EIGHTEEN

This beautiful bug had a birthday on Monday. Here she is in all her 7 year old glory, doing school work on the computer in a Jasmine costume.

2020 week eighteen. Quarantine week seven.

10 costume changes later, she was ready to watch Indiana Jones for her birthday.

She had such a fun day: Donuts, quick school, playing, presents, piñata, Chick-fil-A for dinner with ALL the sauces and more presents.

She wanted to decorate her own birthday cake. She picked a meringue cake recipe out of my Mimi Thorisson cookbook and I baked it and she decorated it.

She is amazing. So clever and creative. She is so enthusiastic about everything she wants to do. She changes clothes 100x a day to perfectly suit her make believe or just to suit her mood. She has grand ideas and aesthetic opinions and likes her things just so. She is brave and kind and persistent. She doesn't give up easily. She loves her family and is very forgiving. We all love her so much. 

Luna, the unwilling study buddy. 

Theo wanted me to take a photo of him "spying on me."

One night I went to check on them and this is how I found them. Being home together all day every day has turned them into really good friends. They are a lot more loving and understanding of each other. They fight a lot less and play a lot more.

On Saturday we went on a walk through a neighborhood to a trail to the lake.

V made sure to accessorize with her new heart-shaped birthday sunglasses.

Can you even?

After a picnic lunch they started dabbling their toes in the water.

It quickly got out of hand. 

For dinner we ordered 6 pounds of crawfish to go from a local restaurant. We had Matt's parents over and the six of us ate every last scrap of those mud bugs. Even V and T couldn't get enough.

Matt got a new lego set in the mail. When we went to check on Theo at naptime, he had the giant box in his room and he was just pouring over all the pictures intently.

Most days are really fine, and lovely and slow. Some days, however, I can really relate to this guy. 

Matt and I have had the luxury to initiate "coffee-o'clock" every day at 3 pm. We get a minute to just be together in the middle of the day before we're too worn out and just connect. This week I made biscotti much to the delight of the coffee-o'clock-ers. 

Quotes

Theodore

On a bike ride, Matt- "Look Theo, this is bamboo."
Theo- "Is it real bamboo?"
Matt- "Yes."
Theo, "Then WHERE are all the pandas?"

V- "I'm a female, and you're a male."
T- "No! I'm not a male."
V- "You're a male! You're not a female!"
T- "I'm nothing but Theo."

T- "Did you see how I saved that bug? That's what Steve would do."
Me- "Who is Steve?'
T- "Steve IRWIN."
Me- "Oh, right."

T- "It's a miracle!"
Me- "What is a miracle?"
T- "A miracle is when something you don't expect to happen happens in your garden."

Flipping through the pages of an illustrated Alice in Wonderland, "What on EARTH!?"

Me- "Why was your sister so upset about your finger?"
T- "Because I put my finger in my bun and tried to make her smell it."

Quite seriously, "Mama, how will I know when I'm a grown up?"

Very happily, "Sister! Feel my legs! Do you feel that? Do you feel all that hair?!"

Veronica

"A butterfly landed on my leg yesterday and another one landed on my head today! I must be a real princess because butterflies keep landing on me!"

Everyday, "This was the best day EVER! This was the best dinner ever! You're the best Mama. Everything is the best." I love her enthusiasm.