Mika: Little Big Sister

 

Mika went through a bit of an identity crisis after baby Paula joined our family. She knew she was no longer the littlest, but she still wasn't all that big, either. It seemed like she would alternate between saying she was "little" and "big." One day, she declared with satisfaction that she was the "little big sister"--a title which provided her with a more conclusive sense of where she fit into the family.

Another time when someone asked if she was big or little, she replied, thoughtfully, "Well, I'm little. Because I'm still two, I think." It was about this time that she started associating all things "little" with age two, and all things "big" with age three. Sometimes she would ask, "When am I going to be big?" (Which really meant: "When is it going to be my birthday?"

 Well, last week it was finally time for little Mika to turn big. We tried making some cupcakes to celebrate, but ran into a cupcake calamity due to some temperature issues with our oven.

After three batches of cupcakes, these were the most acceptable ones I could come up with:

It's a good thing frosting can be so forgiving (and concealing).

The birthday girl was sweet as could be on her special day. One of the things I love most about her is that she appreciates the small things and is so easy to please.

 

 

 

 

 

She's also very generous, and readily promised to share her new gifts with her big sister.

Once Ramona was finished with school, we did a little bit more celebrating with a couple of friends at the pool. Daddy met us there and brought Mika a balloon.

I brought along some of the catastrophic cupcakes to share.

 

 

 

Since birthdays warrant extra sugar, the girls got to suck on some princess ring pops after swimming.

Once pool time was over, Mika got to do one of her favorite things: curl up on the floor with her blankie and fall asleep in front of the TV.

While she slept, Ramona colored this picture for her:

She wanted to put a sticker on it to make it extra special.
Eventually, our little sleeping beauty woke up from her nap and I gave her one of her birthday presents I had forgotten about.

Of course, the birthday would not have been complete without a "Frozen" family movie night. So that is how we finished out Mika's special day.

The next day, Mika was still the birthday girl. We dressed her up as a cowgirl and all went to Martinez Farm for popsicles and pony rides with Natalie and Lauren.

Not surprisingly, Mika fell asleep on the way there. It took a raspberry popsicle and about twenty minutes to bring her back into party mode.

Amy held the baby for me while I mopped up Mika's popsicle mess and got her ready for a pony ride.

 

She looked so wobbly on the saddle, we were worried she would slide right off. Thankfully, Daddy was right there to keep her safe.

Natalie and Ramona took turns feeding Paula . . .

. . . and all the girls took turns feeding oats to the farm animals.

 

 

They also took turns "driving" the red tractor.

No tractor ride for Paula, but she loved the little bouncy horse on the playground.

Party bags had stickers, suckers, and most importantly: pink sparkly cowgirl hats.

 

 It was a small but lively party . . . thanks for coming, Natalie and Lauren!

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Little Miss Big Girl! We love you SO much.

More than a hundred buffaloes

Ramona told me yesterday that she loves me more than a hundred buffaloes. I think our experience on Saturday may have prompted this expression. We started with a family hike in Lory State Park: Well Gulch Trail.

Then after lunch we drove up to Terry Bison Ranch in Wyoming for Avago's family day. The sky clouded over and started raining as soon as we got there. Ill-prepared as we were for the weather, we met up with Snodgrasses and did the famed train ride tour anyway. Forest and Will tried to shield us from the rain with umbrellas while the girls huddled under a blanket I pulled out from the car.

Paula got her fair share of raindrops but found something to smile about, anyway.

Here is the buffalo part: The tour included a stop to observe the numerous buffalo living on the ranch.  This is when the sun finally came out, the temperature rose, the girls perked up, and we started feeling less like this trip was a horrible mistake.

 Following the train ride, there were face painting stations . . .

 . . . pony rides . . .

. . . bucket rides . . .

 . . . ferris wheel rides . . .

 . . . and barrel rides.

Somehow the two hours we planned to be there turned into four. And somehow most of the household chores did not get done that day. But at least the girls had fun, and are presumably filled with a hundred buffaloes' worth of love.

Y'all Ready For THIS?

We have now joined the ranks of parents with a school-aged child. Ramona is a Kindergartener.

Here she is on her first day. She was so excited to ride the school bus and sit next to our neighbor Megan.

I ended up following her to school so I could help her line up when the bell rang. I found her looking pretty overwhelmed after getting off the bus, almost getting swept away by the current of larger elementary school children. I guess it's not easy being green, even if you're Ramona.

We found Mrs. Eddy's line and before long my little Kindergartener was off to her classroom. I can't say I shed any tears--I don't usually cry about kids growing up. Hopefully Mika and Paula won't cry too much during the mornings while Ramona is gone.

Have fun in school, little Miss!