7-year old, continued

Genevieve is the bounciest kid I've ever seen. Trying to read a book to her is like trying to pin down Tigger. (It seems like she's totally not paying attention, but oddly enough she always does get the full story, can answer complex questions about it and comes up with interesting connections...go figure!) So what do you suppose we got her for her birthday? She immediately started doing tricks on it, of course. Before I could even tell her not to attempt certain things, she was doing expert flips. She's learned a lot in gymnastics over the past year. This summer she'll be going to gymnastics camp for 5 weeks. That should be fun!

One of her teachers told me that she asked her what she got for her birthday the next day. She didn't mention the trampoline or anything else from the pile of gifts. She replied, "my brother gave me the biggest smile!"

This year I told Genevieve that we couldn't have her birthday party at our house because of the kitchen renovation project. We have always done it at home and had a ton of kids running around in the backyard. She was disappointed, and we had a hard time coming up with a venue that we both liked. Finally we settled on Sweet & Sassy, where the girls all got updos, nail polish, makeup and costumes, plus dancing. At first Genevieve wanted a princess party, but then she changed her mind to "fashion diva"... In the end half the girls wore princess dresses and half wore "high fashion" ones. A few of the girls opted for "princess" hairdos, but most went for the "rock star" look (which was pretty funny with the princess dresses). They had a blast.

I always make a fun cake of some kind for parties. When we were thinking princesses, we were going to try to make a castle cake or maybe a doll cake. Then Genevieve looked through my books and found a treasure chest. So that's what we did. It came out pretty cool, and it was actually one of the easiest ones I've ever done. The girls of course went wild for it because they all got candy with their slice of cake. I even thought to bring extra ring pops so everyone could have one.

Overall it was a smashing success!

Aaron's First Playdate

My friend Kate had a baby last week, so Aaron and I went to visit. He and Oliver are going to be in the same daycare, so we're sure they will become great friends.

The amazing thing about this picture is that you can see how much babies change in the first couple of months (Aaron is 11 weeks old). They were the same size at birth, so you can really see how much Aaron has grown and filled out, and you can really see the difference in muscle tone and facial features. Wow, he's not a newborn anymore!

Appreciating my good fortune

One of my friends lost her 4-1/2 year old son this week. He had a rare genetic disorder and had a host of medical and developmental issues. She and her husband were great parents, though, and their lives revolved around caring for this poor kid. I can hardly imagine what they have gone through and what they are going through now.

John said today was the first time he had been to a funeral for someone under 60. It was my second experience of a friend losing a child, and I hope I never have another one. What a horrible thing!

It really makes you appreciate what you have. I have two such happy, healthy, beautiful, practically perfect children!

If I were religious I would say I was blessed. I believe I'm just lucky. And so glad to be...

Girl Scouts

Since I was a kid, Girl Scouts have added another level for younger kids below Brownies, so Genevieve is a Daisy this year. She could have done it last year, but no one wanted to help me lead the troop, and I wasn't dumb enough to do it alone. This year another woman stepped up to the leadership position, and I am "helping." At their first meeting they made Daisy smocks to use as their "uniforms" and learned all that GS stuff like the GS Promise and the Friendship Squeeze.

(This is Genevieve's friend Lauren making her shirt. Genevieve and Lauren were the only ones who got size small.)

(Here is the Friendship Squeeze in action. Genevieve is the one in the dark pink shirt on the far side.)

I am a little peeved that the GSP is still "On my honor I will try to do my best to serve God and my country ..." GSA goes overboard with showing girls of different races/ethnicities at every opportunity, yet they still stick to the old religious underpinnings that come entirely from Christian doctrine. (I haven't heard much about their stance on homosexuality, but I assume it's similar to the Boy Scouts, who are known for being intolerant.) It makes me feel like their message of inclusivity is a load of crap. The current leader is completely oblivious of course, and I think all the other girls in the troop are white and Christian (except for one part-Hispanic girl who was adopted into a white family). I'll be less grumpy about it once they stop doing Christmas activities.

On Saturday we sold GS cookies at a booth outside a local dairy owned by one of the girls' family. This is so much better than the door-to-door method! After my horrible experience with that, I'm not sure if I'll ever let her go door-to-door anyway.

(These are two of the other girls who were selling cookies with us. They used the bells to try to drum up business with the Christmas tree shoppers.)

After that Genevieve went to a birthday party at Sweet and Sassy, a salon for young girls started by a marketing genius. They all got updos, nail polish, blush, sparkle spray, and put on costumes to dance under a disco ball.

(This is after she got home from the party. She's playing her favorite game, chess. She is constantly asking us to play chess with her lately, or she plays it on the computer.)

