Pinkalicious turns 7

IMG_0378 No, she is not always completely girly, though she does have her princess moments.  In fact, I think of her as my hybrid child.  A lovely blend between spending all your time outdoors, breathing in the sunshine, counting the worms for mom, and pretty please can I wear the pink, no purple, no pink, dress today??

 She is my careful (won't ride her bike without self-administered bike helmet & knee pads) child who IMG_0414remembers everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) you say, and when you said it.  "Mom, no, that isn't what you said, you said, …".  She is my perky, social butterfly who has become a read-aholic who can't put a book down even when ALL of the lights have been out for quite some time.  She composes notes for us daily, and every one tells of how much she loves us.  They are frequent, loving, and are posted everywhere. IMG_0434

 

I like a clean fridge on the inside, but nothing is better than the outside being plastered in notes of love, not only for me, but the whole family.  She loves to sing (quietly, "Do you love my voice, too, mom?") and runs for fun (well, she is related to Peter).  She is annoyed by her sister's singing, but loves to play school with her for hours.  She gets cranky when her brother pulls her hair, but cries when she realizes how much she loves him.

 

She is Kelsey, my Kelsey-Delsey nugget, and today she is 7.  Happy Birthday, my sweet little  buddy, junior

You might remember

a while back, I was a bit freaked, to say the least, about the girls.  Well, not them so much as the differences between cultures, schools, time zones, you name it.  I worried way too much and finally quit doing so.  Sometimes I wonder if I should stress more (a female thing?) and then I have conversations with my children that let me know perhaps I should just keep chilling.

Kelsey, "Mommy, mommy, mommy, we have to read now! I haven't done my reading, and I really have to do it!"

 

Jen, "Dad says you have done your reading (both her school book per day and pleasure reading) and you can go to sleep now.  Don't worry, you are fine."

 

Kelsey, "No, no, I only read a little bit, I didn't read more and I have to read more to be a more better reader!"

 

After taking a brief break to reel in horror from the statement above.   More better….Kelsey might as well have said, "I did good!".  

 

Once recovered, "Honey, you are a good reader, in fact, you are a great reader.  You can go to sleep now and not worry about it."

 

Kelsey, "But I have to read more so I can read CHAPTER BOOKS!"

 

Jen, "Honey, you DO read chapter books!"

 

Kelsey, "But I want to read HARDER ONES!"

 

I gave up at this point and made her go to sleep.  Shutting off the light doesn't necessarily do any good, as she will read by any light she can find.  However, she must have been truly exhausted as she finally gave up the fight and fell asleep soon thereafter.  I wandered off to relay the conversation to Peter and then thought about the past few months.  Who knew this would be the end result of my needless worrying?  

 

Without a doubt, I fret too much.  With all of the stress on kids and their reading habits, I had no idea I would be so lucky to have not one, but two 'under the covers with flashlights kids'.  Color me thrilled and worried no more.  Oh, and grateful…very, very grateful.

Celebrations galore

We opted to celebrate Nicholas' first birthday and baptism at the same time in order to allow those who had traveled so far to attend both events.  While we had the small family party on Friday night, the official event occurred after today's baptism at St. Joan of Arc Church.

The baptism itself was uneventful.  The boy was a bit thrown by the full body immersion, but took it well, and promptly fell asleep once he was fully clothed.  He then stayed asleep until the end of the ceremony.  He woke up for a few photo ops, and then we headed home for the party.