birthday buddies

isla is so lucky to have a birthday buddy who is a wonderful friend as well.  now she and autumn are at the same school!  they have had lots of fun and funny times together over the years.

dress-up time.  isla is of course an austere princess, and autumn is up for anything silly!

snuggled up together listening to sparkle stories.

all the below pictures were taken by christina on the girls' 5th birthday.  so cute!!

the below conversation was overheard while isla and autumn were coloring and i was preparing lunch.

autumn: i love school so much.  i love it more than anything in the whole world!  don't you, isla?  

isla: well, i love school, but i love crafting more.  

autumn: i think your teacher would be sad if she heard you say that, isla.  

me: what about crafting at school?  

girls: yes, that's the best thing in the whole world!

Isla's birthday party

we decided to keep things relatively simple this year for isla's birthday party (i.e. not have to clean the house!) and had her party at dancing for joy, the great dance studio where she and many of her friends take classes.  

we didn't really have a cohesive theme this year, but isla was clear she wanted ballet, strawberries, butterflies, flowers and a tea party to make their way into the festivities.  we put out a simple butterfly craft for the girls to decorate with stickers as they arrived.

thanks to grandma, yet again, for a beautiful cake-decorating job!

the lovely ladies chatting on the couch

after the craft the girls made their way into one of the studios, where mrs. v., (the owner of the school and a mom from noah's class) led the girls in a wonderful tea-party/obstacle course/ballet class.  she did a great job of incorporating all our random themes and keeping a dozen 5 year olds interested!  

a teddy bear tea party

practicing balance with the teddy bears

isla flying!  (photo from christina)

as a party gift isla and i made each girl a little notebook.  we just used pretty cardstock paper for the covers and put a few sheets of typing paper inside.  i sewed the middles on my widest stitch, and they came out fairly sturdy!  we added a pack of colorful pens with each.

i think everyone had a great time!  i for sure enjoyed not having to clean up before or after!  and having someone else make hot coffee for the grown-ups was a perk as well.  :)

here is a video of the special tea party dance the girls did, where isla the host invites her friends to come and serves them tea.  so cute!

Isla-isms, 5 years old

Isla's computer, outside

me: isla, where did you come from?
isla: i came from you!
me: and daddy.
isla: yes, because daddy gave me my name, and you made me born!

isla: mama, i know how they make ketchup.  they take a bunch of tomatoes, and then they add a big bucket of salt, and then they smush it all together!

isla: what's that stinky smell?
kate: my breath. I have morning breath sometimes isla.
isla: it's really stinky.
kate: you have bad breath too.
isla: yours is really bad. is that because you're bigger?
kate: no, it's because when you get up early, it's not as stinky.

isla: how did the first person get born to make other people get born?

isla: that's one thing I don't like about out world. you always have to rest for soooooooo long every night.

isla: why do some people have innie belly buttons and some people have outies?  what do you have?  (peeks) why is yours sort of an innie and sort of an outie?  

isla: i know daddy used that really big wood for the floor in the attic [plywood] but i have never seen a tree that wide, so where did it come from?

isla: if you get seeds from vegetables, then how did people get the first seed if there were no vegetables yet?

isla: i love doing puzzles.  it's my favorite thing in the world.  well, not my favorite thing in the world... but i really love puzzles.

(after rushing to get noah to the bus in the morning.)
me: let's go home and relax.
isla (grumpy): no, i don't want to relax.
me: why not?
isla: i don't know what relax means.  don't tell me!

isla: mama, my fabric is paper and i sew with tape.

isla: mama, i was assuming i could zip my coat but since i'm holding an earring i'm gonna need a little help.

isla: in her room, playing the ukulele and singing, "christ the lord is risen today, alleluia!"

isla: (from the back of the van) mama? it's me, isla, talking!

isla: (regarding the stations of the cross images) the saddest one is when jesus fell with the cross in his hand.  but i like to look at that one.

isla: we love target, don't we, mama?

isla: these people are called the plumbers because they're wearing purple pants.

 like plums!  (in the book "how a house is built.")

isla: mama, this one has a really sad ending because they get really dirty.  in every book of them they get really dirty.  (re: "flicka, ricka and dicka" books.)

isla: this shirt is all nosy! (meaning, runny nose wipey.)

isla: i don't like it when people confuse me!

isla: mama, i can see the whole world in my mind.

Isla's computer, inside

isla louise, one whole hand old

was it five whole years ago now that this big baby girl was born in the wee hours of labor day?  with her strawberry blonde hair and her big blue eyes?

hard to believe.

what's most surprising to me is how little we knew back then about who isla louise was going to become.  i think honestly i thought she would be a girl version of noah!  but they are so different.  she is so... all her own.  she is a character!  she is funny and wild and brazen and sweet and inquisitive and creative and really understands how the world works.  

i just love to look at her rosy, freckled cheeks and sweet smile.

things isla loves:

dressing up fancy

pink and purple

crafting, crafting, crafting

reading, reading, reading

making ezzie laugh

helping in the kitchen

helping daddy in the shop

going on any kind of adventure with daddy

singing and dancing

playdates with friends

writing and receiving letters

shopping with grandma

posing in funny ways

folding laundry

learning how things work and how things are made

watching videos of herself

things isla does not love:

going to the doctor

dogs, cats, and most animals

most vegetables

getting her hair washed or brushed

getting splinters removed

putting her head under water

the color black

isla lou, a few hours old

isla lou, one year old

isla lou, two years old

isla lou, three years old

isla lou, four years old

isla lou, five years old!

happy birthday to this amazing little girl!