FIVE!

Dear Katelee,

It seems like just last week that Daddy and I were cleaning up our dinner dishes and my water broke. Daddy nervously drove me to the hospital as quickly as he could, and about 8 a.m. the next morning, you were born! Our lives changed forever, in ways we never could have imagined. You are our pride and joy, our beautiful baby. Only, you aren't so much of a baby anymore! You are growing into a smart, funny, loving, friendly, wonderful person. I feel like I love you more every day, if possible. I can't believe you are five-years-old today! I have loved every stage of your life so far, and I really love five-year-old you. You know and use such big words, like yesterday when I asked you if wanted to eat oatmeal and you said you would be delighted to, or the other day when you informed daddy he was driving too fast for the weather conditions. You have some favorite phrases right now. I think you say, "Oh, yeah!" about 50 times a day. You are a happy and friendly example, always willing to help include a lonely child at the park or "help"a toddler or baby. You have a gift for gratitude; daddy and I appreciate how thankful you are for all you have. You inspire me with your generosity; when your friend moved out-of-state last month you decided to give her your beloved pillow pet as a gift to comfort her and show your love. You love to play the piano, go to school, teach family home evening lessons, read books with mom and dad, and play with your princesses. You are amazing! We love you so much, darling girl.

We have had a fun day of celebrating you! You woke up to find your room filled with balloons, a fun tradition we started last year. You ran into my room with a huge smile on your face - you knew it was your birthday! After breakfast, you got to open one of your presents...

...a new outfit to wear today. :)You invited two of your good friends, Sadie and Diesel, to spend the morning with us at Pump It Up.

We had a complete blast there! We were the only ones there for half the time, and so we had full reign of the place - even I was able to get in and have some fun!

I forgot to change the camera to the movement setting, so my pictures turned out blurry. Still, we can see from your faces how much fun you are having!

Your favorite part of Pump It Up was this climbing wall. You could have spent the whole time there! And you were great at it - repeatedly climbing almost all the way to the top before losing your grip and sliding and giggling your way to the bottom!

After lunch, it was time for school. You love going to school, and this day was especially exciting because I got to bring cupcakes to your class. As usual, you requested chocolate cupcakes with chocolate filling and chocolate frosting - you are a chocolate girl! You also came up with the fabulous idea of putting little crowns on the top of each cupcake. :) I added the little pearl sprinkles as an extra elegant touch.

Your class sang Happy Birthday to you and you blew out a candle! You and your friends loved the cupcakes.
We let you choose what you wanted to eat for dinner. You wanted McDonald's chicken nuggets, so we went to dinner together and you had a great time eating your kids' meal and playing at the play place.

The night ended when we went back home to open presents!

You got plenty of fun and exciting things! Your favorite gifts were your new pink razor scooter, which you are thrilled about...
...and your new unicorn pillow pet!

What a fun day! Right now you are sleeping soundly with your pillow pet, after reading your new books, and maybe dreaming about the friend party we are planning for Saturday. As you were drifting off to sleep tonight, I said, "Katelee, I hope you know that lots and lots of people love you very much." You smiled gently and whispered, "I know." It's true; you are so loved. That's what birthdays are all about - celebrating the amazing person you are and remembering how very loved you are.

Happy Birthday, baby!

Love,

Mom