Happy 5th Birthday Olivia Ann!

Where have the years gone?!?  Last week Miss Olivia celebrated her fifth birthday - a much awaited day in her world!  :)  Olivia's birthday began with Tot Camp in the morning followed by an afternoon get-together with friends Stella, Danika, and Kelby.  Once everyone arrived we hit up the pool for a couple of hours before heading back to open presents, play, eat dinner (Olivia's request = spaghetti with chicken, yogurt, and green grapes), and indulge in some ice-cream.  The evening involved swimming lessons and an early bedtime for one tuckered out but happy little girl.

Miss Livy,

You are one sweet little girl.  You are, in many ways, a sensitive, old soul, yet you're wild, silly, and curious about the world around you too.  You're cooperative and a pleaser - in fact, sometimes I think you give in to your sassy little sis too often.  You're still just as cuddly as ever and still love your fleece blanket, your silky, and your thumb.  We're working on this, of course, but I think attending kindergarten will solve most of it - although a tired Olivia always equals one who wants all of the above.  And while no one cuddles quite like you, you're super energetic as well - I love watching you swing across the monkey bars, flip on the rings, and race around the yard with the occasional wrestle with Grace.  From what I can tell, you're a really good friend too; you play very well with everyone - you have ideas but aren't too demanding and embrace doing what your friends are interested in doing too.  Sometimes you forget to include your sis when you're playing with friends, but overall, you do great with this.

Other favorite activities of yours include reading books, coloring, working on writing, paying ipad, playing babies, and swimming.  You're really into doing your babies' hair right now and naming them - favorite names include Nila, Mila, Isla, Ella, and Nissan?!?  You also like to play house with Grace and I'm constantly say "What?" to Grace's "Mom?" only to get the response of "No, Livy's the mom!" from Grace.  You still like to play dress up but not nearly as much as in the past.  You're also a really good helper around the house - you often call me up to show me how you've cleaned up your room - and Grace's! - and how you've made your bed.  I wish you were more interested in riding your bike, and now that play group and swimming lessons are nearly over, I intend to work on this by spicing up our rides by hitting up the bike trail instead of just going around the block.  There's a couple of great flat spaces where I think you and Grace could really take off.

All early summer, I bribed you to take a nap by promising that once you turned five, you didn't have to take naps every day - although sometimes you still really need them!  So far you've transitioned very well into "quiet time" and have chosen to take naps yourself a few times.  While nap time is great, it's probably a good thing to get you used to going all day long with school starting just around the corner...but, I do hope you'll consider taking the occasional nap on the weekends!

As far as I can tell, you seem quite excited about kindergarten this fall, and I feel we made the right decision about sending you after seeing you embrace the various activities you've been involved in this summer.  Sometimes you still hesitate to leave me, but overall, you're not the clinger you used to be and open up much faster playing with the other kids instead of hanging by your teachers.  :)  You've stayed relatively consistent with your intention to ride the bus to school, and this makes me nervous!  I think riding the bus and attending kindergarten are going to be great confidence builders for you even though you might show some hesitation the first couple of days.  And, having you ride is probably a great decision overall despite the fact that you just seem so little!  The part that makes me most nervous is that you'll have to change buses in order to get to St. Ben's; however, everyone I've talked to has told me they make this easy for kiddos, and it'll be nice to have this bus option in the mornings and once the baby comes. 

Speaking of the baby - you're super excited to be a big sister again.  You're so sweet about my growing belly frequently stopping by me to give the babes kisses and hugs.  I have no doubt that you'll be so helpful, and I'll bet that you'll demand cuddle time with your little brother once you get home from school!

I hope you remember your 5th birthday fondly Livy Ann!  We couldn't be more happy with the sweet little girl you've become.

A million and more hugs and kisses,
Mommy and Daddy