Kayla is 11. Just starting the teenage attitude. She finally got into the charter school I have been dreaming about since we moved here. It is totally her place, a school of the arts. She seems to be between a little girl and a full blown teen right now. Not as excited about toys and playing at the park, yet still wants to do kid things like play in bounce houses and dig in the dirt. She can be the most helpful person on the planet sometimes without even being asked, but other times will snap at any thing and growls at her sisters. Her favorite place is on her bike, she could ride for hours, and just got her first adult size bike. I don't even remember teaching her to ride without training wheels and that makes me sort of sad. I love the way she gets up happy in the morning, agreeable and will even make a pot of coffee for me. I love the way she takes tireless care of her animals. She never gets tired of collecting eggs and feeding/watering the chickens. She is growing a cherry tree from a cherry pit in her room. I can't even keep an air fern alive. She is loving learning to cook and be responsible for her own needs however still gets bored and afraid when alone in the early morning. This is her first time without daycare.
Olivia is still most of the time no trouble at all. She doesn't usually argue and complain but will mother everyone in the house if I let her. She likes to have long conversations about the cat and what the expressions on his face mean. She got her training wheels off this year and has been riding in the early mornings with me to farmers market downtown. She loves to pick out veggies and plants for our garden and is always excited to go places and do things. I love the way she gets enthusiastic even when I change plans last minute and the way she is positive most of the time. She helps with Ruby without even being asked. She is forever flexible and even when things don't go her way, she can usually see the light in the situation eventually. She is like me in that way, needs to have her initial freak out... then works it out and can be happy anyway.
Ava started Kindergarten this year. She is going to school with Olivia at Sherman. She was totally thrilled this year to be starting school and is even more excited about packing her own lunch in her kitty lunch box with the pink water bottle. She is joy in motion. Passionate about every decision she makes. She has recently learned the art of teasing from her older sisters and we go through lots of tough moments because she just can't seem to help poking the bear with a stick. Her favorite phrase is "mom, was that helpful?" She wants to be helpful and good but her mischievous side always takes a step forward. She is still as determined as she was as an infant and will work furiously for something she wants. At school she is usually good and follows the rules but at home... Well... there is a pecking order and Ava ranks in the top two.
Ruby is both fun and a challenge. She is my wild baby. Ruby plays tricks on people. She is talking more and more and becoming understandable. We are figuring out that she has a very quirky sense of humor. She will sometimes come out of my room with an entirely different outfit, everything on backwards and state "mom, Ruby did it self!!" Then she laughs like she just said the funniest thing. She has toy gears on the fridge that she plays with and a six pack of toy eggs that snap apart. These are her favorite things. She always has to ask every time we are going somewhere "eggs can come?" If the answer is no, she usually asks if her toy Blue Jay can come. If I say no toys.. she usually crumples on the floor in anger but these tantrums are getting less frequent. She loves her grandma and says, "this grandma's blue jay or mine" (meaning grandma gave it to her) She is still frequently a cat and is excellent at mimicking their behaviours... even down to itching her ear with her foot and then licking it afterwards. (ick) I have to tell her cats aren't allowed at the table though because she will try to eat her food with her face while running around on all fours.
At night, after Ruby goes to bed we all snuggle in my bed and watch Ghost Whisperer. Its funny how they get scared and love the excitement. We still spend a lot of time at the lake. It's a little more difficult now that I go it alone, but well worth it, almost every trip out there is pure relaxation and fun. We don't tend to have as much conflict during fun times anymore. It gets a little more rewarding all the time as they grow and are able to help out more. Takes less time to get to the fun parts, and less packing.
