Six

On October 7 of this year, at 1:18 pm, Harper turned six. That's right. Six. A very grown up age. I was really emotional about it up until her actual birthday. I think I sort of made a subconscious choice to cry my tears about how quickly the years move by and how bittersweet motherhood is beforehand so that I could recover in time to really enjoy Harper's sixth birthday.

We opted for a rather low key day. A part of me was still a bit burnt out from last year's big magic-themed party. I didn't want to be cleaning the house or trying to entertain other people's children on Harper's birthday this year. I wanted to be completely available to her so that we could experience the day on a real personal level.

Harper started her day with birthday pancakes, of course. Birthday pancakes are a tradition that I see myself doing for as long as Harper is here, which might be forever since she claims she is never moving out. I didn't make her pancakes this year. She opted to have my parents bring her some from McDonald's (Harper, thanks to Colt and his love of fast food, thinks McDonald's pancakes are the bees knees).


It was so fun to have my parents in town for Harper's birthday. They came up just to celebrate with her.

After breakfast, Harper got ready for school, which was fun because she got to have a free dress day for her birthday. She took some cute treat bags to her classmates and birthday book donations for her classroom and school library. When I read in Harper's school handbook that students are encouraged to donate a book to the library on their birthday, I experienced some serious nerd-girl excitement and immediately started listing possibilities. It was hard to choose because Harper has so many favorite books. I gave her some options and she decided on Claire and the Unicorn: Happy Ever After by B.G. Hennessy and Susan Mitchell for the library. For her classroom, she chose The Cookie Store Cat and The Bookshop Dog (the two go hand in hand, at least for us), which are both by Cynthia Rylant. Harper's teacher is a real animal lover so we knew she'd appreciate our choices. The Cookie Store Cat is, unfortunately, out of print. We were excited to find a gently used copy on Amazon, which you should do if you're a lover of children's books. I think it is a must have for all little people libraries. I am really sad that it is out of print. It is one of the best children's books that I have ever read and definitely among Harper's favorites. It is such a sweet story!

Colt and I picked Harper up from school and took her to dinner before heading home for a small family party. We had all of her grandparents and her aunts and some cousins over for cake and ice cream. It was a quick and easy party (the best kind, if you ask me). Harper had fun and was spoiled by everyone. Colt and I gave her a new bike, some books (Beauty and the Beast and The Princess Who Had No Kingdom, both of which were illustrated by Sarah Gibb), a unicorn, and some new fall outfits.

My dear friend Heather made Harper a six-layer rainbow cake. It was beautiful and SO delicious. Harper, who is really into rainbows right now, loved it!

And now, a little bit about six-year-old Harper. She is one silly girl, that's for sure. She loves to laugh. And I love to hear her laugh. She has the best laugh. It's uninhibited and totally infectious. She also loves to sing, dance, draw, paint, snuggle, and ride her bike. 

Her favorite foods are chips and salsa, pickles, chocolate ice cream, pancakes, and Jimmy John's sandwiches. Her favorite things to watch are Curious George, Jem and the Holograms, Annie, Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family, and Pitch Perfect (one AND two). 

She still loves comfy clothes and continues to go for the non-matching type of look. She also loves hats and lipstick. 

Harper is super fun, sweet, adventurous, curious, talkative, and sassy. She is just a little bit precocious and probably too cute and mature for her own good. 

If I had to describe Harper with just one word, it would have to be enthusiastic. 

Kindergarten

My little Harper (who is actually not really that little anymore) started kindergarten a couple of months ago. She is going to Channing Hall, which is an International Baccalaureate charter school. It was our first choice among the schools that we were looking at so we were ecstatic when Harper was given a spot. I was sitting on the couch when I received the acceptance e-mail and actually jumped up and did a shout of joy.

Harper is loving kindergarten and has a really cool and focused teacher. The whole process of starting school was a huge change for her and me both, but it has turned out to be a positive and balancing experience. I am delighted at Harper's enthusiasm for school and am receiving nothing but positive feedback from her teacher. The thing that I've been most proud of is hearing that Harper is a caring and helpful friend to everyone in her class.

Here she is on her first day of school. Yes, yes, I know that she looks older than your average kindergartener. She is much taller than everyone in her class and probably the only student that has been asked to wipe off her lipstick before going to her spot on the carpet. She wears uniforms to school and has liked them more than I would have expected her to considering that she's been allowed to wear pretty much whatever she wanted (tutus, swimming suits, princess shirts, etc.) nearly every day of her life since she was 18 months old. Our saving grace is that there are a number of outfit options at her school so she still gets some choice in her ensemble each day. Her favorite things about school are recess, library day, and all of her new friends.