You're Six Years Old!

Dear Lila,

Every year on your birthdays, I mark your and your brothers' heights on this one post in the attic. It's always fun to see how much you each have grown in one year and to compare all of your heights at different ages. When I marked your height today, we could see that you had grown four inches since your last birthday and that you at 6 years old are a smidge taller than GuhGaw was when he was 7! You are probably going to be taller than your big brother in a few years!

Happy 6th birthday, Lilabear! You now need two hands of fingers to show how old you are! This was an eventful year for you: your kindergarten graduation, your first overseas trip, joining the G&T class at a new school. Some parents are nervous about enrolling their kids in the G&T program because the work load is heavier and the pace is accelerated. Even over the summer, your brother didn't have any summer assignments but you had to read the biography of Pablo Picasso and Mary Poppins and complete a report on the latter, which is actually a fifth-grade-level book. Once school began, you already had homework on the first day and you have had quite a bit of homework every night. You have a spelling test every Friday and you don't even get a break on weekends because you have a book report due every Monday. It's a lot for a first grader, especially one like you who is the youngest in the class. But you have impressed me time and time again with your focus and determination. I know you would rather spend your afternoons playing but you are so responsible that you always do all of your homework because you know that is what you are supposed to do. And you don't phone it in, either. If your teacher asks you for "two or three examples" from your reading, you always find three. If the directions say, "Use words, numbers or pictures to explain," you use all three to illustrate the math problem even when I try to save time and tell you to only use one method. You read for more than the requested 20 minutes. You do the optional review sheets. You take pride in doing good work and that attitude will take you so far in life.

I am so proud of how well you are doing in the G&T class. You can handle the work load, you understand the material, you read so beautifully and your handwriting has improved immensely (it is so neat and pretty now, whereas it somewhat resembled a serial killer's at the beginning of the semester). I am also so proud of the person you are. You are so kind, thoughtful and caring. One night, you ran up to DiDi to give him a hug but you were holding a full water bottle so when you threw your arm around DiDi, you whacked him in the face with the water bottle. He started crying and then you started crying. While I was comforting DiDi, I asked you why you were crying and you said it was because you hurt DiDi. It was obviously an accident but his pain was your pain, too, and it was sweet to see how sensitive and empathetic you are.

Now that you are a little older, you have traded in your picture books for, well, more picture books--you love graphic novels, especially the Babysitters Club ones and those by Raina Telgemeier. You also like Disney Channel shows featuring older kids, such as "Bunk'd," but still watch cartoons like Fancy Nancy and Bubble Guppies. You still love princesses and pink and all things sparkly, so it's no surprise that this year, you developed an obsession for two main things:

1) unicorns
2) flippy sequins

You get so excited when you see something with unicorns or something with flippy sequins or *gasp* a unicorn made of flippy sequins (your friend recently gave you a flippy sequin unicorn key chain and your reaction was epic). Your friends (and, well, most little girls all over the world) share your love of unicorns and when we went out for your birthday a couple weeks ago, you all donned unicorn apparel and accessories and chose to paint unicorns at the art studio.

For your actual birthday today, Daddy and I focused on another one of your loves: sugar! We took the subway to Manhattan, where we let you fill up a bag of treats at Dylan's Candy Bar before having lunch and indulging in the famous Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity. Our waiter at Serendipity was great and even asked everyone in the dining room to sing "Happy Birthday" to you when the sundae came out. And you and your brothers guzzled the dessert down to fast, Daddy and I didn't even get any!

After lunch, we went to Grand Central Terminal to check out the holiday train show, so it was a long day but throughout the day, you kept stopping to hug me and say thank you, so I know you were enjoying yourself. I am so happy you had a great birthday. I love you so much, baby girl!

Love,
Mom

Dancing Star

Dear Lila,

You impressed me twice today. First, you totally rocked your school dance performance this morning! You nailed the choreography and looked so energized and exuberant while dancing to "Born This Way." I am constantly amazed by how much your confidence has grown over the years, especially when I look back and remember how afraid you used to be just looking someone in the eyes and speaking to him or her. Even just last year at your kindergarten winter concert, you were so nervous standing on the stage that you kept trying to back up and hide behind the girl standing next to you! But this morning, you were excited to perform in front of an auditorium full of parents and you were so amazing!

