Natalie is 5!

Natalie is a big 5-year-old girl now!  For the last year or so, Natalie has been asking when she gets to go to kindergarten.  And every time she asks, we tell her she'll go when she was five.  So I woke up on her birthday wondering at what point she would ask me when she gets to go to kindergarten.  We didn't even make it to 10 o'clock. 

Excitement for kindergarten: established. 
Ability to wait: undecided.

I had a conference with her Head Start teachers this past week.  And as we would expect, she is exceeding all their expectations of her.  I went to her class on her birthday and brought some pictures of her as a baby and some playdoh and cookie cutters for each kid to take home.  (They don't let you bring any food products into the school, so I was forced to think out of the box.)  Everybody had a blast, and it was so fun to see how Natalie interacts with her friends at school.  The teachers commented to me that in all their years of teaching, Natalie was one of very few kids to have something planned for her birthday at school.  I love when I get the opportunity to make my kid feel special!  Literally every single kid wanted to sit next to her, and I know that was not only because it was her birthday.  Every time I drop her off, they all say, "Hi, Natalie!"  And she comes home every day with some sort of picture or trinket that one of her friends has given her.  I hope that is because she's being a good friend to everyone, and from what I saw on her birthday it is.  I'm so proud of my smart, loving, sociable little girl.

Nat's stats:
height and weight to be announced after her well-check (appointment date tbd as well...oops.)

Loves:
her brother and sister
her teddy bear, Harvey
chicken nuggets
PBS kids shows
school
riding the bus
coloring (lately, on the walls...not so happy about that!)
spelling
writing her name, first AND last...thankyouverymuch
visiting her daddy-daddy's house
dancing
singing
being the boss (especially of her brother)
ice skating and swizzling
planning future events
correcting her brother's pronunciation (the apple didn't fall too far from this tree)
picking out her outfits
playing house
"rice krispies with no milk but sugar"
beanie weanies
writing letters and sending them in the mail
getting postcards from Grandma
building castles with legos

Does not love:
most suppers
sleeping in
being told what to do (at home.  At school she does beautifully...guess I should be glad)
misplacing her stuff
waiting

She is such a beautiful little soul, and as much as she challenges us, we are so thankful for her.  She truly loves and cares for her siblings, and she always wants to help.  Can't wait to see what this year brings!

My beautiful girl...she's growing up so fast!