It’s Adara’s birthday today. She has been very excited all day, especially since she is getting three celebrations:
1 at home with me and Kristy
1 at Olive Garden (her choice)
1 with her friends at pump it up
She loved her gifts. She loved her Scooby Doo balloon. She loved being sung to at Olive Garden. She loved telling the wait staff at Olive Garden she was having three celebrations.
All her happiness led her to make the following declarations:
This is the best birthday ever!
And
I am the luckiest girl in the world!






Rick Holidays, Pictures
Adara always has an imaginary pet with her. It is usually Bella, her dog. But today it was Mousy, her pet mouse.
At lunch today she held out her cupped hand and asked Kristy if she wanted to pet her little mouse. Kristy reaches out “pet” the mouse.
Adara said “Mousy is small mommy. You were just petting air above her.”
Rick Funny Things She Says
Adara has been really into Christmas this year. I think it is the first year it has all come together in her head. The music. The lights. The days until Christmas. And the list for Santa. She has always enjoyed Christmas, but this time it was different.
Here’s a few little stories.
I was on a trip in October and bought a Christmas present for Adara, which she found in my suitcase the morning I was back. I tell her its a Christmas present and put it away. The day before Christmas Eve I get it out to wrap it, and Adara finds it again! So she gets herself a “Christmas Eve Eve present.” She was very excited.
We were listening to Christmas music and Boogie Woogie Santa Claus came on. Adara listens to the words and guffaws “Santa doesn’t boogie!”
Adara had a last minute Christmas Eve add to the Santa list, one that could not be filled. I explained that a letter would not get to him in time. “We can send him a text message,” she says.
She didn’t want to sit on Santa’s lap this year, she was too nervous, but she wrote a letter filled with what she wanted: a diary to write her private thoughts in, canned pasta (spaghetti-O’s), pillow pet (grandma got her that), and something called a “Fur Real,” a remote control dog that walks and barks. It costs a fortune, is cheap as china can make it, and will be discarded in 72 hours, but Santa got it for her anyway and it is going to be the highlight of her Christmas.
We let Adara open one present on Christmas Eve. We knew she would like the unicorn pillow pet grandma was giving her, and it might help get her to sleep, so we let her have that one. As expected, she loved loved LOVED it. The present combined with a schmorgasboard of goodies she described as a “feast” made this year “the best Christmas eve, EVER!” – her words. Pictures below.



Rick Holidays, Pictures
There is a street near our home where every house on the block goes all out with the Christmas lights. In the past we have just driven along and oohed and aahed at the lights, but this year we got out and walked. One of the houses has a gazebo set up with a statue of Santa in it. Adara is “too nervous” to go see Santa, so this is as close as we could get to a Santa’s lap photo this year.


Rick Holidays, Pictures
We took Adara to the Muppets movie over thanksgiving and she insisted on posing with the Lorax…

Rick Pictures
Title kinda says it all. Took Adara to outback a few weeks ago and let her try my ribs. She sucked the bones clean so this time she got her own.



Rick Firsts, Pictures
Adara: I am a super hero. I’m the Electric Peacock and have peacock flying powers and electric lasers that come out of my eyes!
Me: peacocks can’t fly sweetie.
Adara: they don’t have laser beams either, but I do and I can fly.
Rick Funny Things She Says
Halloween night and Adara goes out trick or treating. She is still just a weeeeee bit scared of masks, decorations that light up, decorations that make noise…you get the idea. Still, she made quite a haul and had a good time. And most importantly her costume met her primary criteria: cute enough to get her extra candy!





Rick Holidays, Pictures
The march to Halloween continues. Today we picked up pumpkins and took Adara to the community center for a Halloween activity. Aka, an excuse to wear her costume.
Adara drew the face on the pumpkin herself and did most of the carving. She still thinks pumpkin guys are too gross to touch, so I had to take care of that for her.





Rick Holidays, Pictures
As mentioned previously, Adara has developed a real fascination with mummies. So much so that she has mummy books, mummy toys, even a life size mummy statue we got for Halloween.
Last week, after nearly 15 years of living in the SF bay area, I was informed of the existence of an Egyptian museum. That had mummies.
We took Adara today. She was giddy. She saw real Egyptian mummies, artifacts, statues and more. She even saw animal mummies.

Rick Outings
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