Happy 6th Birthday Reya!

For Kindergarten you had Mr. David (who Mylo also had) along with co-teacher, Ms. Megan. We later found out that Ms. Yvonne (your pre-K teacher), not only recommended that you have the same Kindergarten teacher Mylo did for familiarity-sakes, but there was another reason. She felt two teachers would be better than one because it would help you socially. And it did.

You have always been on your own schedule and with talking, especially to people you do not know, this couldn’t be more true. It’s always been something I’ve tried to respect but also kind of struggle with. Because at a certain point, it can appear as rude when an adult addresses you and you don’t answer back. Or you make yourself small so as not to attract or elicit attention in the first place. This was very much the case in pre-K, but in Kindergarten there was definitely a shift.

Shortly into the school year, you cut several inches off your hair. You were all for chopping your hair, but I don’t know how excited you were about the change. I was though! Drastically cutting my hair was something I wished I could have done when I was a kid, only my curly hair never allowed it (and still doesn’t).

We took our annual apple-picking trip in the fall at our usual orchard in Connecticut. It was another hot day, but luckily this time you did not shed any clothing!

For the Character Parade your class dressed up as fish from the Rainbow Fish book.

For Halloween you were a mermaid and your brother, a robber zombie.

This photo was the first school sibling pic you guys took together. I wasn’t volunteering on sibling day but a friend had sent this to me and I remember it literally stopping me in my tracks.

Even though you weren’t the most social kid in class, you made strong friendships in Kindergarten with two little girls, Daphne and Mina. And though you didn’t take to reading when you were 5 years old, you were extremely strong in art and your teachers always made it a point to let us know that. Even when we were invited to participate in making gingerbread houses  during the holidays, everyone was blown away with your house. Most of the kids houses were dilapidated, falling apart or barren because they were too busy eating the candy. But there you were, studiously building a masterpiece.

On Christmas Eve we had our annual Santa party. Your cousins came for the first time, which was a nice treat for you seeing as how the majority of the kids who come tend to always be your brother’s friends.

One of the things you got for Christmas was a huge cardboard house from your grandparents. You can literally sit in it and color and it passes the time so well. Of course it’s perfect for Goomah’s house, given all the space they have and that we do not.

We rang in the New Year with our CT friends and neighbors, Evelyn included. I can’t recall why she wasn’t happy in this pic, but at least you were!

One of the field trips you took with your class was to Two Boots Pizzeria in Park Slope. I can’t say it had much of an educational component, but hey, you learned to make pizza and had a lot of fun with your friends that day.

The first few weeks of of February at your school are what I call “stress-ville.” There’s the book fair, followed by the post office, 100 days of school and finally, pajama day. As a parent, it’s just a lot to remember on top of everything else we have on our plate. As a kid, I’ve learned through you and your brother, these items in our calendar are not just fun, but important.

When Mylo was in Kindergarten we did a project for his 100th day of school that entailed printing and cutting 100 photos of rescue dogs from my animal rescue. By the 5th or 6th cut, I had lost him and the rest of the dogs — all the cutting, pasting and aligning — fell on me. I knew exactly what was going to happen when I committed to doing the same for your 100 days, yet I took it on anyway. I had to. Not only was it fair to you, but I like to give rescue dogs all the exposure they can get. But unlike your brother, you were SO into the cutting that I eventually had to fire you because your 5 year old cutting skills meant you were cutting into dogs’ faces. You happily took up pasting and then drove me crazy with the placement, but in the end, it looked amazing.

Winters are always tough. When you weren’t on your iPad, you passed time by playing with your dolls or dressing up. Sometimes you even dressed me up!

 

You haven’t quite mastered the monkey bars yet, but you did learn how to hang upside down. Here you are with your friend Mina being a couple of little monkeys.

Speaking of friends, besides Mina and Daphne you made a fast new friend in Sevilla, who is one of five children. Yes, five! I can’t recall what argument ensued that lead to you making her this drawing, but I thought it was so introspective and kind of you to own up to being wrong and wanting to save the friendship.

Easter is always a good time and is something you and your brother really look forward to. We spend it out in Northport and you get to hunt for eggs not once, but twice! The first go-round is at Sidi and Ganga’s house and later that day with my friends and all their kids at Jackie and John’s house.