Then later in the afternoon when we picked up DiDi from school, you were about to eat the last gingerbread cookie in your snack box. DiDi wanted it, too, though, so you broke it into two pieces. One piece was significantly larger and had an M&M on it while the other piece was smaller and lacked an M&M but you didn't even hesitate before you gave the bigger M&M-adorned piece to your little brother. That made me so proud!

Love,
Mom

Scary Mama

Dear Lila,

Tonight, you were loudly singing a song Sawyer learned in nursery school for Halloween ("Ghosts and goblins, cats and bats, I'm not afraid of this or that. They are only make-believe. Funny costumes on Halloween.") while you walked into my room to look for me. I had actually been in your room, though, and walked toward my room to get you. You happened to come out of my room just as I was about to walk into it, so I startled you and made you scream while you were singing. It was so classic because you sang, ". . . I'm not afraid of--AAAAGHHH!" Hahahaha! You and I laughed so hard, our bellies hurt. You're not afraid of ghosts or goblins, but you are apparently afraid of your mama!

Love,
Mom

Firsts Lady

Dear Lila,

This past weekend was a big weekend of firsts for you! On Friday, Daddy and I took you to your first concert at Carnegie Hall. On Saturday afternoon, you went to your cousin Julietta's first birthday party. And on Saturday night, you went to your first sleepover!

I had so much fun with you on our very grown-up outing to Manhattan on Friday night! Before the concert, we had dinner at Blue Ribbon Sushi and ate delicious sushi, rock shrimp tempura, fried chicken, ginger bread pudding and chocolate chip mochi. Then it was off the to beautiful Carnegie Hall where we enjoyed a medley of Broadway show tunes performed by the New York Pops (including my favorite, "Seasons of Love" from Rent). You especially liked when ballet dancers came out on stage to dance to several of the songs. It was a pretty long concert--two hours with an intermission--that started after your usual bedtime but you managed to stay awake until the very last song, at which point you laid your head down on my lap. You were exhausted by the time we got home but you said you really liked the show!

The next day, we headed back into Manhattan to celebrate with Julietta. Aunt Sarin had set up a little play area with toys and books and you and DiDi had fun making Little Mermaid characters out of Play-Doh and hitting the balloons around . . . and of course eating birthday cake!

And as if that wasn't enough excitement for one weekend, you slept over your best friend Riley's house on Saturday night. You have never slept away from home so this was a BIG DEAL. In fact, I think I might have been more nervous than you! For the first time ever, I would be sleeping in my bed but you wouldn't be down the hall sleeping in your bed. I wouldn't be able to get up and check on you to make sure you weren't all tangled up in your blanket or laying with your head off of the pillow. It was hard for me to wrap my head around that but I'm glad you were able to have such a fun experience with your friend. I thought you might get scared or cry or want to come home to sleep in your own bed but you were totally fine. Actually, you were a little too fine. You weren't scared or homesick at all. You had a blast playing with Riley, eating home-cooked Korean food, sharing a bed with Riley and staying up late to talk (and you two stayed up really late--Riley's mom said you didn't fall asleep until almost 11pm!). Riley's mom asked if you missed your family and you said no! Well, hmph!

I'm happy you had such a fun, eventful weekend! (And sad you didn't even miss us a little?)

Love,
Mom

Kind At Heart

Dear Lila,

When we were walking home from school today, you and DiDi were each eating a snack bag of pretzels. DiDi wasn't paying attention and accidentally spilled his entire bag of pretzels on the ground. As soon as you saw what he did, you immediately offered him pretzels from your bag. You didn't even miss a beat! I am so proud and impressed by your constant thoughtfulness and kindness!

Love,
Mom

Mature Matters

Dear Lila,

Things you did today that showed me what a mature and responsible girl you are:

-As soon as you finished your after-school smoothie, you told me, "I'm going to go start my homework now."

-When we were all done eating dinner, you helped me clear the dirty dishes from the table and bring them into the kitchen without me even having to ask you.

-You know what the word "cacophonous" means (and that its antonym is "harmonious"). Daddy didn't even know what cacophonous meant when you used it at dinner tonight (but your English-major mama did ;-) ).

And this didn't happen today but we were talking about your birthday last week and I told you that you are only going to be 5 years old for two more months. And as soon as I said that out loud, it hit me: You are only going to be 5 years old for two more months! I can't believe you will be 6 soon!

