Today was Malia’s actual birthday. None of us felt like having a bunch of extra kids in our house was a terribly responsible way to celebrate amidst a pandemic, so Kev suggested that we have a reverse birthday party. What is a reverse birthday party, you may ask? Basically, we made cupcakes and put together some fun party favors and then Malia delivered them to the friends and family she would have invited to her party. It gave her a chance to see her important people, chat with them, and share her birthday with people she loves. It worked out great! And it gave us a chance to use pringles and marshmallows to make some super fun cowgirl hat cupcakes. Once again, Pinterest for the win!
Once all the goodies were delivered and Malia had taken some time to color the cute bag her cousin Kate gave her, we took Malia out for a special birthday dinner at Red Robin. We don’t eat out all that often and when we do, there are limited numbers of places that are safe for a peanut allergic person. Add to that the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic and all the restaurants were closed for a good while there, and it actually ended up being a treat for all of us! I haven’t eaten onions rings since sometime before March, and I have to admit they were dripping with calorie laden goodness. And fry sauce. Yum!
Malia has grown up a lot in the past year. In fact, she has grown up a lot in the past six months. Though we have had our struggles, she has been adjusted as well as can be expected and has risen to the challenge of being an online student. She has also risen to the challenge of being an at home primary participant. While we aren’t actually doing much that can be described as primary specific, she has actively participated in our daily Come Follow Me studies and SCONES. She asks good questions and genuinely wants to know the answers. Her gospel understanding has definitely increased in the past year right along with her temporal knowledge.
She has a creative streak that manifests itself in a plethora of ways including writing stories, drawing pictures, creating crafts, sewing, etc. She is bright and witty and can hold her own in the many pun and joke filled conversations that happen in our family. She is very social, which has made these months of isolation and distancing a challenge, but she is persevering and is hoping that having school start will allow her to get back in touch in a more normal way. She has outgrown most of her little girl preferences (like princesses and My Little Pony) and has moved on to big girl things (like horses and Harry Potter). She passed off all her multiplication tables over the summer and is anxious to get back into the classroom and start learning again.
I’m very glad Malia is in our family. She often makes her brothers shake their heads because none of them have all that much experience with the many “girl things” that come up, but she can hold her own with any of them. She makes us laugh and cry and cheer and shake our heads and roll our eyes and sometimes Christian curse, but she is an irreplaceable part of our little family.
