Monaloca

Our first baby turned six yesterday! She and I started the celebration Friday right after school, with a cafe treat and a pedicures followed by a trip to our new library with sis. In the process of trading pink for gold as her favorite color, Melina opted for a pink-gold pattern on both fingers and toes. She also got to pick out a balloon from the party store: a big gold 6 with pink ribbons!

Saturday was both her birthday and birthday party day. (At first this fact disappointed her – she likes to spread things out – but she soon saw the beauty of all that concentrated attention.) She decided to have an ice cream party at Fentons Creamery and invited friends from school, her after school program, the neighborhood, and of course Lily and Emma.

We had a blast! The kids got to color, eat lunch, chat, watch ice cream being made, then pick their very own flavor from the big display at the front. We had most the back room to ourselves so didn’t really bother anyone else with our party noise.

In the evening Kai returned from Mosaic camp and joined us for Melina’s birthday dinner. At first she wanted to go out, but at the last minute opted for a pizza and movie night (Wizard of Oz) followed by her lemon birthday tart. Yummy fun. Happy birthday to my girl!

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This afternoon I happened to catch Melina and her buddies practicing a salsa routine for their upcoming after-school program performance. Look at them go!

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Nalani, two years six months, shows off her technique for putting on pants.

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These days, when we ask Nalani where she goes to school she bypasses the whole newly-begun preschool experience and says “kee-gah-ten.” We then ask who’s your teacher? And she says “Miss Wash,” Melina’s teacher.

She packs a lunch alongside her sister every night. It consists of multiple packaged snack items – like granola bars and fruit roll-ups, anything recognizable within toddler reach – zipped neatly in a plastic baggie then her old daycare lunch box. She puts it by the door each night for the next morning. And each morning she goes her own way to her own school, forgetting about the lunchbox until Melina packs one up again that night. Just look at the fun she has!

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The other week I caught Melina choreographing her own dance and Nalani copying her every move…. until the laundry pile distracted her.

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Last week Melina started ballet class with friends Lily and Emma. She last took ballet nearly two years ago with Kendall, but was so little she pulled me onto the dance floor each week and thought it was a mommy-and-me class, even though I was the only mommy out there.

Luckily this time she’s taken to dancing all on her own, and she loves it!

In this video the girls practice for an upcoming performance. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

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Melina is super proud that she can now ride her bike around the block (twice the other day) without a single bit of help from Mama. I’m super happy because now I can take her and Nalani on a ride without any other adult to help push a trike or help a preschooler get started with her balance.

I’m still in awe of how quickly Melina has taken to two wheels, sans training wheels. (It’s been all of six trips around the block or park.) And I’m very proud! Next up: learning to brake with pedals instead of her feet scraping against the sidewalk.

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Nalani loves to sing (and dance). Listen to her latest version of the ABC’s, with a little help from big sis.

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We’ve been practicing counting as Nalani walks up and down steps. And hearing 1-2-3 counted out as warnings for Melina and Kai doesn’t hurt, either. She her first three numbers down pat!

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Melina loves reading to her little sis. It’s extra fun when you can act out a book, like Eric Carle’s “I Can Do It!” that I captured on video.

On her end, Nalani loves to bring motions and props to stories and songs. At daycare she’s started bringing her teachers props (a stuffed sheep for Baa Baa Black Sheep, a toy bus for Wheels on the Bus, you get the picture) to show what song she wants to sing.

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