FIVE!

The videos I already owe are going to be deferred a little longer because just getting caught up with the 10,000 pictures we took on the lead-up to, unfolding of, and aftermath of Molli Malou’s fifth birthday took me way longer than anticipated to bundle together into a blog.

I’m still operating on the show more, talk less principle, so hopefully I can get through the following 61 pictures without toiling away this entire night — the first night in a long, long time that I’ve had the house entirely to myself (the girls are up at the summer house and I’m not!).

We’ll start with some catching up from late June… just some pics of the sisters getting to know each other.

And a picture of the yard, though I forget why I thought it was worth including.

Something we’ve promised Molli Malou since moving here was that she could have a pink room. She even picked out the precise shade herself at Silvan last summer. Painting her room was one of the big tasks I’d set for myself during this paternity leave. Here are some before pictures.

The “after” pictures come later. Meanwhile, as promised in the last post, pictures of Maddie’s first time in a swing. (Swings are important: among Molli Malou’s first words, as you may remember, were “gyng-gang,” which is what Danish kids say on the up- and down-swings while swinging, and a swingset was going to be among Molli Malou’s bigger presents this birthday.)

And Maddie’s first time in Moster Mette’s arms!

And more evidence of Maddie’s evolving adorableness.

And Moster Mette with Molli Malou…

Ah! We’re closing in on the birthday. The day before the big day I spent about six hours getting the damn swingset built, and Trine was running back and forth to Frederiksberg trying to find the right new bike for Molli Malou (the “big kids” bike she’s been using really was too big, though she rode it very well it just wasn’t healthy for her).

I spent the rest of the day finishing off her bedroom… here are the “after” pictures:

And a closeup of the bike.

Now it’s July 3. She’s spent the night at Mormor’s and is now coming with Mormor to børnehaven, where she’ll pick up her class and walk them to our house for a party. We’re ready for them!

(Some of us take “readiness” a little lightly…)

At last she arrives. Her main reaction was simply stupefaction. (You’ll see it in the video.)

Now some party pics without commentary:

Opening presents from Nana and Pop-Pop while they looked on via Skype:

Daddy helps her get that second watch strapped on:

Mormor and Jørgen have arrived by now and Molli Malou can open her puppet theatre… and puts on a show immediately!

How old are you, hon?

Well, sure, we knew if we gave her water pistols (to defend herself against the marauding boys of the neighborhood) the night would end up wet…

On the Fourth Moster Mette and Morfar agreed to watch little sister while we took the big one on a ride around the lake on her new bike. She insisted I take this picture of some fish we saw struggling against the current in a stream.

Notice our tee-shirts, by the way– Molli Malou’s idea!

The swimming hole was crowded.

You can’t really tell in this picture, but this is a very steep hill and Molli Malou is very serious about getting her own bike up it on her own.

Back home, Trine gets Maddie cooled off.

And Morfar has a chance to swing Molli Malou one more time before he flies off for China.

A shaded porch, a gas grill, an outdoor chimney, a swingset… who’s got a sweet life?

The birthday was a huge success, even if it did cost Trine and me a few anxiety attacks. Molli Malou is very proud of her old self and is in love with all her presents. She’s now on vacation the next two weeks, but my leave only lasts one more.

Maddie has been doing very well despite some discomfort and general unhappiness with the heat. She was the only member of the family who was willing to complain about the intense heat of the last week or so, because she’s the only member of the family not to know how rare such gorgeous weather is in Denmark.

But it’s cooling off and clouding up now.

I’m going to cut myself off with that and will hopefully be able to carve out a little time in the next day or two to cobble some videos together, and to record a few more prose memories of this very eventful week. But for now I’m going to enjoy this very rare night to myself!