A Whole Hand

That's right! My baby girl is a whole hand--FIVE years old! Where did the time go?

LilE, you continue to grow into such a precious young lady. You love your friends and look for opportunities to include new friends when they are lonely. You show mercy to those around you. Most times you show us how big you are by doing things by yourself. You are affectionate, helpful, and organized. Everything has a place and you know right where it is. You continue to remain focused on the activity at hand. Empathy is a quality you show. You love Jesus and sing praises to Him often. Daddy and I love to share what He is doing in our family with you.

Here are a few things you are doing these days:

-You love K4. You love your teacher and all the girls in your class. (You may like the boys too, but you don't talk about them. Let's keep it that way.)

-You love to dance. You still play music in your Tinkerbell CD player and spin around in princess dresses. Dancing brings you great joy!

-You love to sing. And I love to hear you sing, especially when you sing to God.

-You LOVE to pretend. Whether it is with Groovy Girls, Little People, or stuffed animals, you love to make things "talk". It keeps you busy for HOURS!

-TV is currently your favorite past time. You enjoy Angelina Ballerina, Super Why?,  and Dora the most. We have to limit your TV time. No more than 2 hours a day and even less on school days.

-You love to play outside. You and I are both ready for the weather to warm up so we can soak up some Vitamin D.

-Changing clothes multiple times a day is now a common occurrence, even when I tell you I do not appreciate folding laundry time and time again.

-You and Daddy have special Daddy/Daughter time each week. Every Saturday morning you two make waffles. The color of the waffles changes each week.

-Coloring is also something you enjoy. You like to make crafty things. There are always papers in your room of all your artwork.

-Napping is a thing of the distant past. But you do still have quiet time each day. You pretend with your animals, "princessesses", read books, work puzzles, and color during this time.

-This year you played two seasons of soccer. This was another opportunity for some extra time with Daddy.

-You are THRILLED to be a big sister! You talk to the baby, kiss the baby, feel the baby, and give the baby hugs. Oh how I cannot wait to see you interact in the coming months with this new little one!

Now on to the family party!

Before we left for dinner, we opened gifts/cards from the family. You got your first ever Barbie from Brother and Elle, a super cute rainbow outfit from Rudy and Doug, and a gift card from Nonnie to get whatever your heart desires at Target!

Mommy and Daddy had a special surprise up our sleeves! It was so big, it couldn't be wrapped. We had you wait with your eyes closed.

Surprise!

It is a car seat for your baby Sarah Kate!!

She now rides in the car with us everywhere we go. A couple of days before LilE's birthday she told us she wanted a car seat for her baby to ride on one side of her and then my baby to ride on the other side. Such a God thing--we already had the car seat (a hand me down) in our possession. It had some dated fabric on it, so I found some cute fabric and recovered it! So thankful for that sewing machine!

As for dinner, we told you you could pick out the restaurant (or your favorite home cooked meal) for birthday dinner. You decided you wanted Dairy Queen because you know that you get ice cream for dessert when we eat there. But you also LOVE Moe's tacos. Therefore, we decided to do dinner at Moe's followed by ice cream at DQ!

It is so much fun celebrating your birthday with you. Daddy and I love being with you and are so thankful God put you in our lives. Happy 5th Birthday!