Today is Alena’s fifth birthday! Happy birthday, Baby Girl.
If she saw that, she would undoubtedly remind me that she hasn’t been a baby for ages. I would, in turn, remind her that she will always be my baby. But…she’s right. She’s a big girl now!
Alena is in her second year of preschool and loves it. She comes home eager to share what she has learned (all of which she assumes we don’t know) and to show off her work. She does loads of projects at school which has really fed her love of art and she has decided to be an artist when she grows up (and she’s an artist now!) She loves drawing, writing notes, making cards and creations for everyone in the house, including the cat (who has yet to show proper appreciation). We can often find her at her little desk, working hard on some expression of love. She also loves sticker books, craft kits, messy experiments, slime, playdough, glitter and anything that can get permanently ground into the carpet.
Alena’s favorite after school activity is to stop at the bakery on her way home to pick a treat. This girl has quite a sweet tooth. She most often picks a donut with frosting and sprinkles, but she also loves cinnamon rolls and occasionally will shift to salty and go for a soft pretzel. She likes to sit and eat her treat in the bakery and read stories out of a princess book they have there. She’d go every day if I’d let her but we try to keep it to once a week :).
Alena gets dragged around in the car a bit more than big bro ever did, and to cope with this, she has invented a variety of car games that she likes to play. Sometimes it’s well known games like “Would you Rather” or “I Spy” (which can be tricky in a moving car), but when she tires of those she makes up her own. Sometimes it’s looking for shapes in nature, or doing an animal sound guessing game. Lately she’s taken to expanding her knowledge on a variety of topics by asking Siri questions on the way to school. Sometimes she invents stories and we drive home in character. We’ve been sisters “Polly and Rox”, mermaid friends “Sequin and Teal”, cats “Cloudy and Snowy”, and many others. She plays a game with Jaime they call “Jam it or Slam it” where Jaime puts his music on shuffle and if she likes the song she yells “Jam it!” and it stays, and if she doesn’t approve, she slams it and they move on. Sometimes she uses the car rides to educate us on a variety of topics. Recently, after learning a few facts about the 80s on Bluey (a popular kids cartoon), she decided to enlighten me:
A: Mom, did you know that in the 80s bicycle seats were high and NO ONE WORE A HELMET!
B: Um, yeah…I mean, I rode a bike with a high seat and we didn’t own bike helmets.
A: Wait, WHAT?!
B: I was a kid in the 80s, did you know that?
A: *mind blown* Also Mom, in the 80s, there was this thing called “jinx”….
Alena has a silly side and loves to make people laugh. She likes to be goofy at the table and make funny faces with her food. She started these dinnertime charades when she was one and is still going strong! She also likes to call Jaime silly names. When she was first learning to talk she called him “Dabu” and now she employs for comedic effect. She also calls him “Onana” after a (in)famous soccer player (you have to admit, it’s pretty fun to say). She went through a phase of calling him “Jaime” when she really needed to get his attention, which was hard not to reinforce because it always made us laugh! She calls her uncle “Uncle Greggie Princess Knight”. I’m happy to say I’m almost always just Mom, Mommy, or Mama, but occasionally a “Mamu” gets in there. Silly girl :).
The flip side of silly Alena, is shy, snuggly Alena, and we see that side, too. Some days she’s outgoing and friendly and talks and waves to people on the street. Other times she sticks close to me and needs lots of hugs, snuggles, and reassurance. In new situations, she’ll often hang back and observe for a bit before jumping into the fray. I love both versions of our girl.
Alena enjoys a wide variety of play activities, dressing up being one of them. She recently went through a phase of dressing as a black cat every time we went to the park. She also likes princesses, especially Rapunzel (who is fearless enough to get some respect from Alena). Recently she went to a princess themed birthday party. Each guest was to dress as their favorite princess. All the girls filed in with jewels and crowns, high heels and fancy hair. I asked Alena if she wanted any fancy accessories, and she said all she needed was her frying pan. (In the Disney version of the movie, Rapunzel fiercely defends herself with a frying pan). It fits her just perfectly.
Alena has no choice but to love soccer. You can’t choose the family you’re born into, right? Thankfully she’s a willing party! She did Tiger Cubs soccer in the fall and is anticipating playing on the Kindergarten Rec and Ed team for her school this fall. She often kicks the ball around with Jaime or Lucas, and this year she selected a favorite English premier league team to follow, Aston Villa! I’m pretty sure her selection had something to do with the color of their jerseys. They have a loyal fan in Alena!
Alena loves playing with friends and her cousins, and her favorite playmate is her big brother. She and Lucas are great buddies and find creative ways to play and have fun together! They put on shows for each other with Legos or other toys, play “Stuffie School” with their animals, create epic adventures and contests with a variety of characters (the more drama the better), and of course enjoy chasing, wrestling, screaming, running and general mayhem-making. Both love animals and visiting zoos together, and they love hanging out for family game night and pajama movie nights. I’m grateful for their bond!
It’s hard to believe this animated little girl has been part of our family for five years already, but as Lucas said the other day, it’s getting hard to remember what life was like without her. Happy Birthday Alena! You truly light up our lives, sweet girl. Thanks for all the hugs, all the love, and all the laughs. We love you so much!