Lena is EIGHT!

While the big day didn't go exactly as expected, Lena is officially EIGHT, and that is GREAT!

Arriving at the end of a week of snow, ice, and sickness, we had to pivot a bit on our plans, but the day was GREAT nonetheless and full of some of the birthday girl's favorites.

Cozy on a cold day

Lena, our girl who knows what she wants, definitely has some favorites. It is not just whimsical language to say that she gets lost in a book. No, she literally focuses so intently on her book du jour that it requires getting right up in her face to rouse her even for food or sleep. Most of the time, this is GREAT for our family of readers, although books do occasionally land in "book timeout."

She also still has an affinity for art of all kinds, particularly drawing and dancing. Lena continues to gracefully dance her way through ballet class and once again took to the Nut Remix stage, this year as a soldier. As usual, it was a GREAT performance. 

It should come as no surprise that Lena is doing GREAT in the second grade. She saves most of her big emotions for home and consistently receives top marks in both grades and conduct, of which we are very proud. She also has a GREAT group of friends who share her love of pretend games and "scooter gangs" at the park.

The original plan for her birthday was that we would celebrate with that group of friends after school, but the weather had different plans. We all spent the week prior at home due to snow and then ice. But, honestly, the snow days were a blessing because both Lena and Elsa were sick with presumably the flu the entire time anyway. 

By the time her birthday rolled around on Friday, Lena was feeling well enough to enjoy a birthday breakfast of homemade donuts and bacon. We then put on all the clothes to go outside for a bit of sledding at the park, so everyone did get to enjoy the snow a bit after all. Back inside, Lena enjoyed some art time and more cozy reading time in front of the fire. All in her birthday pajamas, of course.

Still plenty of snow to enjoy

We opted to postpone the birthday dinner out and instead had a movie night with snacks, the highlight being our inaugural use of Grandma's Stir Crazy to make popcorn. Lena chose to watch the "original" 90s version of Beauty and the Beast, which surprisingly the kids had never seen. Lena also opened some GREAT presents and enjoyed some brownies homemade by Elsa. All in all, it turned out to be a GREAT day.

Postscript: We did make it out for Lena's steak dinner (the girl has expensive taste!) the next night, and we did make up the birthday party the following week. It was quite the parade of second graders marching to our house after school. Fortunately the weather was favorable for lots of time at the park before pizza and a movie (and more Stir Crazy action). Against our better judgment, we also loaded everyone up with an 8-shaped cake and ice cream as well. Lena does have a GREAT group of friends, but she's not wrong when she says they're also crazy (like the popcorn popper!). Everyone had fun, though, and it was a GREAT way to celebrate turning EIGHT!