Love,
Mom

Scent of a Mama

Dear Lila,

You hugged me tonight and I said, "You smell like Corn Chex." (You had snacked on some after dinner.) You replied, "You smell like a great mama." Awww! I hugged you back extra tight for that!

Love,
Mom

Give Me An E!

Dear Lila,

Our conversation today:

You: GuhGaw called me the E word!
Me: The E word?
You: Yeah, he said the E word!
Me: Um, what is the E word?
You (whispering): Ee-diot.

Oye.

Love,
Mom

Kiss and Tell

Dear Lila,

Today was notable because you talked about two topics that I'm not ready for you to be talking about yet!

#1. When you were taking a shower after school, you looked down at your chest and stated, "Mama, my boobs are getting bigger. Look! They are starting to come out."

#2. When you were eating your after-school snack, you asked me who my high school friends were. I said I was friends with girls named Claudia, Molly, Aviva, Andrea and Christina. Your eyes lit up and you said, "Claudia like in The Babysitters' Club! And Molly like Molly in Bubble Guppies! And Christina is like Kristy in The Babysitters' Club." Then you asked me who my friends in college were. I said, "Well, Daddy, obviously." That led to you asking about how Daddy and I met and why we started dating. I told you that we lived on the same dorm floor and that we started hanging out. I said Daddy made me laugh and that I liked talking to him and spending time with him. Then a knowing smile spread across your face and you interrupted me to say, "And you liked kissing him?" I laughed and said yes, I did like kissing him. And then I freaked out a little because you asked me about kissing! Gah! Too soon! Too soon!

Love,
Mom

Funny Faces

Dear Lila,

While I was brushing my teeth tonight, you stood in front of my bathroom mirror squishing your cheeks in and out and making silly faces at yourself in the mirror. Hahaha! I love it!

Love,
Mom

Get Shorty

Dear Lila,

Ever since you were a baby, you had only had your hair trimmed an inch or two every several months. You have always had such shiny, silky black hair and I loved seeing it grow so long. You always loved it, too, because your beautiful flowing hair makes you feel like the princesses you adore so much. But your long locks were a pain to detangle in the mornings and wash and blow-dry in the evenings so it was time for a change. We went to the hair salon yesterday and the hairdresser cut off eight inches!

Before

After!

I thought you might get upset after seeing your new 'do but you were fine and said you liked it. I love it! You look so beautiful and so much more mature! We also donated your hair to Locks of Love, so it went to a good cause.


Love,
Mom

Begging You

Dear Lila,

You and DiDi are currently sitting on the pantry floor and pretending to be homeless. I overheard you talking about how you don't have any socks and you guys will need to ask people walking by for money. I think you guys have officially run out of things to play!

Love,
Mom

Dr. Barbie

Dear Lila,

The two of us, practically every time I play Barbies with you:

You: My Barbie is getting married today.
Me: My Barbie is going to the library to study for her MCAT.

Love,
Mom

Spanish Vibes

Dear Lila,

I didn't travel overseas until I was 21 years old but you, my lucky girl, only had to wait until you were 5 and a half! We just returned from a week in Barcelona and it was an amazing vacation. We saw so many beautiful sights (Parc Guell, Casa Batllo, Sagrada Familia), took day trips to breathtaking locales (Sitges, Montserrat) and ate so much good food (the Boqueria food market with always have a special place in our hearts--and our bellies!). Barcelona is a wonderful city and I am so happy that we were able to experience it together.

Even though you are still very young, you have always been very mature for your age and I could tell that you genuinely appreciated and enjoyed exploring a different culture. Traveling to Barcelona could not have been easy for you--we took an eight-hour red-eye flight during which you couldn't sleep very well (even though Daddy and I tried to make it comfortable for you by letting you lay across our laps), we landed at 10am in Spain but couldn't check into our hotel for a couple hours and had to kill time in slightly stifling 80-degree summer heat. You were definitely exhausted, jetlagged and a little airsick (there was a moment near the taxi stand where we thought you might hurl) but you powered through it and strolled down Las Ramblas with Daddy and me, taking in all of the sights, savoring your first taste of authentic Spanish tapas and posing for the (many, many) photos I asked you to pose for without a complaint.

