My firstborn turned five yesterday! Five seems like one of the big milestone ages. My daughter is truly no longer a baby or toddler. She is a KID. With her own thoughts and opinions! Soon she will enter into Kindergarten where her parents will no longer be her whole world. I am truly sad and excited for her! I love having a front row seat watching my children grow and develop into little human beings. I may be biased but they are exceeding everything I could hope for them to be. Emma is truly one of the sweetest kids around. She is so good with other children and especially her (sometimes difficult) younger brother. We truly feel so lucky that she was our firstborn. She was the perfect first child for 2 people who completely did not know what we were doing as first time parents. :)

This past year, Emma has grown SO much. We used to worry so much about how shy and quiet she was. I actually thought she might have selective mutism at one point LOL! You would never have guessed how shy she is from her 5th birthday party she just had. We had over 70 people at our house and she was having so much fun with all of her friends. In fact, her favorite thing to do is to hang out with her friends. She is always begging for playdates! She used to be the most cautious kid ever as well. She is still careful but she has gotten over so many of her past fears this year. Each of these activities used to draw out tears from her: riding a pony, sledding, going down slides, going on roller coasters (kiddie ones). This past year she not only rode a pony but rode a “trotting” pony (goes faster than a normal pony ride), went sledding multiple times, slid down a super high slide, and went on a roller coaster 10 times in one day hehe (Gadget Go Coaster at Disneyland!). She gets super excited about facing and overcoming hear fears. Oh and did I mention she learned how to ride a bike without training wheels this past year? For a girl who has always been behind physically, we were shocked but she did it!

She is still continuing ballet and loves it. She also tried soccer (hated it), piano (loves it), and swimming (the jury is still out but as of last lesson she loves it!). She loves dancing, singing, and performing. She loves all things girly and the more glittery the better! She loves to go on adventures…from the beach, to the movies, to the playground…she loves it all.

We did not do any major vacations this year (aside from Seattle to visit my sister) but we did do a lot of local trips, camping/glamping, and some roadtrips. Emma loves the outdoors and had so much fun visiting Big Bear and Big Sur. She has several camping trips under her belt and will never turn down a S’more.

For her 5th birthday, we threw her a Moana-themed party at our house complete with a real live Moana that came and sang! We had a bounce house and several water sensory activities in the backyard. For her actual birthday, we went to Disneyland and she got a princess makeover at the Bippity Boppity Boutique where they did her hair, nails, and makeup. I can’t believe how happy it made her and was so glad we did it.

Emma is sweet, kind hearted, loving, smart, and makes us proud every day!! I can’t wait to see what year 5 brings for her.

Here are the answers to her birthday questions this year with my comments in parentheses.

1. What is your favorite color? pink, gold, silver, and purple
2. What is your favorite toy? my new unicorn (that her uncle gave her for her birthday)
3. What is your favorite fruit? watermelon
4. What is your favorite tv show? Dancing With The Stars (it just so happened to be the show she was currently watching, but when i pressed her more she said Lego Friends)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? apples (I think this is her favorite food item they serve at school for lunch?)
6. What is your favorite outfit? A dress
7. What is your favorite game? Don’t know (but she loves board/card games like Spot It, War, Uno)
8. What is your favorite snack? cupcakes (this girl has a sweet tooth for sure!)
9. What is your favorite animal? bunnies!
10. What is your favorite song? We Love Peanut Butter (This just happens to be the song they are learning at school for a performance)
11. What is your favorite book? Boom Chicka Rock (and the Book With No Pictures)
12. Who is your best friend? Katie/Evangeline
13. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky charms (she said this all scared because I never buy this cereal for her because she only eats the marshmellows! hehe)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play
15. What is your favorite drink? juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Valentine’s Day
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? nothing
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? strawberries
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? BBQ
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? mommy!