Birthday party tomorrow

Erin's birthday party is tomorrow, and she is so excited.  We are having her party at Build A Bear, and then having cake and ice cream afterwards.  We had the cake made by the same cake decorator that did her cake last year (it's beautiful!), and when we went to pick it up today Erin was just ecstatic.  She was actually just standing there giggling as they brought the cake out and showed it to her.  It looks like a perfect, beautifully wrapped gift that is fit for a princess.

It's still hard to believe that she is five.  She's so independent, and yet at times she is just my little girl who needs her mommy, wants to cuddle on the couch, or snuggle with me in my bed. She's an active little girl, always running around trying to do whatever her brothers are doing one minute, and then putting on make-up and painting her fingernails the next.

She'll start kindergarten in the fall, and while she's apprehensive about it she's more than ready.  She has been reading for about eight months (completely reading level 1 readers, and starting to read level 2 readers), she can easily do simple math (adding single digits and even some simple subtraction), and her writing is wonderful.  The interesting thing about all of this is that we do not drill her.  We don't spend countless hours making her practice at home, or even encouraging her to do much outside of school (aside from the reading that we do together).  She just has a natural ability that has amazed both of us, and many of her teachers as well.  (I will be honest and say that I credit some of it to having taught her ASL from infancy, and continuing to encourage her to learn and use it on a daily basis).  She is bilingual, and this is going to benefit her for the rest of her life.  I'm glad that we have given her that.

Her favorite things to do are listen to her iPod shuffle (she has about 15 songs downloaded so far), ride her bike (she learned how to ride with two wheels the day after her 4th birthday, and we ride every day), and play outside on her swing set.  We finally found someone that will teach piano to a child her age so she will be starting lessons in two weeks, and I'm anxious to put our piano to use.  She spends a lot of time sitting there "pretending" to play songs, and she is excited to learn, too. 

 

She has a heart of gold, a spirit that warms my heart, and a laugh that brings a smile to my face every day.  I'm reminded every day how lucky I am to be her mother.  The first five years have been such a blessing, and I look forward to every day that I wake up to her sweet smiling face.