how did this happen?

i'm not sure how this happened, but all of a sudden nikki is 5 and i swear she was just 3. i wish she would slow down this growing up business. it seems she's crossed the boundaries between a babbling bumbling toddler and a full-blown little girl. there's not even a little bit of baby left in her anymore. (excuse me while i blow my nose). why is 5 so much older than 4 and how does she know that?

said nikki on wednesday, the morning of her birthday :

n - mom, do you want to know how fast i can run?

me - how fast?

n - faster than a 4-year-old!

see? she knows 5 is a totally new league of childhood. there's so much more a 5er can do that she couldn't the day before. do i sound a little sad? sorry, i'm not. i'm just worried i won't remember everything she did when she was little or what she was like and that by the time she's 10 this vivid little 5-year-old will seem so long ago and far away.

enough brooding. on to the CELEBRATION!! this little thing is one seriously amazing chick. she has the most unique sense of humor. aside from the normal potty humor that i'm hoping comprises the bulk of most 5-year-old's comedic repretua(sp?) (please tell me the amount of poop, fart, bum jokes i hear out of this girl is normal) she has a wittiness that runs quite a bit deeper. almost morbid. okay, totally morbid at times, but full of thought and comparison and insight.

her sense of wonder amazes me. she makes up the most interesting games.

n - "mom. let's play 'i know what a group of things is.' what's a group of trees?"

me - "a forest."

n - "right!"

me - "what's a group of ants?"

n - "an army!"

and so on

other favorite games:

-i know what things are made out of

- tell a story from your mouth (no books allowed, only imaginations)

-(possibly my favorite) guess that smell

beyond what i think is a more intricate way of thinking, maybe because i tend to be a shallow thinker, but also because i think nikki's pretty neat, this little girl has such a soft, sugary center. if you need some loving she's there to provide. if you need to be forgiven because you're so very far from the parent she deserves, she always forgives and forgives again with nothing but love and acceptance.

true to say that nikki is a gleaming ray of sunshine in our home and we all love her. a lot.

happy birthday.

pee bag

the other day nikki had a little anatomy "lesson" about where food and water go when we eat and how the liquids and solids come out.

this is what i overheard as she pitter-pattered to the bathroom a minute ago:

"i need to go to the bathroom cause' my bag is full of water."

thanks for announcing that, nik.

devan update

it's been a big month for you, little devan. you went from just being able to get to a sit position to fully crawling and now you're pulling yourself up on things to stand.

what happened to our deal? you know, when you agreed to no crawling before ten months in exchange for protection from your next oldest sister?

i think you probably realized you could keep out of danger better if you had an escape plan. thus - the crawl.

and you're calling us by our names now. so sweet, but why will you only say mine when your hungry or in distress? "mamamamamamama!!"

and finally, your first tooth. making your daddy proud. all shiny and sharp. perfect addition to your quiver of self - defense tactics. run away- bite - run away - bite.

and all of this in one month. let's take this next month easy, okay baby girl?

weird atatchments

i'm sweeping the floor

nik - oh look, mom, there's a hair on the floor.

me - oh, thanks

reaching for the strand with the broom

nik (quite frantically) - no mom! DON'T!!

sweep. sweep. swept.

me - why not?

nik - i was gonna say something to it.

me - what?

nik - nothing. (then inaudible whispering directed at the dustpan)

me - what did you say to it?

nik - "i hope you have a great time in the garbage truck"

really? a piece of hair? not even an ant or a stray blueberry but a piece of hair? silly girl.

birthday boy

one birthday, please!
with a side of sprinkle-covered breakfast in bed,
and piled high with presents.

don't forget a big tall glass of

ride-your-new-bike-in-the-house,
hold the ice.

and most importantly, make sure to slather it all with ooey, gooey
don-your-favorite-new-outfit-sent-from-grammy-with-love,

and an extra helping of drippy, melty

birthday-memories-snapped-from-the-perspective-of-a-brand-new-7-year-old!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX!!! WE LOVE YOU!

run, max, run!

max ran in a little city run on saturday. he's been telling me for the past month that he was going to take second or third. it was one mile down capitol street to the capitol building. he ran the whole thing in about ten minutes. not to bad for a little guy. nikki and wade ran the whole way on the side so we wouldn't lose max. but we did.
a little dancing before the race.
stretching at home
more stretches.

max is the kids with his arms straight down. kind of funny.


the best part : all the free loot and food at the end. it was a huge party.
fun times, people.

a bit of a let-down

before
after

she hated it.

words won't do

i'm not quite sure how to describe this little person. i think pictures do a better job.

let me check...

(oops)

uuhhh ... yup. our summer's completely booked.