Celebrating 5 years of Life

We're coming off a crazy two weeks, and today was a home day.  A day of not going out, of having no one coming in.  A day of me getting caught up on laundry and getting my floors to look clean again, a day of me laying in bed this morning with two stacks of books, one stack for Jacob and one for Kaylin and we lingered in our pj's.  Its good to have these mornings.

My oldest turned 5 last week.  She's becoming less little and more big.  And we celebrated.  With fairies on top of cupcakes, pink balloons and streamers, which Drew so carefully hung the night before while I baked cupcakes.

She goofs off when the camera is pointed at her and all our pictures together are of me laughing and her pulling faces.  This is her.  She's a serious little girl and yet, when the camera comes out the clown in her surfaces. 

I'm catching glimpses of change.  When at church I have to look for her, no longer standing by my side but busy with her friends.  Change in September when school starts and we enter into the dress-up days and parent interviews.  

We took her to get her ears pierced over the weekend, our present to her.  Not one tear, she informed the ladies that she knew it was going to hurt a little but she was ready and she was 5 now, so basically grown-up.  It was perfect timing, a little girl who wants a bit of independence and who thrived with the attention of mom and dad and no siblings.  We walked through the mall, pierced some ears and ate some french fries.  And a few nights later, when all the balloons and the streamers were taken down, when the cupcakes were long eaten and the wrapping paper put away she climbed in my lap and whispered "I love you Mommy".

And in that moment she didn't seem so big to me, she was still very much my little girl, and I was reminded to cherish those moments, for they do really grow far to fast.

Enjoy your weekend!