Birthday Eve

Tomorrow Clair turns seven. Today has been dubbed her birthday eve. She’s had a countdown to her birthday for at least a month. She’s very excited for her birthday.

She did cry when she found out school would be canceled on her birthday. She wanted to be able to go to school on her birthday and enjoyed hearing the classing happy birthday to her. I love that Clair still loves school.

Today Miss Jodi gave her a birthday present. She was so excited and ready to open it. I told her she needed to wait until tomorrow and she was not happy with me. But she listened.

Today I made her birthday cake, a special order. She asked for a rainbow cake with chocolate icing and a pokey bowl on top. I hope she’s not disappointed by the pokeball I drew on the cake. 

The past hour and she’s been getting ready for bed the excitement has been boiling over. She is so looking forward to tomorrow. We were talking to granddaddy to wish him a happy birthday and it kept turning into a conversation about her birthday. Granddaddy didn’t mind of course.

As we are finally getting her in bed and I told David I’m very tired but I have lots to do. He looks at me and asks what I need to do? Clair very excitedly proclaims “uh, decorate for my birthday daddy of course!” Followed by a giggle full of energy. 

As we finally get the lights off and I lay down to put her to sleep like I do on most nights. She lays in my arm and then pops back up quickly telling me I need to “ Sit up, Mommy😘 sit up!” I start to worry if there is something gross in the bed and ask her “why do I need to sit up Clair?” She says because otherwise you’ll fall asleep and you won’t go get ready for my birthday like you need to do.

She was not interested in having me fall asleep in her bed with her tonight. Last night she would try hard for that to happen, but tonight she knew she needed to get me out of bed so I could go prepare for the party.

Given where the world is today. Claire will celebrate her seventh birthday with just her family around her. COVID-19 has us in a position where we canceled her party. She’s not real thrilled about that, but we are looking to make tomorrow a special as we can for her. So with that, I’m off to decorate. David has gotten a Headstart already, which I am very thankful for.

Given where the world is today. Claire will celebrate her seventh birthday with just her family around her. COVID-19 has us in a position where we canceled her party. She’s not real thrilled about that, but we are looking to make tomorrow a special as we can for her. With that, I’m off to decorate. David has gotten a Headstart already, which I am very thankful for.

Tomorrow, my youngest will be 7! 

These are too candid shots I’ve taken of her over the past week. In the first one she was doing an art show. In the second one she had just finished running the bases at the park.

Clair has such a wonderful ability to share her feelings

Daily Clair finds ways to express herself that astounds me. She is better at this at 6 then most adults I know ever become. I hope she always continues to few deeply and share these feelings with those close to her. 

Two recent moments from the past 24 hours led me to this post. 

Last night after dinner Clair decided she wanted to be helpful. She took on washing every dish before loading them into the dishwasher. While she was working away, she was of course talking away. :) 

She is proud of being helpful. She proclaimed that “being helpful makes her “heart light up!” She went on to continue to describe how she feels about being helpful. She stuck at this for a good 15 minutes until the job was done. 

Fast forward to Friday morning. I’m working in my office. When I go to run to the bathroom for a quick break between meetings, I see the attached letter which has been slid under my door. This just makes my heart shine! 

Ellie’s last baby tooth

About a week or so ago Ellie lost her last baby tooth while eating a sugar daddy. She is 12 1/2 years old. 

Time flies parenting. This is another one of those milestones that has come and gone quickly in the hectic moments of the days.

My first baby is almost a teenager and in less than five years will be 18 and ready to leave the house and go to college and turn into the adult she was made to be. Thanking about this makes me proud excited and sad. I’m a ball of emotions.

In the midst of this crazy time being quarantine due to COVID-19, I took the tooth fairy a really long time to come. Ellie still believes. We kept telling her the tooth fairy must be in quarantine as well. She hopefully chose to believe that she would be safe and eventually be able to come. 

Parenting is fun, exciting and exhausting. 

I love you Ellie Grey, today and always. I’m so glad I got choosen to be your Mom! 

Seen above making homemade soft pretzels for snack one afternoon last week!

The ears journey for clair

Today we return to doctor yoon to have Clair’s hole in her ear examined. She got this little beauty after tubes fell out and one side refused to heal. 

We’ve been coming here for 4 years. Clair loves doctors and is especially confident in knowing the routine here. 

Today we walked into the sound booth and she led the way. She jumped into the chair herself, not thinking twice about needing to sit on my lap. It was a first. 

As I commented on her newfound independence she tells the audiologist “the more work trips my mommy takes the more used to being separated from her I get” ( in a real matter of fact way)

My heart fell. 

The audiologist complimented me on raising an independent child and I still wanted to cry. 

Clair realized she had made me sad and proceeded to kiss me and tell me how much she loved me. 

I said, “ does this mean you are ready to move out on your own now one day too?”

She looks at me and shrugs,” maybe. I don’t know.”

Here’s my independent girl ready to be tested. 

I’m barely sleepy

I’m on my way to bed at 10:15 PM on a Friday night, exhausted. I took Ellie in and she tells me she’s exhausted too. I check on Max and he sound asleep. I’m going on her head before going to bed and find her wide awake still. I said girl what is wrong with you why are you not sleeping? And the giggles just start. Her response,  “I’m just not sleepy; it’s my brain; it’s very busy!”

I laughed and told her I wished I could give her some of my sleepies and take some of her energy from her. She smiled and thought it was funny but said she didn’t want my sleepies. She’s laying in there happily entertaining herself in a dark room for well over an hour with her brain.

And she’s still laughing as I leave the room telling her to try to get some sleep because I’m going to bed. That girl is something else.

Hard life lessons

I heard Max and Claire discussing drama quite loudly. I go to find out what’s going on when I learned that Claire gave one of her favorite toys to a boy in school today because he just kept asking for it and she didn’t know how to tell him know. So she treated him the below artistic masterpiece and he took her Bay Blade home, never to be seen again. 

The mother bear in me wants to contact the school and reach out to this child’s mother and make this child return the toy. But instead, I’ve chosen to let this be a heavy lesson to all the kids about standing up for yourself and not letting somebody talk to you into something you don’t want to do. The boy didn’t push her the boy didn’t take it she just needed to say no it’s mine. She didn’t feel she could do that. That’s not acceptable. 

This picture is been sitting on my dresser for a week because it’s a sad picture for Claire. I took a picture and I threw it away today. I wanted to record this lesson. This is definitely not one of the proud parenting moments or stories from my childhood that will make me happy. But, it is important that we take lessons and learn to stand up for her self some for what is right. (Even if we learn them with losing a cherished toy. )

Playing in my head

Clair’s mind is so busy. She talks often and thinks always. She has triple focusing because her thoughts get away from her. 

Last night I came into the bathroom to check on her after about 10 minutes to find she hadn’t done much. I try to talk to her about staying focused and she proceeds to tell me that she has gotten lost in her head, playing and she is sorry. 

😂

I ask her to explain. She says that she likes to play games in her head and it’s fun to imagine different things happening. 

She has this same problem going to sleep. We were talking this morning about why she has trouble falling asleep. I’m snuggling her on the couch. She picks up here hand and holds it beside her head and moves it swiftly across in front of her face and to the other side of her head when exclaiming that’s ideas just come flying in and distract her from getting to sleep. 

I love this kiddo. I’m sorry I afflicted her with this condition and I understand it.