Helena is SIX!

Join me in disbelief that the tiny baby is six, won't you? I still haven't even written "Helena is FIVE!" and here we are an entire year later.

She wanted a real motorcycle for her birthday. Instead she got to choose an American Girl doll. I was surprised, actually, that she chose Caroline, because it is the doll that most closely resembles her. It took about an hour of playing for Caroline's smooth curls to tangle and go a little wild, which means she fits right in to our family hair scheme.

She is recovering from crying in that last picture because some silliness had ensued and Caroline's fancy gown had gotten frosting on it. (I overreacted a touch. But have you SEEN how much those ridiculous clothes COST? That deserves a post. I am not exactly the Target Audience for American Girl merchandizing.) She wanted the same cake Hudson had, though I did use baking soda instead of powder this time. She kept changing her mind about what she wanted on her cake (at some point she wanted Galadriel the Elf Queen in frosting.) so we finally just did sprinkles and she was pleased.

 

I really plan to do a birthday interview with her because I find her a bit of a mystery, honestly. She seems to like school just fine. She doesn't talk about it much unless I ask specific questions. She sits with her friend Jack at lunch every day. She got her stick moved (the discipline system our school uses) a couple of times early in the year, but seems to have figured out how to keep that from happening this semester.

She went to school with a very snaggly front tooth today. I hope she does not swallow it. She still says a few things not quite right. Liberry for library, firsty for thirsty, birfday for birthday..she can say them correctly, (usually when the other two correct her, and not very kindly) but it takes a little effort.

She is beginning to read, but only the simple readers assigned for school. She wants me to read everything else aloud. She is really good at listening. The husband listens to audio books with the kids on the long commute to school, and so far this year they've finished The Hobbit, the first two books of The Wingfeather Saga, My Side of the Mountain, and are now on Book 1 of The Once and Future King. At night before bed we are reading The Sign of the Beaver. She also still really loves picture books. A recent favorite is Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary (by Beverly Donofrio and Barbara McClintock).

She still likes me to hold her, and I can because she is bird-light (around 37 pounds, I think). She plays really well with Hudson, and rarely, but increasingly companionably, with Harper. She SMOTHERS Sasha with affection, and Sasha minds less that she used to.

 Notice the purplish hue around her eyes in these last two pictures? She and Harper found some old eyeshadow in my bathroom cabinet and asked if they could try it. I didn't manage to get a picture of their finished effort, but they had basically covered their entire faces with it. These purple remnants still remained after a thorough scrubbing.

I am thankful for you, little heart.

Hudson is eight!

A few months ago, Helena started calling Hudson "Buddy Bear." He claims to dislike it, but I think it secretly pleases him. It describes him well: friendly, cuddly, and occasionally growly.

He chose to go camping with Daddy to celebrate. The husband decided not to be deterred by the late January cold, rainy weather, and the two of them spent last weekend at Inks Lake near Austin. They hiked, explored some caves, climbed all over Enchanted Rock, and managed to sleep in a tent even though the temperature dipped below 30 degrees.

He got a new mountain bike, a tennis racquet, some Hobbit Legos, and a boxed set of Tolkien. Also, I accidentally put baking powder instead of baking soda into his chocolate cake. His request was "cupcakes that look like there are worms coming out of them!" Appropriately, the texture of the cupcakes was rather mud-like. The kids all said it was delicious anyway.

On the actual birthday, we had schoolwork to do, then we rode bikes to the park and had lunch. We are 90% certain (Harper is 100% certain) that we saw a bald eagle soaring high above. It was a gift. Just like my little eaglet, growing up and soaring.