Nook

Esme and Graham have decided to celebrate birthday week by getting their first fall colds. Happy day. Understandably, Es has been a little low energy, mostly choosing to stay indoors. Yesterday afternoon I went upstairs to her room and found this...

It was just so cute to see her all cozied up in the corner like that, in her pink plush chair from Grandma's house, under her favorite purple blanket that Aunt Dacia made for her, listening to the read-along stories that she received from various friends for her birthday on the boom box from Grandma and Grandpa. Your love and generosity are bringing joy and comfort to my little girl this week, Dear Ones! Without you, she would never have been able to create her own little Music and Book Nook.

Esme's Fifth Birthday: Frozen Party

This year we decided to let the kids have "friend birthday parties" for the first time. Usually we limit our guest list to family, but  Esme reeeeeeeeally wanted a party at the park with her girls. Oh, and by the way, she wanted it to be a "Frozen" party. So there we were:

Doing it at the park was nice in some ways, because we didn't have to plan too much in the way of activities. We kept it simple and let them enjoy the playground.

And we did play just one game: Pin the Nose on Olaf.

Presents time!

A thematically appropriate gift from buddy Caroline:

I love this one, with all the little heads leaning in:

Ah, la piece de resistance! Instead of a birthday cake, we had Frozen Birthday Trifle, a decadent concoction consisting of jello, Cool Whip, and blue-and-white striped marshmallows.

Hey, you only turn five once!

"There is no frigate like a book"

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll.
How frugal is the chariot
That bears the human soul!

-Emily Dickinson

We Made It!

"First day of school! First day of school! First day of school!" (Nemo has permanent rights to that phrase and always sounds off in my mind when anyone says it. Rowdy little guy.)

We made it to (and almost through... just one more thing to do) our first day here. Last night right before we finally went to bed, Dave took this fancy panoramic picture of my vanquished school room--and me, at last the victor over confusion and disorder! (Although the rest of my house is telling quite a different story.)

The kids were excited last night and didn't sleep well, so we had a few minor rough patches through the morning, but overall I'd say it went very well. I wanted it to go well so badly; I had to pray ahead of time for God's help to hold it loosely and not freak out if something bombed... and then I had to hurry and pray some more in the moment when one (or more) kid didn't respond as I'd hoped. "Do NOT freak out! Do NOT get angry!" (Had to be kinda bossy to myself too.)

Some obligatory first day pics here...

Miss "I-Can't-BELIEVE-I'm-in-Third-Grade!!!"

Mr. "If-You-Have-to-Take-More-Than-One-Shot-I-Am-Totally-Not-Cooperating"

Miss "But-I-Can't-Help-It-My-Head-Just-Cocks-Itself!"

See? She can't even smile properly when her head isn't tipped to one side.

There's a surplus of cuteness there, I tell you. It's a problem.

Oh, and here's Mr. "I-Don't-Know-What-This-Sign-Thing-Is-All-About-But-I-Don't-Care-as-Long-as-I-Get-a-Turn-Too"

And now I need to go get ready for our first Poetry Teatime! Polly, put the kettle on--we'll all have Shel Silverstein!