6 YEARS OLD

Dear Elena,

April 30th, 2011 was your SIXTH BIRTHDAY!! I know you have been so excited about turning six. You want to do more around the house--"washing dishes" and "feeding the cat" are jobs you want to do, now that you are older. You LOVE soccer, baseball, playing catch, and all manners of dollies and PINK.

You are an amazing girl. You are a great student at school. You are finding a way for yourself, more and more on your own. Whether it's playing or working at school, being a great Daisy scout with your scoutmates, being an amazing, patient sister to Vivian, being active outside or being creative inside, you are an inspiration to your family and others.

We love you always, in all ways. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

E's choice this year for her Birthday Theme was "Music and Math". (We typically have a theme bday; usually this works great, and it "levels the gross motor field" b/c the kids are exposed to something new). I tried my best to serve that up...but the concept of music theory (VERY mathmatical!) is extremely complex, not to mention I'm not a musician of ANY type! So, I tried...I gave a brief (well, I hope it was brief, it was probably a little too long) discussion of What is Sound (vibration through a medium), natural frequency (like a wet finger on a wine glass--"Glass Harp") and that you can make a scale with any given note (I tried starting with C, making one octave with glass bottles containing different levels of water). Then while people had pizza and cupcakes, some short vids of non-traditional musical instruments (saw, glass harp, PVC pipe organ, and Vadrum videos of "classical percussion"). Then I had an acapella group come to the house--my favorite group from UVA when I was there as an undergradate, The Academical Village People ("AVP") to sing us a few songs. They were GREAT!! Uncle Andy also brought his instruments (guitar, amps, loop stations, keyboard, and microphone) in the playroom so between the "shows" the kids could jam, or play, or listen.

Kids listening to "the show"


Never Say Never


A Whole New World


Happy Birthday Serenade


Viv learning guitar


Playing outside after the "shows"--E falls about a minute after walking in the grass. But her friends help her up--no worries.






E playing with the soccer ball! I'm not helping her at all here!


Vivian's tribute at the "Afterparty" (family and presents)


E's summary, in song


EXHAUSTED!!
E and Uncle Andy "faking a nap" (but it wasn't faking!)


Thank you to all our friends and family, and huge thanks to AVP and Uncle Andy for making Six a great birthday celebration!

Studio Jam Session

E loves music. She (currently) requests The Beatles (when we're driving in daddy's car) and Colin James (when we're in mommy's car). She's been curious about instruments, so I contacted one of our locals to see if she could observe a rehearsal.

Imagine my surprise when he invited us to his studio! He said he'd love to show E some instruments, and give her an opportunity to play them. E was very excited!

She first wanted to try the piano. She played it with both hands and all fingers. John started to play his trumpet while E was playing, and they both just kept going...it was such a treat to see. None of us--our family--had experienced anything like it. E's interest in the sound and feel of the piano, and John's encouragement was so...organic, natural, flowing. What a special treat!



E tried the trumpet. She got a teeny sound out of the mouthpiece. She kept trying to talk through it, or use it like a kazoo. She was a little dissapointed. Then she got the opportunity to try out the drum set. She definitely likes the loudness of it. I held her so she wouldn't accidentally fall.



E left the session saying, "I want to be a musician when I grow up!"

Thank you so much to John D'earth, for taking time out to share this musical experience with us!

Christmas in Review

Our First (real) Christmas at home! I say that because this is the first year we've celebrated Christmas at our house without traveling elsewhere to see family (they came to us this year). What a treat! I have to admit, it was stressful...and I didn't get everything done that I wanted...but I think the holiday went well. Here are some of our new traditions.

Advent Train
Since E knows her numbers and can count, I'm starting the Advent Train. We've had other Advent calendars, such as the Little People Advent Calendar and a family heirloom, but the Train is different. I put in a little note in each box, and every day E can read her little challenge--which typically entails a Gross Motor Exercise and a prize. For example: Without holding on or falling, walk to the front door to pick up your prize from the floor (dollar store treat). Or, stand up two times from the floor (without holding on to anything) and get a Nutcracker Dance with Mommy (where I hold her and dance around the house). Or, help Mommy clean out the dishwasher (she takes out and puts away the spoons) and take a Christmas Bath (red and green theme). We didn't remember to open a door every day, but overall the Train was a hit.

Decorating the Tree
We give E a not-too-breakable ornament; then we do a CME-lift (INSERT VID HERE) for her to put it on the tree. If she is hanging it by herself, she walks/starts/stops on her own and she has to stand tall during or after hanging. She never fell ON the tree, but she did fall several times beside it.



Christmas Music
We play Christmas Music after Thanksgiving until December 31st. This involves a lot of singing, and lots of dancing around the house. E has gotten better at shaking her hips and dancing without holding on, but is working on her "turning in a circle". E loves to dance and sing, and I'm trying to encourage that.

On Christmas morning, E preferred to make coffee with Nana rather than rush to open gifts. She really appreciates her family being in town (Nana and PopPop live in New Hampshire, and come down for short visits when they can--this ended up more of an extended visit, which was a great blessing in many ways). E got several nice gifts, a few of them being a new pink play kitchen (set aside from her little house to encourage walking and carrying light objects), some educational games, and my personal favorite, the Barbie Guitar. This is her first time using it...guess she's a natural!



My family came down the day after Christmas, and we had a great day just hanging out and playing. E gave us another concert, which was great, and of course Vivian was into everything, as she's now a walker (and starting to run around some). We had so much to be thankful for this year...E is so much more able, and so supportive of her little sister; Vivian is healthy and doing all the age-appropriate things she should be; we were lucky enough to have our families with us this year, and were given the opportunity to witness how precious life and family is. Merry Christmas!