Birthday Party Pictures - at last!

Clara with our lovely neighbor Lillian.

Neighbor Tom, Zach, & Sofia

Eden, Molly, Erin!

Sofi & Molly getting Pin the Tail on the Pony ready.

Pin the Tail on the Pony - ready to go! Molly came up with the idea, and we made it together!

Molly, first up to pin her tail on the pony...

she got the tail right on the foal... not bad!

friends (Skylar, with Otis watching) give it a go.

Molly proudly shows all the tails that were pinned.

Zach's treasure hunt team gets ready to hunt.

Iain gets his team prepared.

Emily's team reads through the list.

Thankfully, all 3 teams found all the items - so cake was a go!

Singing Happy Birthday!

getting ready to blow out the candles...

making a wish!

don't forget that one! :)

Clara, enjoying the ice cream cake and mini ice cream cone.

Nate, Molly, & Roxanne enjoying the ice cream cake.

Stella, Erin, Eden, & Chaidan all enjoying the ice cream/cake.

Birthday Mama & Birthday Sister.

Clara, enjoying the strawberries before the party. We had to stop her when we realized she'd eaten almost all of them!

Birthday Girl

yes, it was sunny!

Smiles from the morning of her birthday party...

Rest in Peace Popi

The girls' great grandfather, Maynard Franklin ("Popi") passed away last night at the age of 92. He will be missed.





[from top, Popi with Molly and Clara in December 2007, Popi with Henry Baron ("Pop") and Judd in spring 1983 or thereabouts, Maynard with his father Ben Frankenberg reading to Charly Franklin ("Pa") in the around 1950 or so]

Molly's Flowers!

Uncle Nouri sent the most beautiful bouquet of flowers to Molly on her birthday. They arrived just as she was getting in bed and she was clearly delighted! She sat right down and began examining them, picking out her favorites and asking about each type. 

Birth-Day Photos

Pictures from Molly's birthday:
a few presents; a birthday girl; opening the train set; organizing her train set; cupcakes for school; with Zach at dinner.

H-A-P-P-Y-D-A-Y

Molly, spelling out Happy Day with her hands, ready to go to her party!

Happy Birthday Molly!

Dear Molly,

I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of how strong you are, how hard you try, and your insatiable curiosity. It's been a big year at school: you finished up preschool and started kindergarten. The transition wasn't entirely easy, but you've really blossomed in Ms. Kim's class. You started in your usual style (watch and learn) and since winter break you've gone on to master the subject of Kindergarten.

At home you've struggled a bit with what it means to be a big sister to Clara, but the two of you seem to be working it out in a really positive way. It's so much fun to watch the two of you act out stories and play for long periods of time - you clearly both enjoy each other's company.

I can't wait to see what six-year-old-Molly has in store for us. I'm sure the year will be filled with curious adventures of all sorts!

much love,
Mama Sofia