five

Yes, I say the same cheesy lines that used to bother me as a kid, and the ones that every other parent use.  In my continually growing wisdom, I know why.  Because those cliche' one liners are oh, so true.  My baby girl turned 5 this year, and (here it goes) I hate seeing her grow up so fast!  She is the little person that put meaning to all of those lines.  Chad and I are both completely in love with her, and feel oh, so lucky to be her parents!  I often look at my life and wonder why my Father in Heaven has blessed me so much.  I have learned from Aimee, that one of His reasons is because I have so much to learn from all of these blessings.

 

My Aim had such a big year.  Since last year she has learned to read, write, and do simple math. I knew that she needed to learn these skills before getting to Kindergarten.  This is not because I am one of those my-kid-has-to-be-the-best types.  It is because I was afraid that because she is so social, she might be so distracted by being surrounded by so many other playmates, that she might not learn it otherwise. She is my creative, imaginative child.  Sometimes Chad and I comment to each other that we aren't sure if Aimee knows reality from fiction, because she floats from one to the other so easily.  She also is my big helper!  I used to think I wanted to have a boy first.  I thought that if I did ever have a girl I wanted her to have a big brother.  Well, Aimee has no problem sticking up for herself, and still I have that little sweetheart who, for the most part, is quick to help when asked, and when she isn't.  My favorite example:  Aimee makes her bed every morning without fail!  Even when she is sick in the night she has been know to make it before coming down stairs to ask for help.  She also, is quick to help her brothers make theirs, just because.  Porter especially loves this because, he rarely remembers, and loves having her get him off the hook!

 

On her big day this year we kept things simple.  We invited some friends to Chucky Cheese just to play (with tokens I got for free off our string cheese wrappers!) Chad got off early and played in the snow with her while I baked her cake.  This year Aimee asked for a pink Sleeping Beauty cake.  This was what I came up with.   

We also started a new birthday tradition.  When Chad was a kid, the thing he looked forward to the most was getting to go out to dinner with just his Mom and Dad.  We decided that some quality one on one was a great idea.  I wish I had pictures of dinner because she was a hoot.  She had everyone at Steak-and-Shake giving her birthday wishes, because she made sure everyone knew!  Afterward, our sweet neighbors that watched the boys while we went out came over and helped us eat some cake and ice cream.  It was a good day for a girl who deserved it to be!