That was the case for the entire trip: We explored a lot of neighborhoods and did a lot of walking in humid 80-degree weather but you continually impressed me with your stamina (and willingness to pose for picture after picture!). I mean, there were definitely a few times when you started to get cranky and I had to bribe you with ice cream to prevent a meltdown but for the most part, you were just as eager as us to see, do and eat as much as we could! The best example was when we went to Montserrat. We explored the base of the mountain for a couple of hours and started hiking higher up but Daddy and I thought you were going to get tired and suggested we turn back around. You wanted to keep heading toward the big iron cross you saw at the top of the mountain, though, and insisted that you wouldn't get tired. Daddy and I spent several minutes trying to talk you out of going any further, explaining that we could walk to the top but then we'd also have to walk all the way back down, but you were adamant--plus I also wanted to see the view from the top--so we said we'd walk to, for example, that far-off pile of rocks and see how you felt. When we reached that pile of rocks, we picked another far-off landmark to walk to and checked if you were tired when we reached it. We kept picking landmarks and you kept wanting to keep going every time we reached them so eventually, we actually did make it to the cross! If it had been up to Daddy and me, we would not have gone that far with you but you were so determined and the reward was one of the most incredible views we have ever seen:

I had so much fun being a tourist with you! You were so interested in all of the attractions, so eager to try all of the different foods and so cute while listening to commentary on your tour headphones:

You said your favorite parts were the food (of course!), going to the beach in Sitges and hiking up Montserrat. My highlight was spending so much quality time with my favorite little girl!

Until our next adventure!

Love,
Mom

Stepping Up

Dear Lila,

Look who graduated from kindergarten today!

I am incredibly proud of you, Lilabear! You have learned and grown so much this past year and I am impressed by everything that you have accomplished! You are smart, insightful and hard-working but more importantly, you are known for being kind, generous and helpful to all of your teachers and classmates. I love you so much! First grade, here you come!

Love,
Mom

On the Nose

Dear Lila,

Yesterday, we were playing in your room when you told me, "Mama! I can write my name with my nose!" Then you proceeded to wave your nose through the air and indeed make out the letters of your name. You are so funny and silly!

Love,
Mom

Lilabear Hugs

Dear Lila,

When I drop you off at school, I always kiss and hug you and tell you that I love you before you line up with your classmates. Today, you started walking into the building but then ran out of the line to give me one more hug. Your teacher smiled and said, "She wanted one more squeeze!"

Then at night, when you were standing on the step stool next to me in the bathroom and I was about to brush your teeth, you said, "Wait, Mama! Hug!" So we hugged and when I looked in the mirror, I could see your sweet face. Your cheek was pressed right against my chest and you were smiling while squeezing your eyes shut so tightly. Your face was so full of happiness and love and I wanted to burn that image into my brain so that I could always pull it up and feel how wonderful I felt in that moment, when I was holding my little girl in my arms and she was so content just to be hugging her mama.

Thank you, sweetie, for always giving me the best hugs.

Love,
Mom

Gender Issues

Dear Lila,

I totally burst your bubble when you told me that you want to grow up and have three daughters and I told you that you don't get to pick your children's gender. The look on your face--confusion, then surprise, then dismay. Haha! Sorry, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Perfect 10

Dear Lila,

You love dresses and I love dressing you up in dresses, so you have a lot of dresses in your closet! You definitely don't need anymore but I keep finding cute ones on sale, so I recently bought a few from Gap and Tea Collection all in size 10, thinking that you will just grow into them next year. Surprise! You are already outgrowing your size 8 clothes and the size 10 dresses fit you perfectly. *sigh* You are getting too big too fast!

Love,
Mom

P.S. Now that you are wearing size 10 clothes and GuhGaw still wears size 7/8, that means you can pass all of your clothes down to your older brother! Do you think he would like to wear your cotton-candy pink tutu dress to school? :-P

Seeing Red

Dear Lila,

The weather was crazy this week. It was 55 degrees and cold on Monday (you wore a winter hat and gloves to school in the morning) and then it swung up to 90 degrees yesterday. We didn't even stay out that long after school yesterday because it was so hot but I wonder if the extreme temperature change contributed to the EPIC nosebleed you got.

