It seems the days leading up to my kid's birthdays are always the most revealing of their age. I know this because it's the time of year when I look at them, I mean really stare, and realize how much they have grown and changed over the past year. That's exactly what happened this week for me too. I started watching and listening to Lyla, more intently than I normally do, and it hit me. Holy crap. You are a five year old. She acts like a five year old. She looks like a five year old. She sounds like a five year old, okay sometimes sixteen.
As you could imagine, I've been doing a lot of reflecting about the past five years. I smile as I think about how many things have changed, yet so many have stayed the same. I will never forget the scowl on Lyla's face as she glanced all around the hospital room the day she was born. That initial scowl transformed into an independent attitude that she's continued to carry throughout her life. That little seven pound baby had a fierceness about her, as if she already had the whole world figured out. And while I know Lyla still has a lot of life to experience and lessons to learn, she has taught me more about life than I ever could have imagined possible. I have been a mom for five years and all my motherhood "firsts" continue to be with Lyla. I think that's pretty special. Along with that newborn scowl was the first moment we made eye contact and my journey as her mom began. I am immensely grateful for the gift of motherhood. It has changed me for the better. And I don't feel like a rookie anymore either! Woo!
I'll be honest, I was a little concerned during that twoberty phase with Lyla, which carried over to three and even a little into four. I have always encouraged her independent spirit, but that sass has been a little brutal at times. This past year or so she has really matured into such a pleasant little person to be around. There were certainly delightful aspects to her during all the different stages of toddlerhood, of course, I'm just stating she has really bloomed into her own sense of self. At school, she has earned this reputation as being a peacekeeper and nurturer of sorts. She is always so aware of her surroundings, ensuring everyone in her presence is content. She cares about people and it makes me so proud to be her mom. I've watched her behave this way not only among her peers, but when it comes to her little brother as well. She is always thinking of that little boy. We will take a girls only trip to the grocery store and every single time she will ask the cashier a sticker for her brother. And don't even think about going to the bank without getting an extra sucker! I think we can do a lot to influence the behavior of our kids, but that sweet girl has a heart of gold. She was born a helper and the sweetness is just part of her soul.
Well now that I'm crying over how amazing my daughter is, I want to switch gears and share what we did on her birthday! I know I will cherish these first five years forever and I don't even want to think about how quickly the next five are going to fly by.
I can't tell you what she is doing in the above photo.
The pose is her own invention and she facilitates most
of our photo shoots now that she is five.
Enjoying her coloring book with some jams on. I love this picture.
We are having a birthday bash on Saturday, so that's when the real fun is going down. As for Lyla's actual birthday, it was a fairly routine day of school. She woke in the best mood, then she was eager to open a couple of gifts Kirk grabbed for her the night before. I didn't even know he was going to have something ready for her by the way --- it was super sweet of him! Anyway, we continued off to school and she wanted to listen to Christmas music. Seriously, stick a needle in my ear. I would have laughed at her had it not been her birthday, instead we sang jingle bells for the entirety of our thirty minute commute. She took cupcakes to school to share with her classmates. We grabbed them from the grocery store the night before and she passed on the frosting she wanted and picked the kind she thought most of the kids in her class would like instead --- again, so thoughtful.
After school, we decided to get milkshakes. eek! More sugar, I know. Then she requested Chicfila for dinner. That was fine with me, make my life easy. Ha! That girl can put down a full size chicken sandwich these days, which is pretty impressive considering there was a time I could barely convince her to eat a cracker. She also suggested we participate in a "Chicfila Sauce Challenge" during dinner. This is a challenge where you line up the eight different variety of sauce flavors and try to guess each of them after just one dip of a finger, french fry, etc. Well. Miss Birthday Girl is a big chicken when it comes to trying new foods and declined practically every single sauce. She tried ketchup...wow. And Chicfila sauce. Seriously. It was her idea!!!! She is such a dork. Max participated in tasting every single sauce, even the spicy ones, which was super hilarious and made up for Lyla's lack of participation. She wrapped up the night with a little Hansel and Gretel and that concluded the birthday festivities. However, we are so excited to party on Saturday!
Lyla's gifts from us arrived on Thursday and I was originally going to have her open them on party day. Then I decided oh, who cares. She opened a bed set and wardrobe closet to accommodate her new American Girl doll, Avery. I may start referring to the doll by name, just take note. Anyway, after some lengthy assembling we finally had it all set up. Then it occurred to me that Lyla wasn't going to have any space in her bedroom for this new American Girl arrangement. She already had a baby station and the Barbie house station, so I asked if she had any ideas on how to make it work. She thought about it intently for a few minutes, then she said, "Mom, I don't really play with my Barbie house anymore, let's give it to another little girl who will play with it more than me." My initial thought was, ummm but you have only had it two years....and Santa spent two full nights putting it together....and you have a bucket of probably 60 Barbies. Then I remembered how I'm always preaching to my kids about decluttering and donating stuff we don't need to someone else that can use it. So my initial panic of clinging onto the Barbie house for unnecessary reasons, transformed into another proud moment that Lyla has the brains to realize she has more than she needs and more than she can play with. I'm impressed that she isn't emotionally attached to all these materialistic items. I mean...it's hard for me sometimes and she is only five!
We spent the rest of the afternoon organizing her room. She decided to keep her Anna & Elsa dolls in her keepsake box. They are sentimental for sure. Then she picked out a few of the non-frazzled looking Barbies to keep, just in case the Barbie urge ever strikes again. She also kept the Barbie party bus, so they still have a spot to hang. But the adorable Barbie house itself is no longer a staple item in Lyla's room. It made my heart a little sad to close that chapter, but I was also filled with so much joy as Lyla was already thinking out loud about all the different kids she could gift the house to. The Barbie house location is now replaced with Avery's "room" and it's coming along quite nicely. The baby station remains in her room as well, since that's a regular activity between her and Max. It's just change is all it is. And again, I'm so impressed Lyla came up with the idea all on her own. She handled the process with such grace.
The scenario doubled as a good example to Max, who came out of his room with one toy to give to someone. As he declared his good deed, I could tell he was trying to remember the exact words Lyla used earlier. I love it when he does that, cracks me up every time. He always seems so proud of himself, yet all he's doing is mimicking his big sis. He certainly looks up to her! It's pretty dang cute.
Birthday surprise from the best dad ever!!!!
The remains of Lyla's Barbie collection.
The difference is shocking to anyone who knows what her stockpile looked like before!
The new arrangement for Avery!
Don't mind Lyla's solemn expression, I just thought they
looked so adorable in matching pajamas and robes.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! I will blog about the party soon.
