*music: Gracie by Ben Folds
What a big girl you have become this year.
You moved from your trike to a bike with training wheels. You love to run down the sidewalk but not before we have to countdown for you to start. You know you are only allowed to go as far as the fire hydrant. That little section of sidewalk gets a lot of use from you.
You learned to read this year. And now you’re starting to read small chapter books. Sometimes at night we have to make you turn off your little light (which you’ve turned on after you’ve already been tucked in) and put the books away so you can get to sleep. What a fantastic problem to have.
You absolutely love school. It has been such a good thing for you. You have made some really good little friends. Erin, Jada, Desi and you are the “big girls” in class. You love that role. Grant is also your good buddy. You and he like to build with the blocks. Your writing continues to improve. You’re getting pretty good at spelling too. It’s fun to have you try to tell us how things are spelled. A couple of nights ago at dinner you had us guess the movie that the song you were tapping came from. We couldn’t guess, so you started spelling it for us. M A R E P O P I N S. Mary Poppins!! You spelled it close enough that we could guess. The other day in the car you were also telling us something and daddy was being silly and mixing up the words, so you restated it and told us “Where FINGER SPACE did FINGER SPACE the FINGER SPACE car FINGER SPACE go QUESTION MARK.” Funny, funny girl. We know you’re paying attention in school.
You continue to love being outside and want to know which bird is which, or what kind of bug this or that is. Many times we have to look it up when we go back inside. It’s been fun to learn so many new things together. You also still love music and to dance. You create your owns moves and know how to finish big. You love to tells jokes. Sometimes they're actually pretty good. Most times, they only make us laugh because they're so bad. You still have your imaginary friend Camry (who seems to be sick most of the time) and Qwen and Patter and Mousey are around quite a bit too.
We love that you are your own unique person and are not swayed by anyone else. You want a superhero party even when all the other girls are having My Little Pony and princess parties. We hope you will always have that sense of self and not give in to what everyone else says or does. You are such a kind, thoughtful little person. You’re always quick with a hug or a gentle hand on the back.
We are so glad that we get to be your mom and dad. You are such a fantastic little person, Eva Grace. Our lives would be nowhere near as rich and fun without you.
Happy birthday, big 5 year old!!