I am still learning that as a mom, there will always be something new with my kids that I've never encountered before. You and your brother have gotten nosebleeds here and there over the years and they have never been a big deal. A little blood trickles out, we grab some tissues and that's it. Your nosebleed yesterday was NOTHING like that. After we got home, I went upstairs with your brothers and you stayed downstairs to read on the foyer bench. You called out for me but I was in the middle of changing out of my sweaty tank top so I said I'd be down in a minute. You started whimpering, though, so I got concerned and ran over to the top of the stairs (with no shirt on and covering by chest with my arms). I looked down the staircase and saw that the front of your shirt was entirely covered in blood! Daddy was in his office so I screamed for him to go to you and I ran back to my room to throw on a shirt. You had just been sitting and reading so I don't know why your nose suddenly started bleeding but it was bleeding so much and it didn't stop for nearly five minutes. We put ice on it and went through an entire roll of paper towels but the blood kept coming. It was all over your front and you kept looking up, so it kept dribbling into your mouth, which I know must have been so awful for you. The bleeding stopped briefly after five minutes but then it started again and continued for several more minutes, so I wanted to call 911. I called your pediatrician first and while I was on hold, the bleeding stopped, for good this time.

The nurse I talked to said sometimes a trauma to the nose causes delayed bleeding hours later. She also said that you might have been picking your nose. Neither explanation seemed to make sense in your case--you said you hadn't hit your nose on anything that day and insisted that you hadn't been picking your nose (and even if you had, you would had to have done some crazy deep nose picking with like a razor blade to have caused such a large gush of blood). So I don't think we'll ever know what caused such a horrible nose bleed but thankfully, you didn't have anymore nose bleeds last night or at all today. Whew! I'm so glad you are okay now!

Love,
Mom

Way Back When

Dear Lila,

We were playing Barbies together (your favorite activity as of late) and when I was changing Ariel's dress, I noticed that someone had scribbled all over her stomach with a pen. I asked you if you had done that and you replied, "Yeah, I did that when I was a little kid. I didn't know better." Haha! That long time ago when you were just a little kid, huh? Good thing you are so much older and wiser now!

Love,
Mom

Trophy Wife

Dear Lila,

You are so sweet and always telling me that you love me the most and that I am your favorite person in the whole world. That makes me feel so great but it makes Daddy feel not-so-great (awww!) and he often pretends to be upset about it. Yesterday, you were drawing and he told you to draw a picture about how you love him more than anyone. You said, "No! I love Mama the most!" Then I teased Daddy and said, "I will always be the favorite! You will never win!" Daddy replied, "You're my wife. I already won!" #smooth

Love,
Mom

Girl Pride

Dear Lila,

You got your latest math test back today and your grade was 100 percent! Nice! I told you that I'm proud of you and you replied, "I'm proud of me, too." Woo!

Love,
Mom

Nighttime Wanderings

Dear Lila,

I checked on you last night before I went to bed, around 11pm, and nearly jumped out of my skin. You were not in your bed but asleep sitting upright in your armchair with your mouth agape. I walked into your dark room expecting to see your sleeping self under your covers but you were sitting there right next to the door. That was definitely a first! You have never sleepwalked (as far as I know) and when I asked you about it this morning, you had no recollection of getting out of bed and plopping down into your armchair. Silly girl! Thank goodness you didn't walk to the top of the stairs!

Love,
Mom

Morning Rush

Dear Lila,

I dream that one day, my kids will get up on their own on school days, eat their breakfasts quickly, brush their teeth, put their shoes on and get out the door on time without me having to say every two minutes, "Come ON! Let's GO! You have to go to SCHOOL!"

Today was not that day. You kept pulling your comforter over your head when I was trying to get you out of bed and you sleepily stumbled over to your toy shelf, stood for a minute at your desk and plopped into your armchair for a beat before eventually making it into the bathroom--and you whined the whole way. (You, like your mama, are not a morning person and I get that but how are you so tired in the mornings?! You go to bed at 7:30pm and sleep until 6:30am--that's 11 whole hours, almost half a day!) I went into GuhGaw's room three times to tell him to get dressed and on my third trip back, he had taken his pajama bottoms off but still hadn't put his regular pants on or even taken off his pajama top. Breakfast was also painstakingly slow--both of you took a bite of waffle, goofed around for a few minutes, ate a spoonful of cereal, chattered for a few more minutes. I had to say "Stop talking and eat your breakfast!" so many times that I lost count. I also begged, "Guys, can you please get ready for school without me yelling at you every other minute? All this yelling every day is making me look so old and tired." You replied, "You don't look old. You look like a perfect mama."

