Holy cow! 7 years ago I was spending the day walking around the shopping plaza, willing you to come out on your own, hoping beyond hope that I would get to meet you before the evening ended. And lo and behold, you made your way Earthside, just as I wished.
You woke up this morning feeling a little disappointed that you did not feel any different. Seven was supposed to make you feel more grand, maybe? Or special? I told you that you do look a little different to me. You've certainly have grown in the 9 months since we moved here. Seven months ago we measured and marked your height on the door to your room. You've shot up at least an inch or two since then!
For breakfast you requested crepes. My specialty! Strawberry, banana and hazelnut spread. You scarfed them down and asked for more. Next we brought out your favorite birthday gift: the chemistry lab set! You donned your lab coat and safety goggles from Aunt Marie and got to work making solutions, testing pH, even making a lava lamp in a test tube! Then I made a big mess with the oil. Ah, well, it was worth it. SCIENCE!
We had to say goodbye to Granny as she was heading home today after spending all day with us yesterday. We got plenty of hugs and kisses and a few pictures too, then sent her on her way. You were ready for the next birthday event, which was going next door to play with your friends! That's where you are now, and why I'm able to sit down and write this. Having you home for the winter break has been incredible, but man, you keep me busy!
Tonight we are celebrating with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Justin, Aunt Aurora and Uncle Corey. I'm not sure what the whole plan is yet, but I am assuming dinner, presents, and hang outs. I think that will make you super happy. You have asked that we do not sing Happy Birthday to you, although no one warned the restaurant staff last night and you not only got Happy Birthday but also a loud noisemaker rattled right behind you, which startled you and actually made Mabel cry. Sorry about that. I hope that you remember today fondly and forgive me for the song mishap.
Now a little recap of year 6:
This year we did the 1000 hours outside challenge, so most of the beginning of the year we spent outside, cramming all the adventures into the days. We visited so many parks and playgrounds, trails and camps. You found all manner of interesting keepsakes from bones, sticks and rocks to feathers and shells and sea glass. We now keep those things in our fairy garden in front of the house under a crepe myrtle tree.
We luckily got some snow early in the year, so your wishes to build a snowman were granted. It was small and melted the next day, but you were so afraid we wouldn't get any snow since the year before we only really got a dusting. You really want to move to Yukon where you can live out your Calvin and Hobbes dreams of snow up to your waist and snowmen for days. Dad and I are still coming up with a plan to afford that kind of move.
Speaking of moving, we bought a house this year, so you finally got to say you live in your forever home! You and Mabel share a room still, but you're happy with that. We bought you bunk beds to sleep in, but you prefer to bunk together on the bottom bunk. Fine by me, though I bet you'd both sleep better in your own spaces. We are still in the process of personalizing your space, but we got new curtains, a ceiling lamp and some sheets and such to make the room feel cozy. You have your own bathroom, but the toilet is a little slow to flush, so you prefer to use the downstairs one. I think you're enjoying having a forever home and next year when the weather is dry and we can work in the yard more, we will tailor it to all of your outdoor adventures!
You finished up homeschool Kindergarten this year and over the summer I taught you to read. You took to it like wildfire!
You've lost 8 teeth now, this year and most of them are growing back in. I think you're done with losing teeth for awhile and seeing your big-kid grin is bittersweet for me. I miss your little baby smile, but knowing that you are growing big and strong and healthy means so much to me. I created you! And you're thriving!
We've had so many adventures with friends this year, traveling to NC numerous times, visiting Aunt Aurora for tie-dyeing and cookouts and over Easter we hosted an egg hunt with the neighbors in the backyard. We've gone bowling with friends, explored the botanical gardens and got a zoo membership too! We brought Mummum up for a visit, saw Uncle Johnny and Uncle Jake when Aunt Meli announced her pregnancy and spent lots of time with your cousin Elara.
You discovered you are a true science lover. Everything is an experiment (you still call them "experiences" though). You want to know what happens when you add this to that, or if you leave this outside overnight or what if you move that over here? You mix potions in the tub with Mabel, play with beakers and test tubes and pipettes and watch as you form chemical reactions and see how the conclusions of your experiments compare to your hypotheses. You've made volcanoes and lava lamps and mixed paints and soaps, too!
