Kids getting bigger!

Papabam and Lilli are here for the weekend: Bella is turning Five tomorrow: It's just so wild to think that our big girl is, well, a big girl. We gave her some presents last night, and she was awestruck to be the recipient of some American Girl merch: the doll she picked is Kaya, a Native American. When she opened it, she stood with her mouth open, making a gentle high pitched "eeeeeeeeee" - it was a pure expression of amazement.

She has been playing with the new dolls in a VERY serious, very involved manner. She also got a horse, which is very big, but in relation to the American Girl doll, it's a good half-size, but with a saddle, so there's something sort of comic about this very realistic horse with a HUGE girl on top of it. Her sense of possession of these dolls led to her getting into a bit of a tiff with Lilli, who Bella thought used her horse without asking...

Today we went to an apple orchard, which was a mixed experience: It was a bit of a zoo out there, and Bella got overheated and was a bit crabby. I bailed a little early with a sleepy and crabby Isaac. Fortunately all we needed was a good old fashioned burrito to help Bella find her mood.

Tomorrow is her big Birthday party: 3 friends for the afternoon, and family in the evening. Pamela has gone ALL OUT to create a "Tree Party" per Bella's request. We even cut down a "junk tree" (one of those that grow like crazy and need to be cut back every year) from the back yard and we now have a forest in our living room.

Isaac had another rough few nights - it looks like he's cutting two teeth at once, AND he had his fever too... but today it looks like he's turned the corner and his mood was vastly improved. Tonight he grabbed a big piece of fried sweet and sour chicken (no sauce), and chomped the whole thing down while strolling around the kitchen. He is a walking eater. Bama tried to give him a second piece, but first cut it in half... he rejected it flat out. I handed him a whole piece, and he ate quite a bit of it. We're learning what that creature will eat and how.

I'm encouraged that he WILL eat things - he just completely rejects "being fed", and "having food prepped for him". So I'll just have to give him whole pieces of food and watch that he doesn't choke...

Last night, Isaac got a hold of a frito, which he loved. Lilli tried to offer him a piece of bread, and he held out the frito like a magic wand, and barked "DAAAAA!!!" as if ward off the advancement of the bread. He turned on his heel and sprinted to the next room, where the frito was consumed.