Well, if all the yelling has taken years off of my life, that comment definitely added back at least a couple! Thank you, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Rough and Tumble

Dear Lila,

We have a large curved staircase in our house and it's one of the most beautiful features in our house. Visitors always comment on it when they see it for the first time and I remember one of my friends asked if any of you kids had ever fallen down it since it is so large. At the time, the answer was a lucky no. That answer changed today, though, when you were coming downstairs with your water bottle and tumbled almost all the way to the bottom :-(

I was cleaning up dishes in the kitchen when it happened so I didn't see you fall but I heard you fall and the memory of that sound keeps making me chest tighten. All three of you kids have slipped on the stairs at some point but you've only ever slipped down one or two steps before landing on your butt or catching your fall. This time, you told me that you were a quarter of the way down when you lost your footing. I heard a thump on the stairs . . . and then several more thumps followed. I ran to the stairs and you were sitting near the bottom. You said you had hit your head, your arm and your leg and you said they all hurt a lot. And you were wailing in such a way that it made me start to cry. Daddy and GuhGaw were out at the time but DiDi was downstairs and he picked up your water bottle and said, "I got you water bottle!"

I carried you over to the couch and DiDi ran and got the ice pack out of the freezer for you. You were shaken for awhile but there were no visible bumps or bruises. I kept asking you throughout the day if you had a headache or if you felt dizzy or nauseous but you said you were fine. Oh MAN. Thank goodness you didn't get seriously hurt!

Love,
Mom

Nineties Kid

Dear Lila,

Guess who scored a 98 on her Gifted & Talented test this year? YOU!!! I am so proud of my bright girl!

Love,
Mom

Power Hug

Dear Lila,

Sometimes Daddy or PoiPoi pick you up from school but when I go, you always give me a big smile when you see me and run at me and hug me so hard, you almost knock me over. And I love it every time!

Love,
Mom

Jelly Belly

Dear Lila,

Today, you asked me out of the blue, "Mama, the next person who comes out of your stomach, can we name her Jelly Bean?" Wait, what? From the way you phrased the act of giving birth to the fact that you want a sibling named after a colorful confection--hahaha! I love it!

Love,
Mom

Mini Mathematician

Dear Lila,

You were in your room tonight and when I went in to check on you, you weren't reading books or playing with dolls as I had expected. Instead, you were making up subtraction problems and solving them by yourself. You had filled both sides of a piece of paper with problems such as 7-1 and 2-1 . . . and you had solved each one correctly, too!

So proud and impressed, little girl!

Love,
Mom

Class Act

Dear Lila,

You have mentioned to me that you want to be a teacher and you have already started practicing for your future profession. You were sitting on the foyer bench after school yesterday while I was helping GuhGaw shower and when I came downstairs to get you, you were holding a book up and reciting the story in a calm, lilting voice. You said you were pretending all of our shoes on the floor were your students and you were reading to them. I love it!

Love,
Mom

Food for Thought

Dear Lila,

We spent the afternoon at the American Museum of Natural History yesterday and you said you liked seeing the dinosaur bones, animal dioramas and miniature displays of Native American villages. Food is never far from your mind, though, so as we made our way to the Hall of Ocean Life or Hall of North American Forests, you kept spotting decals of a fork and knife on the floor and asking if we could follow those to the cafe instead. Sure, the sea otter diorama is interesting, but where's the ice cream? :-P

Love,
Mom

Star Reader

Dear Lila,

One of the truly magical things I have witnessed has been watching first GuhGaw and now you learn how to read. I have been a passionate reader ever since I was little (I had to start wearing glasses when I was 8 years old because I constantly read in the dark after I was supposed to go to sleep) and I am so happy that all of my kids love to read as much as I do. You have always enjoyed looking at books and being read to and I am so excited for all of the books that will become accessible to you as you become a better reader.

I am also excited to see how excited you are about becoming a better reader. Your school regularly tests your reading level and you came home the other day and proudly told me that you are now reading at a C level (A is the first level and then you move up from there). You said, "Before my birthday, Mrs. Ryf asked me to read this book but I couldn't. Then after my birthday, my real birthday*, she asked me to read it and I could! She gave me a hug and said I was an amazing reader!"