You expand your science mind into botanicals, too. You've learned which plants in our yard are edible and can name quite a few plants on our hikes. You learn about the bugs and critters that live in our local area and your favorite show Wild Kratts teaches you about the wild animals around the world! Probably because of my influence, you have also taken up podcasts. Your favorite podcast is WOW in the World and every road trip or drive to the store we end up learning about Mindy and Guy Roz as they do scientific experiments, play game shows and tell stories.
You've upgraded your car seat from harnessed booster to high-back booster with the regular seatbelt. You're very proud of this upgrade and tell everyone about it. Pretty soon you'll be able to go without the high back, too, and I think this mama will have a real reality-check moment when I realize you're big enough to not need the full car seat anymore!
You had your first cookie season as a girl scout this year and managed to sell enough cookies to get to go to girl scout camp. It was just a single-day camp, but you got to canoe, make crafts, sing songs and learn about being a girl scout. You came home exhausted but happy and with your very own highlighter yellow tshirt.
In May you received your handmade Hobbes stuffed tiger and for a long time you carried him everywhere. He still makes appearances from time to time, but no toys are allowed at school, so he's mostly in your room for bedtime snuggles. We all love him to pieces. Mabel almost cut him to pieces, so that makes sense!
In July you took a dance class at the rec center and impressed us all with your skills. You had a mini performance at the end and made some new friends along the way.
August was a crazy month. We made a plan to take a trip to DC and the day before we were set to leave, you slid down the doorway in the antechamber and got a 2 inch sliver of wood up under the skin of your back! That was SO scary for everyone. We called and drove everywhere trying to find a way to get it out. The pediatrician wouldn't do it, urgent care was also hesitant and even the children's ER was stumped, but eventually they were able to retrieve it. You were happy to have it out and the next day we left for DC on time!
DC was a blast and we went to a ton of museums and parks. We walked around and took in all the sights there were to see. You and Mabel played in the puddles, gardens and ate tasty food. You bought yourselves gifts from the gift shops and found souvenirs for our family. Before leaving DC we managed to eke out some time with Dad's friend Steve. Its always so good to see old friends.
In September you started first grade. You were so sad to not get to have in-person school for Kindergarten that when the school system announced in-person would be standard this year, I enrolled you in first grade at the elementary school up the street. You've absolutely loved being in school again, but sometimes you tell me how you miss homeschool and to be honest, I miss it too. There's a lot of flexibility and freedom in homeschooling and we got outside a whole lot more when you were with us. Mabel and I still go on adventures, but its not as easy to pack it all into the 6 hours you're at school. But you love your teacher, your new friends and the walk to school is short but treasured. We run into your friend April on the way home from school each day. Some days you just follow her to her house and spend the afternoon with her until dinner time. Its so nice to know that we have friends in the neighborhood. And April's family is so nice, too.
Spooky season came upon us and you were all too excited to decorate our forever home. We made a Halloween countdown chain and put spooky bats and rats all over the walls. We carved pumpkins more than once and put up lights and made our front yard into a graveyard complete with spooky skeletons! Your costume this year was a black widow spider. Mabel opted to be a pumpkin and you both looked cute as buttons. The night of Halloween you managed to collect a good 15 pounds of candy. It's almost January and we still have some of that candy floating around.
Granny built a barn with Pawpaw this year and you helped. They now have 2 horses in the barn and you and Mabel are so excited to learn to ride. As of now, you've enjoyed petting them and loving on them.
Thanksgiving was great and we had so much good food and saw all of our family, but Christmas was a little less cheerful. Mabel got sick and our trip down to NC was a little more reserved because of that. We isolated in the bedroom for most of Christmas Eve and then opened presents away from everyone. When we came home, we canceled our family Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa and had our own little gathering so we wouldn't spread germs around. That actually ended up being pretty nice, though. And we still got together with everyone again after Mabel was feeling better.
The remainder of winter break has just been very lounge-y and while we've still gotten outside some, I've mostly abandoned the goal of 1000 hours. We made it to about 800, maybe a little over that. Next year I will set a more realistic goal, knowing that you'll be in school so much. For now, we are all content to just relax and enjoy the cozy, warm comfort of home.
Happiest of birthdays, my sweet Evelyn Marie. I am so enjoying being your mom. I treasure every moment I get to spend with you and I am grateful you chose me to be your mom. Until next year!
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