Our gorgeous Helen turned 4 years old yesterday! Her requested decor was raccoons. We did our best.

Helen’s birthday planning usually coincides with Portia’s because their birthdays are two days apart. Portia had very specific plans for all her birthday meals about a month in advance; but Helen took things slow. I did get her to pick out a breakfast before-hand so we could have it ready when we got up; but it wasn’t until about 11:00AM that Helen could be persuaded to pick a lunch, and about 4:30 when she chose her dinner. And with her birthday being on a Saturday, we offered her a choice of anything she wanted to spend the day doing, and all she said was that she wanted to play with her new kinetic sand. So that’s kind of all we did. Helen has always been quite easy going, and we love it!

But we must not forget that she is also Helen Raccoon. She definitely still loves raccoons and can frequently indulge in some raccoon mischief. It is fun that of all the things she could choose to get really excited about, she chose raccoons.

Another thing Helen LOVES is preschool! Anything that happens at preschool or that comes home from preschool is the best thing that ever could have happened! When there’s a new month and a calendar comes home, she immediately puts it on the fridge and we say the poem on the back together. When they learned about doctors and dentists and she brought home a toothbrush, she immediately ran up to the bathroom to replace her old toothbrush with her new, better, preschool toothbrush. And when she received a little paint set from preschool for her birthday, she came home declaring over and over that she was an artist and that she needed to paint immediately! And she assured me that she wouldn’t mix colors. I love when I get to walk her to and from preschool because she is at her very happiest!

Some other tidbits about Helen are:

• She really likes things that are hers. She understands that a lot of things we play with must be shared, and she doesn’t mind sharing. But she loves when she can claim something as all her own.
• She loves jumping on the tramp, reading stories, and going on walks, and riding her bike when it’s warm enough.
• She consistently dislikes sauces on her foods. Ketchup, mayo, salad dressing, etc. are all emphatically declined. However, she does make exceptions for gravy and pasta sauce.
• Helen LOVES the song “I Love to See the Temple.” We sing it together every time we can see the temple from the car, and at least once every Sunday, and several other times throughout the week. I love that about her.

Ever since Helen was about 6 days old we’ve called her Helenator as a nick name. And some time between then and now I began calling her Helenator, My Favorite Flavor! If anybody asks her “Who’s our favorite flavor?” She will always respond with a big “Me!”

She’s absolutely right.