I am so proud of you, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

*For your 5th birthday, we had a birthday party with friends and family in early December, a birthday party at school the week before winter break started, a small cake at home on your actual birthday and then our celebration at American Girl Place the day after your birthday, so you got a little confused as to when your "real" birthday was, haha!

Sleeping Arrangements

Dear Lila,

We went to IKEA yesterday and bought a cute doll bed for you. I said we (meaning Daddy, haha) would build it and then you could put it next to your actual bed. You said you would rather put it on top of your bed and I said your doll might fall on the floor then. You got this serious look on your face and said matter-of-factly, "It's just a doll, Mama."

Schooled.

Love,
Mom

Spirit Animal

Dear Lila,

At bedtime tonight, you asked me if everyone dies. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: Yes, everyone dies eventually.
You: Even God?
Me: Well, no. God doesn't die because God isn't a person.
You: What is he?
Me: He's kind of like . . . a spirit.
You: Like Elena [of Avalor]'s spirit fox?
Me, out loud: Sure.
Me, in my head: Hahaha! Yes, God is exactly like a spirit fox.

I love talking to you and hearing the creative things you say!

Love,
Mom

15 Questions

Dear Lila,

For fun, I asked you a bunch of questions at breakfast this morning and these were your unfiltered responses:

What is something I say a lot? I love you.

What makes me happy? Me.

What makes me sad? GuhGaw. (Hahaha! You probably said this because GuhGaw had been misbehaving all morning and I had yelled at him.)

How tall am I? 40.

What is my favorite thing to do? Hang out with me.

What is my favorite food? Coffee.

What is my favorite drink? Coffee.

If I could go anywhere, where would I go? Vacation.

How do I annoy you? (When you didn't understand that, I rephrased it to "What do I do that bothers you?") Nothing. (Awww!)

What is my favorite TV show? Cooking shows.

What is my favorite music to listen to? Classical.

What is my job? To take care of kids.

How old am I? 100. (Umm, not quite!)

What is my favorite color? Purple.

How much do you love me? You stretched your arms out as much as you could and said, "This much!" (Right back at ya, babe!)

Love,
Mom

Tapped Out

Dear Lila,

After you came home from school today, I changed you into your tap class leotard and tights and took you to class. When we arrived at the building, the elevator that takes us up to the dance studio had an "out of order" sign on it. So we walked to the door that leads to the stairs that go up to the dance studio and that door had a sign on it that said the buzzer to the dance studio was broken. So, um, there was no way to get to the studio or let anyone in the studio know that we were downstairs waiting. And it was FREEZING outside. Two of your classmates soon showed up and their parents were equally confused as to how we were supposed to get to class. I found the number to the reception desk and called . . . and called . . . and called. But no one answered. Another mom checked her emails and there it was: We had missed the part that said that the dance school's winter break was through January 2; classes would resume on January 3. The public schools started up again today so I had assumed that your dance class would, too. *sigh* I dragged you out into the freezing cold afternoon for nothing!

Then, on the walk back home, you suddenly had to pee very badly, even though you had gone before we left the house. We were nowhere near home or even PoiPoi's apartment, so I had to sneak you into a nearby grocery store's employee bathroom. We technically weren't supposed to be in there, plus the bathroom is the size of a postage stamp--there's barely room for the toilet and sink, much less two people wearing puffy winter coats and carrying bulky purses and backpacks. So we're in this crawl space of a bathroom and I somehow have to take off (and find somewhere to put) your parka, scarf, hat and backpack and oh yeah, you can't even just pull down your pants and go because you are wearing a FRIGGEN LEOTARD, so I also have to find the room to bend down and pull down your pants, tights and leotard, all while you are wiggling and whining and I am freaking out because I don't want you to wet yourself and then go back out in the cold . . . there was really no room in the bathroom, so I ended up throwing all of the winter gear and bags on a hummus display next to the bathroom and I had to leave the door open while I peeled off your clothes because that was the only way I was going to have room to bend down and reach them. I don't know if any customers or employees saw but I was too stressed out to care at that point.

Good news, I took off everything in time and you peed in the toilet and not on yourself, we didn't get in trouble for using a non-public restroom and the manager didn't approach us afterward and ban us from the store. But gah, all of that when we didn't even have to leave the house!

Love,
Mom (who will check school vacation dates more closely from now on)