I was preparing to write this column and gush about the youngest member of my family. Zephie Ann turned 5 years old this week, and in my mind, I was already composing a tribute to how sweet, cute and wonderful she is.
Now that I’m actually writing it, she’s screaming in the other room after her dad banned her from the hot tub for the rest of the week for kicking her brother in the face.
What a sweetheart!
While all of the above is true, I suppose I should still wax poetic a little about my baby girl. There are a few bumps in the road, like tonight, but generally speaking, she’s a pretty nice kid. And on her birthday, Mom needs to give her a shoutout. So let me share a few fun things about my little angel, who has now moved on to lying on the stairs and delivering an Academy Award-worthy performance of her misery.
One thing that has really taken off in the last year is her love for animals and creepy crawlies. She likes kitties and puppies, of course, but she’s equally happy to find a spider and bring it to me. She regularly tries to collect ants to bring inside the house and keep in a jar as pets.
Recently, we found a toad around the house, and she instantly befriended it. Before long, it was enjoying a dip in the swimming pool, also known as my bathroom sink. Then she introduced it to me while it was wearing a Barbie skirt she had put on it. I think I eventually convinced her to let it go, although I’m not sure what happened to it after all that excitement.
Last week, we stumbled upon a baby snake during a walk. She refused to move on until she got to pick it up and pet it. I’m a little concerned about what she might start bringing into the house when she gets older, faster and even more confident in her wildlife-handling abilities.
Her performance gene is also going strong, which she undoubtedly inherited from my side of the family. We still enjoy amateur karaoke sessions with the family, and Zephie can often be found on the steps in our sunroom, using them as her personal stage. She asks Alexa to play her favorite song and sings at the top of her lungs. She generally kicks me out so she can perform a solo and, for whatever reason, doesn’t usually want an audience.
She’s creative, too. She takes songs she learns at daycare and makes up her own versions, often managing to rhyme the lyrics. I’m seeing an award-winning singer-songwriter in our future. She’s also artistic and loves to color. Honestly, she can already color better than I can.
She’s a force to be reckoned with physically, too. She rides her scooter at Mach 10 and loves showing me how she can do it without using her hands. When we took the training wheels off her bike, she seemed to figure it out almost immediately. And when she thinks I’m not watching, she’ll do pull-ups on my treadmill. If I catch her, she’s quick to come up with an implausible excuse.
We got her a gymnastics bar for her birthday, so hopefully she’ll leave my treadmill alone for a while.
As I wrap up, I have to share a funny anecdote I already posted on Facebook but that deserves a repeat appearance here.
Tom and I are apparently setting the bar a little too high when it comes to our children’s expectations of how exciting everyday life should be.
One night at bedtime recently, Zephie announced in an annoyed voice, “Today was the worst! We didn’t go in the hot tub, go to a parade or fireworks or ANYTHING!” Yeah, kid, it was Tuesday. Give us a break.
Not everyday is a celebration, but with Zephie, everyday is an adventure.
Happy birthday, Zeph. We love you tons, even if you occasionally kick your brother in the face.
