Five

It doesn't seem possible that my little girl is 5 today! I keep thinking to myself "where did the last five years go???" It seems like she should still be 2 or 3, not getting ready for kindergarden!

Since Madeleine came into our lives each day has been different and special. There have been many, many wonderful days. There have also be some tough days and loooooong nights! :) But, I wouldn't trade one moment of any of it. I love (selfishly) that I have so many memories that will forever be only mine.....memories of mornings spent at home just playing together or "talking." Many of these times she'll be too little to remember, but they will forever be in my heart. Maybe someday I'll share how I treasured each of these moments, knowing at that time that they would not last and one day she'd be off to school.

Madeleine still amazes me each day! She is growing and changing so much and I still find myself looking at her so thankful that she's mine!

There are so many things I want to remember about Madeleine at 5.

She loves games and puzzles! Her favorite games right now are Go Fish, Chutes and Ladders, and Memory. We have to be careful and pay attention or she'll beat us! :) She can do puzzles of 100 pieces by herself.

She is getting a lot more adventuresome with her appetite -- yay!! Her fav foods right now are: sandwiches, melons, broccoli, and her newest love: Chinese!

She is getting BIG into Barbie. I love listening to her role playing with her dolls! She will play for hours in her own little world with Barbies or Princesses.

She is quite the little athlete! She can play a mean game of soccer, throw a good ball as well as hit too. She even broke one of our balls last week, she hit it so hard! Her favorite thing though is GOLF! She is constantly asking matt if they can go hit or putt (which she spells out "P-U-T-T" or "H-I-T" so harrison won't know what they're doing!). She can hit the ball pretty well for a 5 year old and her chipping is really good!

She is big into arts and crafts. She loves scissors, glue and markers! She will create projects on her own -- this past week she make robot faces for her and Harrison with cutout eyes so they could chase each other around the house. Fun!

She loves to read. She is really excited about kindergarden because she'll start learning to read. She can already read a lot of basic words by sounding them out. Yesterday she read the word "friday." Her favorite books right now are any princess or Fancy Nancy books.

She talks so big right now! She says things like "actually, mommy" and "do you suppose." She still uses words in the wrong way sometimes and we have to crack a smile at her big girl talk!

She refuses to sleep in PJs and will only wear nightgowns. She also only likes "comfy" clothes -- NO JEANS! She will wear her nightie all day if I will let her. And sometimes I do. Soon enough she'll have to get dressed every day.

She hates going to bed. Haaaaaaates it! She is going through at tough bedtime right now. Thankfully it's summer so we can let her stay up late until she just drops, although she still ends up in our bed during the night most of the time. She tells me our bed is just "cozier." What can I say to that??? She's such a snuggler and cuddles right into me!

She's still pretty shy around strangers. She has a few good friends and she loves them! The people she loves she talks about all the time, colors pics of them and is constantly asking to see them. She is very loyal and I love that about her.

She loves her brother. She plays so nice with him and takes care of him. She is often seen giving him her last piece of cookie or the last sticker. She is thoughful and considerate of him and his feelings....most of the time! :)

She likes to help me in the kitchen. She sets the table at night and does such a good job! She is my little pudding-maker too. She is my stirrer and mixer these days and I think she's going to be a good little cook one day. But, her favorite part is still licking the bowl!!!

She likes to dress up. When she's not in her nightgown, she's in either her leotard or tutu.

She's discovered a love of water this year. She's pretty cautious at the pool, but she's learning to swim slowly. She can swim with a floatie well and by next year I'm hoping she'll be swimming on her own.

Up until recently she was quite the little homebody, but the past few weeks she's shown more of a get-up-and-go mentality. She likes to go to the library, the mall, the park, the square, Target and Sams. She's even started going and getting dressed by herself when asked lately, which is a HUGE help!

She is constantly writing and drawing. She copies words from all over our house on post-its. I have post-its everywhere some days! :) She probably draws an average of 5 pictures a day and that's on top of her crafts! Whew!

She is a cuddler. We like to snuggle on the couch each afternoon while Harrison takes his nap -- its our time and I'm going to miss that so much this fall!!!!

She's a talker! She talks to me ALL DAY LONG! Sometimes I find my ears ringing at night. ha! I hope she stays like that.....I love listening to her thoughts and how her little mind works.

She is a girly-girl. She doesn't like bugs, spiders, or being really dirty -- although sweaty is OK. :) She likes to help me clean and dust and I've even caught her organizing her toys.

She is just such a joy to be around. I can take her anywhere and know that she'll act right and do a good job. That makes me so proud of her and who she's becoming!

Ever since the day she was born she's been a routine girl. She came right on time and is still such a scheduled kid! She thrives on predictablity and routine and is a happy kids when given that!

I am so thankful for this little girl! I don't know what I did before we had her!