2nd sleepover

On Saturday Genevieve had a playdate with another friend, Rachel. They had a good time at our house, and then went back to Rachel's house to jump in the bounce house. They were having so much fun they asked if Rachel could sleep over sometime. Sure. How about tonight? Um, OK, I don't see why not. They were so excited! Rachel grabbed a bag of stuff to bring to our house while her twin sister Danielle screamed and wailed that it wasn't fair. I felt bad about that, but Genevieve and Danielle don't get along as well, and when both twins are around it just causes competition and jealousy.

So they came back and continued the day's work of completely trashing my house. But it was so nice to have Genevieve occupied with someone else so that I didn't get demands for my attention every five minutes. We decided that this time they would sleep in the foldout couch downstairs. Everything was great up until the moment they got into bed. Then all of a sudden Rachel started repeating "I want my mom" in a really small voice. So her mom came and got her (with Danielle, who kept offering to stay instead).

Poor Genevieve was so disappointed; she cried and cried. It was not surprising to me that it didn't work out. I can remember several aborted sleepovers when I was little, and so can John. But Genevieve didn't get it. We'll see what happens the first time she gets invited to someone else's house!

Runaway Rodent

One day Genevieve went over to a friend's house after school. When I picked her up she was very subdued (usually she's screaming and giggling "no, I don't want to go"). She looked very worried as she said, "Mom, we need to talk about something."
We say our goodbyes, go out to the car, and get ready for the big talk. Then she burst out, "Mom, can I have a hamster?!! I really, really want one! PLEASE!"
Apparently Sydney had a hamster, and all of a sudden, Genevieve's life would not be complete another minute without one. John and I said we would have to think about it. So for the next three weeks we were deluged with requests for a hamster, both direct and subtle.
For example:
"I wish I were Sydney." Why? "She has a dog and a hamster and two kittens and a trampoline."
"You know Dad, I hear hamsters are a lot of fun to have around the house."
"Mom, can I have a cat for my birthday?" No, we already have a cat, and I don't think she'd be happy if we got another one. "You're right, a cat would be a lot of work and take a long time to learn the rules. So you can get me a hamster instead."
Anyway, we did end up getting a teddy bear hamster for Genevieve's birthday. She immediately named it Princess, and has been enjoying her new pet ever since.

She loves taking it out of its cage. I keep telling her that if it's ever out of her cage, she needs to keep her bedroom door closed. And that the cat needs to be kept away. Of course, she lost her in her room a couple of times and panicked, but she wasn't too hard to find. Until yesterday.

Yesterday she was playing in her room (with the door open). I was in my bedroom and could hear her chattering away to the hamster, playing some kind of game. Then I heard a lot of banging around, and a few minutes later she came into my room in tears. Apparently she had put the hamster in the doll crib, thinking she was safe there, but Princess immediately climbed out and ran away. So we started searching. Tore the room apart. Moved furniture, picked up a hundred stuffed animals, searched through her dresser drawers. No hamster. Since the door was open, it could be anywhere by now! Could she have gone downstairs? Could she have gone up the steps to my bedroom? My house is too freakin' cluttered!!! So we put out bait (carrots), closed the door and went away. The whole time Genevieve was beside herself, sobbing. "She's lost, she's gone." I'm sure she'll show up eventually. "I'm never going to see her again!" Yes you will. She didn't disappear into thin air. "Yes, she did!" She's got to be in the house somewhere. "It's all my fault! I can't be trusted" I kind of agree with you there, but I hope you learned a lesson. "You should punish me." I think you punished yourself.

When we came home several hours later, no carrots were missing. Bad sign. Finally she had to go to bed without finding her (still crying). But I told her to listen for munching and scratching noises in the night. Eventually John came home and helped search again. He found her under a ton of junk in the closet! Thank goodness! I tried to wake up Genevieve to tell her the good news, but she was out cold. This morning when she woke up she came running in to tell me that the carrots were gone (I had moved them into the cage, of course). She was so thrilled when I explained, that she jumped on John (who was sleeping) and gave him a big kiss. My happy kid is back. Let's not go through that again!

Another milestone

Last night Genevieve's best friend from school stayed overnight. It was the first non-family sleepover for both of them. They had such a good time. Anna was amazing--never a hint of homesickness. The two girls giggled and talked late into the night, as you would expect. They started out on the floor in sleeping bags and ended up sharing Genevieve's twin bed. Then they were up super early in the morning and picked up right where they left off. I overheard this conversation this morning: "I wish we could be sisters." "Then you would never have to leave." "And I could go on trips with you." "We could be twins!" "Yeah, that would be great!"

Wow, this is a whole new phase. We've definitely moved on. She's gone from mama's little girl to schoolgirl with her own life. I remember those days so well. I had a best friend too, and we used to sleep at each other's houses all the time. I hope this friendship lasts at least as long.