Memorial Day weekend we went camping with the O’neils. They have Brixton and Collins (Mylo’s friends, I know) but their mom AJ has always taken great interest in you and is so good about making the boys include you in things. The O’neils are big campers who pretty much had all of the supplies needed to pull off the trip, and it was your daddy who really wanted us to go. Let’s just say I am happy we did it because there’s a very good chance I will never do it again. Among the many things that went wrong? Well for starters, it rained. Every. Single. Day. There was a thundershower at least once each day we were there, but my favorite was the time it rained all night long and I went to bed in a panic about how I would need to step in mud if I needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Or how when you guys woke up in the morning and unzipped the tent, there would be nothing but mud and mosquitoes that awaited you.

I think you really liked camping though, and if it wasn’t for me, you’d probably want to do it again. Oh well. You can do as much camping as you would like when you turn 18. Haha!

This was your first annual Fire Island trip that we take with the Doran’s, O’neils and a few other families. We started this tradition the year before, only I traveled alone with Mylo and you and daddy stayed back. You were (as usual) the only girl among 10 boys on this trip. I don’t know how or why Brooklyn is so boy-heavy, but unfortunately for you, the majority of our close friends all have boys.

But that didn’t stop you from quickly making friends with twin girls down the block whose dad owns a popular bar and restaurant on the island. A little entrepreneur emerged in you that trip as it was your idea to find shells, color them and then sell them to passersby all while playing the banjo! To this day my shell houses all my stud earrings. You really enjoyed the twins and achieved a level of independence you had never had before, going back and forth from house to house. It is the beauty of Fire Island and I was so thankful you experienced it.

The truth is, as the second born, you get dragged to a lot of things that are either for (or about,) your brother. One such example is when Mylo tried out for travel soccer. We had to hustle after school on consecutive Fridays to two different soccer fields. You could have made this difficult, but I have to say, you are a true sport and also great sideline company. Here you are adorably making the best of it at Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

School let out on a Wednesday for you only your cousins arrived from Singapore the week prior so we made your last day of school the Friday before. You then went out to Sidi and Ganga’s house to have some alone time with your cousins while Mylo stayed in Brooklyn to finish out the school year with his class and friends. These are some pictures of you on your last day of school.

We enjoyed a nice stretch of time in Northport with your cousins going to the ocean, to a friend’s pool and the Fireman’s Fair. You adore Diya and had so much fun performing and playing pretend with her.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s older or more social, or both, but there’s no denying that a lot of the things we do revolve around your brother. As a second born myself, I can’t tell you how aware of this I am and how much it bothers me. Believe me when I say we try whenever and where ever we can to do as many things as possible that you would like. For instance, when daddy found out about the National Slime Expo that was happening right in our city, we rearranged our entire summer-weekend plans with friends so he could take you to it.

And by the looks on your face and all the slime-swag you came home with, it did not disappoint!

At the end of August we took our annual vacay in Falmouth, Cape Cod. It was our third time at this gem-of-a-town in what is literally the armpit of the Cape, only this round, we let our friends in on our best-kept waterfront secret. So of course you were the only girl among six, wild and feral boys!

While this unfortunate fact can have you feeling down and out at times, hanging with all boys (even just some of the time), is turning you into a resilient and tough little cookie. It also means more adult attention, like the time you came to dinner with all the adults, while we left the boys behind in a hotel room to game.

I got your class assignment laying on the beach, nearly the same way I did the year before. For 1st grade you got Melissa Ledner. While I don’t know her, I have heard decent things. We did not locate any of your immediate friends in your class, but at least there is Hunter, who is a neighbor and almost like a second brother.

When daddy and I suggested we enroll you in an activity after school such as dance, music or art, you chose ballet but only if Daphne and/or Sevilla did it too. I put out feelers to their parents and offered my availability to pick you all up from class each week. To my surprise, both families agreed! Wednesdays at Creative Arts quickly became your favorite day of the week.

For your 6th birthday you cut your hair short and we threw you a birthday party that included your five closest friends, manicures and pedicures, followed by lunch at Numero 28.

Heading into your 6th birthday I can tell you this: you still like to bite your straws, you have a habit of spilling drinks and you still don’t like ice cream. You are the same cuddle bug I fell hopelessly in love with by your second day on earth, when you slept through the night! You are a little less shy than the year before (a good thing,) and a little more sassy (a bad thing). As your mom I make a ton of mistakes along the way, I only hope you won’t hold me too accountable for them when you are older. Happy Birthday my Schmorgie!