Roses are Re-e-e-e-ed and Violets are Bluey-Blue-Blue . . .

. . . my Lilie is se-e-e-e-ven. And I love my Lilie, I do!
(sing it to My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean)

Oh, that girl. I love her so much. She is a ray of "zooming fire" right through my life. I still like to call her my "Fire Baby" because that's what she is. Full of fire and spark and light.

At her last Parent Teacher Conference, Lilie's teacher (Mrs. Dash - who LOVES Lilie, probably more than any other child she's ever taught) told me that Lilie is full of spit and vinegar :) and always obeys and is always doing exactly what she's supposed to and just could not say enough good things about her creativity. She just gushed about how whenever she wants to show off to the other teachers in the district, she just brings Lilie's work and tells them that's what ALL of her students are doing. LOL. I love it. I think Mrs. Dash and Lilie are kindred spirits. :)

She is a joy to me. Every single day.

All day yesterday my mind was consumed with what a wonderful girl she is. Thinking of all that she's brought into my life. All that she's taught me.

And all day long, this song was on my mind. Making me smile and laugh out loud.



Isn't that the best song in the world? :) Sorry for the kookoo video, but we heard her singing from the kitchen and just had to see what she was doing. Singing out the window and marching around for all the world to know that she loves her parents. :) I. LOVE. LILIE. It's moments like that that let me know I'm not screwing up too badly. :)

Lilie's favorite color is now Fire Red.

Lilie is incredibly creative and perfectionistic. Same as she's been since she could pick up a crayon. She has recently been very interested in origami.

Lilie does not love cleaning her room and will weasel out of it by puttering around while Hazel does all the work, if I let her. However, if Lilie is told to clean the bedroom all by herself, it still takes forever - but not because she's not doing it, but because she is emptying out the closet and drawers - organizing - and folding each blanket and placing each stuffed animal with care. :) She's too much like her Mama.

Lilie loves to sing and dance, but she does NOT like to be the center of attention. She makes up songs constantly. She and Hazel are always singing in their bedroom.

Lilie loves rocks. She has quite an extensive rock collection and really enjoys pouring over a geologist's field guide that we got her for Christmas. She is pretty interested in everything. On a recent trip, she and I spent several hours talking about how things are made. Down to the molecular level. What was it that she wanted to know, initially . . . ? think. think. Oh! It had something to do with planets. We talked about shooting stars and why they burn up --- which led to a conversation about solids, liquids, and gases and molecules and friction. She was fascinated.

Lilie loves to have her back scratched. She's like a cat.

Lilie loves rainbows and lots of colors.

There are so many things about her that remind me of myself. In some ways this has been a curse - we butt heads frequently and hard - but most of the time, it's just funny.

Her birthday was very simple and lovely this year. I'm really not much into "friend parties." I'm no fun like that. I just really don't like that the party and the preparation are so much stress to me that they almost seem to overshadow my child. It's hard for me to focus on them, because I'm stressed about decorations and invitations and snacks and party favors and games . . . I just really don't like it. I don't like that the thought of their birthday brings on an anxiety attack. That being said, I'm determined that for their next birthdays I really would like to do it for them (on a very simple scale), but friend parties will definitely be the exception at our house and not the rule. (Sorry kids! You got sent to a boring Mom!)

For her birthday this year, we (along with a donation from Grandma Moon) bought Lilie a bird. A parakeet. Actually two. :) We all love them. A lot. My family had parakeets when I was a kid and I've always had a real soft spot for them. They are beautiful and are sure to have a grand time in our very loud house. :) They've been dubbed Beaker and Burnsie.

{{When I get the pictures uploaded from Nels's camera, I'll post them. We're still getting things set up and today is the first day that I've actually got an internet connection. I also need to write about Vio-lettey's birthday and Elsie's broken arm, but I just don't want to keep delaying posting until pictures are ready. That's what the past year has been and as a result, there is ever so much that has yet to be recorded. Therefore, I'm going to write what I want to and fill in with visuals later, if I must.}}

Happy Birthday, Fire Baby! I love you. Thank you for a beautiful seven years together!