Hicksville

Dear Lila,

I was today years old when you asked me what a hickey is. 

Love,

Mom

My Thoughtful Dumpling

Dear Lila,

I decided to make dumplings for lunch today and there were exactly 15 dumplings left in the bag. I gave four dumplings each to you, DiDi and MuiMui. You came into the kitchen as I was spooning out my portion and as soon as you saw that I only got three dumplings while the rest of you received four, you asked me, "Do you want one of my dumplings?" I knew you would notice that I had less dumplings and I knew you would offer me one of your dumplings, but I was still very touched by your generosity. You are awesome. Period.

Love,

Mom

Shaking Things Up

Dear Lila,

Last night, you used the bathroom before your shower and called out, "Uhhhh, Mama?" You got your period! Many of your friends and classmates have had theirs for awhile and I've talked to you about it, so you knew what to expect (and dread) when it finally happened for you. We got a bigger reaction from MuiMui, who watched as I reminded you how to use a maxi pad: "Why is Lila bleeding? What?! Lila is wearing a diaper! Why is Lila wearing a diaper??" Hahaha! 

So if that wasn't enough excitement, we were all home this morning and at 10:23am, our house began to shake violently. At first, I thought you and MuiMui were just playing extra rambunctiously in the attic but after a few seconds, I realized that 1) you were both on the second floor and 2) the house was shaking a lot. It stopped after 20 seconds or so and after texting a few neighborhood friends to see if their houses had shook, too, I soon learned that it had been an earthquake! An earthquake! In New York! Wha??!! But it was a small one (4.8 magnitude), so small that not a single one of our picture frames even fell over. Apparently, there was an aftershock around 6pm and you kids felt it in the attic but Daddy and I were on the first floor and didn't even notice.

Huh. We returned from Paris on Wednesday, you got your first period on Thursday, we experienced an earthquake today and on Monday, we're going to have a total solar eclipse. Pretty eventful couple of days!

Love,

Mom

Mystery Box

Dear Lila,

When you came home from school today, I told you that a huge box had blown into our backyard (lie #1) and asked if you could move it to the patio for me because my knee was bothering me (lie #2). You asked if anything was in it and I said no (lie #3). Then I watched as you walked up to the box, noticed something inside, opened the lid--and screamed and jumped when you saw DiDi and MuiMui sitting inside! Hahahaha!

Daddy had ordered a bean bag chair for the play attic and the box it came in was HUGE. It was so huge that I knew your siblings would like playing in it, which they enthusiastically did after they came home from school and saw it in our yard. They immediately crawled into it (and yes, the box was so big that they could both sit inside it) and pretended that it was their house. As I watched them and noticed that you would be home from school soon, I realized that we had a golden opportunity to prank you! Thankfully, you weren't mad about it and even joined in on the fun and played "store" with DiDi and MuiMui after you got over your initial shock. Kids + cardboard box = hours of playtime!

Love,

Mom

Feeling Green

Dear Lila,

Let the record show that you asked for broccoli tonight!

I love veggies and I want you kids to eat lots of them. Most of the meals I cook are vegetarian and I always make green smoothies with kale, spinach and carrots. This week, though, Daddy forgot to get broccoli when he went grocery shopping and I already used up the boxes of kale and spinach, so there were no fresh vegetables to cook along with my curry chicken and roasted potatoes tonight. We did have smoothies, so at least there were veggies in those, but when we sat down to dinner and there was nothing green on your plate, you asked incredulously, "No broccoli??" And the meal felt so off for you that you actually ate a small bowl of olives and pickles with your dinner because your brain must have been telling you that you must eat something green. Hahaha, success! I have trained you well!

Love,

Mom