Elsa is Six!

Elsa turned six a week ago yesterday, on September 7. No matter how long you are blessed with time on this earth, I have a good feeling you never get over the mysterious ways of time and its movement. How you can feel so caught up in moments and periods of time, and things just seem to take forever, but then you can look back at entire swaths of life and wonder, how in the world did we get here so quickly? I tend to feel the latter every time a birthday rolls around for one of my girls. Man, those infant days with Elsa seemed to last an eternity—the incessant crying, the endless diaper changes, the sleepless nights, the projectile spitting up. But now she is six. How did that happen? I try not to mourn the passage of time too much. There is nothing that can be done, nothing that can bring days or moments back to us. I try to focus on all of the goodness that is yet to come. And, still, I feel a bit remiss in the fact that I will never be able to squeeze those baby cheeks again. I mean, really.

But six she is, this girl. And we celebrated her in full Frozen style a week ago Saturday. Tim, Kate, James, and Robert stayed with us for the weekend, so they were here to celebrate with us, along with Bethany and Jimmy, my parents, Bill and Susan, Jane, Stephen, and four of Elsa's friends from school (Emily, Gabriella, McKenna, and McKenna's twin sister, Drew). It was a full, fun house, and so much fun to have our first celebration in our new home.

We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and then I got some ideas off Pinterest for Frozen-related food: Olaf string cheese, ice blocks (blue jello squares), snow-capped fruit salad, frozen hearts (white chocolate-dipped strawberries), Olaf noses (baby carrots), and snowflake cheese and crackers. And, of course, the cake, which was Elsa's request of chocolate cake with blue frosting.

Elsa was very well celebrated, and she seemed to enjoy every minute of it. Princess garb galore!

On Sunday, Elsa's official birthday, she had a little trouble coming out of her party/sugar coma, and seemed a little sad that everyone was not coming back to our house to celebrate her REAL birthday. So there were some tears and some whining, but I think in the end we had a really nice family day together. We ended up going to her current favorite restaurant, Chipotle, for lunch, and then we walked around the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (what we call "Battleground Park"). We had more cake for snack, complete with a candle and singing once again. She was gifted a scooter from us, so there was also some scooter riding practice as well.

At six, Elsa has become much more independent. She already could do a lot of things like put on her clothes and shoes, brush her teeth, etc., but now, with having to get ready to go to school fairly early every morning, I can pretty much count on her to be able to do all of these things on her own, with just some reminding along the way. The girl loves dresses, and I can hardly ever to get her to wear anything different. She is definitely a girly girl, and it is me that tries to get her outside to get down and dirty every once in awhile. She would prefer to sit inside, out of the sun and heat, and work quietly on a puzzle, or color or draw, or tell a story with wooden figures, gnomes, etc. I gave her a fairy house kit for her birthday in hopes to cross the lines of her love for imaginary play and playing outside. We have plans of setting up a little garden area just for her where she can take care of her plants and set up the fairy house. Elsa can still be a little shy going into new situations, but after warming up, usually jumps in. My favorite times of the day with this girl are our ride to school in the morning and walking her to her classroom, picking her up from school in the car line, and laying in bed with her, reading books together in the evening.

To give you more insight into the ways of this six-year-old, I give you our six-year interview, something we just started last year.

The Six-Year Interview

1. What is your favorite color? Purple.
2. What is your favorite toy? Princess Kitty.
3. What is your favorite stuffed animal? Chico (her stuffed cheetah).
4. What is your favorite thing to sleep with? Blankie.
5. What if your favorite fruit? Grapes.
6. What is your favorite cereal? Chex.
7. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Waffles.
8. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Cheese (specifically, the Horizon Organic American singles).
9. What is your favorite dessert? Chocolate cake.
10. What is your favorite drink? Grape juice.
11. What do you wat to eat for your birthday dinner? Pasta (wish was fulfilled).
12. What is your favorite animal? Pig.
13. What is your favorite book? Angelina Ballerina.
14. What is your favorite song? "Barges."
15. What is your favorite game? Trouble (especially my new Frozen version).
16. What is your favorite TV show? Wild Kratts.
17. What is your favorite movie? Frozen.
18. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on a playground.
19. Who is your best friend? Stella (because I miss her :( ).
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A mommy.

We love you, Elsa! May this seventh year bring you even more fun and adventure!