buying her own clothes thrilled her. That's big for a six year old.

Happy Birthday to my eldest. Oh, I love her.

A Care Bear, An Ice Skater, and A Fairy

Inwe had planned to go as a lion, but this morning she changed her mind. Wearing a track suit that we bought her yesterday, she stated that she was an ice skater. "And if everyone has to ask me what I am, then so be it!"

She's so going to be the kid in high school who goes to the Halloween party as a normal person, making everyone believe that it really is a costume.

Finwe as Thomas the Tank Engine

A few little boys followed him, mesmerized that he looked like Thomas the Tank Engine. That freaked Finwe. He did say "Happy Halloween" to the students handing out candy. I think he enjoyed it.

Red Mark

If you look at the before and after photos of Finwe blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, you'll notice a red mark on his right eyebrow.

What is it?

Well, didn't you know? You are supposed to forget how heavy your head is just hours before your family throws you a birthday celebration. It is the same type of Murphy's Law that causes brides and prom goers to get the largest pimple of their lives on the big day.

Of course, I used it as a learning experience telling Finwe that the red stuff on his hand and handkerchief was blood. Later that evening, Larien was playing with an adorable doctor's kit (Auntie J knows how to buy) on Mom Mom. Larien said, "I'm pumping you up with blood."

Finwe stopped what he was doing, patted his head while stating, "I had blood right there."

Blowing Out the Candles

Happy 2nd Birthday to Finwe

Today, Finwe has lived for two years. Two complete years of the blond-headed boy brightening our days has passed surprisingly fast.

We had a small party for him yesterday in which he actually blew out the two candles on his cake. We didn't help him. He played with the new toys and shared them with his sisters.

He's delightful. He's big. He's heavy, oh my aching back is he heavy. He talks as much as he can. He's even learned how to say Inwe's name properly. There's so much more, but on vacation is a difficult time to order one's thoughts.

A new dress. A new bike.

Put them together . . .

I will be writing less about the kids in the days ahead. I'm exhausted from all that I am accomplishing during the day. Photos will be all you get for a bit.

Birthday Girl

Larien at Four Years

Nearly close to her birth, I knew exactly how to describe Inwe. Both Phill and I predicted that she would always appear to be older than her age, which is true. With Finwe, I will not pronounce this as if it won't change, but I predict that he will be a mixture of his grandfathers' personalities. Both were friendly, out-going, confident men. That is who Fiwne will become.

Larien's personality has remained an enigma to me. She's night and day, sweet and sour, monster and angel. All swirled into one kid with a sweet face that makes everyone smile. Still, she was the child that I could not easily describe to her teachers this year. She is Larien. Take her or leave her. Don't ask her to change.

Last night as I was lying in Larien's bed waiting for her to sleep, I realized why she is who she is.

Early in our marriage, Phill and I had a very long discussion about what we expected of each other. During his intern year, all that careful planning became null and void. He needed sleep after being awake for a day and a half. I, whacked out and isolated by graduate school, needed him to hear all my thoughts. Unfortunately, my tendency is to internalize my thoughts until just before I fall asleep. Just when Phill wanted sleep, I wanted to discuss topics not easily covered in a few short minutes or with grunts. We compromised. I forced myself to talk earlier in the evening although I was not prepared mentally. I still have a burst of thoughts before I sleep.

That is Larien; she has Phill's ability to function for long periods of time without sleep and my tendency to gather all her thoughts until just before sleep claims her. With no prompting from me, Larien began telling me that some of the "twinkling lights outside the window are planets." After that declaration, I heard all she knew about the planets, including that Pluto was demoted to planetoid.

She expounded upon Jupiter: "It has a storm that NEVER stops, and it looks like a big red spot. And do you know which is the baddest planet ever?" Not waiting to hear my answer, she continued, "Neptune!" I watched her eyes widen as her hands gestured in circles. "It has storms all the time, and you can't breathe at all on it. It would kill you to be on the planet." I am sure there were more qualifications for baddest planet ever, but I was tired and didn't store all the information in kid form. Although I did remember that the lines around the sun aren't really there.

Larien talked for half an hour. Probably other parents would have stopped her earlier, but I couldn't because I was interested to hear what she remembered about the solar system. I joined in to correct the order of the planets from the sun outwards. Only when she began repeating the information did I tell her that she had to stop to sleep. "I'm not tired, Mommy."

"Yes, you are. Close your eyes, dream of the planets, and you'll sleep."

She replied from under her blanket, "Not of the baddest planet ever."

Within two minutes she was asleep.

If that helps you understand Larien, I am glad. My comprehension of who she is was greatly increased by that occurrence.

Happy Birthday, Larien. I hope you allow me to take your photo so others can see you.


Want a reference? Try KidsAstronomy.com.

And the fireworks went boom boom

Inwe: Wow! These are the best fireworks I've ever seen. That's amazing. Wonderful. Beautiful. How special.

Larien: This is the second day in my entire life that I've seen fireworks.

Finwe: Boom. Boom. Mommie. Boom. Mommie. Mommie. Boom.

On the longest day of the year

Step Up Ceremony

It wasn't a graduation, just a recognition of moving from one grade to another. The two year old and three year old classes walked as a group across the parent made bridge. The pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade classes were called individually by name. Inwe's teacher, who thinks that Inwe could be president one day, had a description of each child. Inwe was described as a glamor girl with amazing sparkle. Although I don't want to admit it--Yeah, she is. However, I heartily endorse the fact that she SPARKLES!

Afterwards was a whole school lunch and pool party. We managed for two hours before Finwe began to explode.

This was a good year for my children as well as a good year for the school--its first year in existence.