My Mimi-girl

I mentioned it in the last post, but I need to talk a little bit about this. My sweet baby? My little tiny, newborn clothes at 11 months Mimi?  She's 5. Yeah. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. I was in denial up until the day of her birthday am in denial. How can she be so big? How can that tiny baby be this vibrant, smart, stubborn, mischievous, gentle, tender hearted, sensitive... kid? It breaks my heart on a daily basis. She is so beautiful. So tall and graceful. She has those incredible eyes that still catch me by surprise sometimes. She has a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue... she is a force of nature.  Meron has a tough exterior that belies the soft, tender, easily crushed center. Her first response to anger? To do whatever it was again while giggling manically.  I'm not sure if she is saving face or trying to do it until we laugh, but we have learned that with her, anger is never productive (which can be difficult when she is doing something she has been asked not to while giggling manically).  Things with Mer... they are on her terms.
We frequently talk about what kind of animals our kids would be if they were animals (things get boring once the kids are asleep...). Hana is an egret (long legged and awkward in situations that make her uncomfortable but magic in her element) or sometimes a dog (super eager to please and sensitive to criticism). Kai is a bear cub (super cute and cuddly but is generally falling down or rolling around on the floor at any given time) or a rhino, charging ahead through life headless of obstacles. Meron, she is always a cat. Aloof if you demand affection. Graceful and agile, incredibly cuddly and affectionate when and with whom she chooses. Gentle and nurturing to littler kids, with wicked claws and fangs that appear from nowhere when provoked. Earn her love and you will be richly rewarded, because she loves deeply.  Her penchant for dancing on tables and her aversion to clothing makes me a little afraid for her college years, but wherever she goes in life I am confident she will do things on her terms. In her way. And she'll be great. But, I don't want her to go.

I have already lost baby Mimi, toddler Mimi and 3 and 4 year old Mimi. Preschool Mimi will be gone soon, replaced by Kindergarten Meron. And what, exactly, am I going to do without her? When she gets too big to sit on my lap or carry on my hip? When she wants to go to hang out with friends instead of thinking that the perfect day means hanging out with her entire extended family? When she moves out and goes to college?!  I think she'll move closer to me again when she has babies though, because if they're anything like her she's going to need LOTS of help and she says she wants to have 20 kids, but STILL!  I know, people survive this sort of thing. Kids are supposed to leave, so exciting to watch who they become, blah blah blah. I get it. I'll be excited to get to know the older versions of her, but this one is just so dang delicious. I just want to freeze time and keep her all to myself.  Anybody an inventor? I have a proposition for you...

A Joyful Noise

Meron is 5. I can't believe she is that big. And she got a drum set for her birthday. She and Hana have decided to form a band that sings about fairies. It is loud at our house... and very exciting.

Photo Op

 And why we can't have nice things.

Cuteness

Mystery solved...

On Tuesday Hani was all out of sorts. Like... cried 15 times during the hour she was home between school and dance class and twice in the 5 minute car ride to dance class. This was clearly one year ago Hana, not current Hana. She wouldn't say what was wrong, even though we all knew something was.  Had a nice time at dance, came home and started crying again. Still... "Nothing's wrong mama! Why you keep asking me?!" Finally she cracked. "Mama, I pulled my tooth while I was at school and it started to wiggle and then it was BLEEDING ALL OVER EVERYTHING! I'm gonna DIE!" Yup. There it is.  Mystery solved. We had a long discussion about bleeding and the difference between dangerous bleeding and a little bleeding. She snuggled in. She went to bed.  Fifteen minutes later she came into our room where I was reading and said, "Mama... my tooth is...out. And it didn't even hurt."  She put it under her pillow and went back to bed.  Anybody who has a kid with some trauma knows how big this was. She was scared. Really scared. It took her a while, but she told me why. And she recovered. She didn't strike out verbally or physically. She didn't hurt herself or try to convince us that we didn't want her to be in our family. She just told me and trusted me when I told her it was going to be okay. So. Big. Also? She looks really cute with a giant hole in her smile.