Our 5-year-old girl.
As usual I'm behind in my posting. I'm finding it harder to keep up with blogging but I still want to keep track of some important events for Bryn (which I will eventually make into a book) so here's a long catch-up post from Christmas and what life is like with our 5-year-old.
Girard's brother and sister-in-law, Dan and Leigh Ann and their family from Kentucky were in Regina for Christmas for the first time in over 10 years so we spent a couple of days there. Dave and Rita, my amazing parents-in-law, host Christmas Eve at their house every year for Rita's side of the family. The amount of people attending from year-to-year can range from 25 to 50 or more, so putting this on every year is no small feat. We haven't spent Christmas Eve with them since Bryn came home, so it was a big deal for her to take part in a Jakubowski Christmas and see so many people under one roof -- and she was related to almost all of them!
We had a wonderful time visiting everyone. It was great for Bryn to spend time with her cousins, Michael was the only one not there and we missed him. We came home late Christmas Eve so Bryn could wake up in her own bed and see what Santa had left for her under the tree. Christmas just keeps getting better every year. She loves all the decorations and all the excitement leading up to the big day. Of course the best things for her are all the presents and the food. Bryn loves to eat. We had a wonderful Christmas day, just the three of us.
The Hengen cousins on Christmas Eve: Kirsten, Nick,
Bryn, Brianna, Katja, Matt, Anna and Ramey.
Bryn and Auntie Leigh Ann.
Bryn and Uncle Dan.
Hanging up Santa's key on Christmas Eve.
Getting snacks ready for Santa and the reindeer.
'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Santa was here!
Bryn bought Jessie a new lovey.
Christmas dinner.
It wasn't a very nice winter for playing outside but
we managed a few romps in the snow.
My funny girl.
Lanterns for CNY.
Bryn with her Chinese New Year crafts.
Having fun at the ice show.
Then came the big day that Bryn turned 5. Oh my, what an exciting day that was. She talked about it for months and is so happy to be 5. We had a small party and my cousin Kim made the most amazing cake. Bryn had been saying for months she wanted a Toopy and Binoo cake since that's her favorite TV show and she was thrilled when she saw it.
Bryn's favorite cartoon becomes her birthday cake!
Kim's masterpiece!
Celebrating her birthday with cousin Bree and friends Adia and Caia.
Bryn has grown up a lot in the last 6 months. Suddenly we have a not-so-little girl in the house. Her mannerisms, the things she says, the stuff she pretends all seem to have changed. She now "hangs out" instead of plays. Things are "cool" or "awesome" and she's picking up on the bigger kids' way of speaking -- "so, like, that freaked me out!" and "I so do not care for cooked edamame beans". And she spends a lot of time saying "but mo-om!" (can't wait to see what she's like when she's 13). She likes to pretend she's a teenager and plays with her imaginary iPod and knows more words to Top 10 songs than I do.
Girard has been on a mission for more than a year to get her over 40 lbs. so she can graduate out of her baby car seat but despite the 4 or 5 high-carb snacks he gives her between breakfast and lunch she hasn't budged from 38 or 39 lbs. in six months. She's now more than 42" tall and seems to have stretched out and lost her toddler shape. She's taking dance and finally, finally learned to skip! (I learned I'm not cut out for activities that require me to be crafty in any way. It took me an hour to tie 3 bows for Bryn's recital costume.)
Bryn loves to laugh and giggle and has a good sense of humor. She loves to tell jokes -- or at least the 5-year-old equivalent of a joke. Why did the duck cross the road? Because he wanted to go to the birthday party!! Hahahahahaha! Oh boy. She's always putting on acrobat shows and rock star shows and wants to be one or the other, or both, when she grows up. She's become very outgoing and is always introducing herself to people when we're out and about. I'm amazed at how many people are taken by surprise at her friendliness and don't know how to react. Some people have actually looked at her like she's a little strange. Go figure.
She is doing very well with her reading and can spell quite a few words "in her head." She likes to practise her adding and "taking away" and does most of that in her head too. She loves to tell stories and make up songs and rhymes and can literally talk for hours without stopping. She still loves to color and draw and I have boxes and boxes of her creations stored away.
There are now less than 2 months left of preschool. In the fall Bryn will start kindergarten -- 1/2 days 5 days a week -- and she's really excited about that. It's hard to believe she's almost school-age and once there she'll change even faster. So for now I'm happy I'm still her most importantist lovey who she can't go to sleep without and I'll take the cuddles while I can, even at 3 a.m.
I can skate!
One of the highlights of the winter was seeing Toopy and Binoo in person.
We visited the Children's Museum with Caia and Adia.
And Jacey came for a weekend.
Bryn's costume for her dance recital. They will be dancing to How Much is That Doggie in the Window. She has to wear her hair in a high pony with tight curls. (The mother of another Asian girl in Bryn's class and I had a good chuckle over that one.)
A super fun visit with Caia and Claire. Ren was there too
but didn't want to join the girls for a photo shoot. Smart boy. :)
Thanks for making time to see us, Monica! And to Shea for hosting.
Spring is finally here!
This was our backyard visitor earlier this week. He was huge
so we played it safe and kept Jessie in the house til he left. :)
