Sophie's 5th Birthday

Sophie turned 5 years old!  For a few months now, Sophie has said she wanted a jungle party for her birthday.  So that's what we did.  I decorated the house with green streamers and balloons and borrowed some jungle vines from Sophie's preschool teacher who lives 2 houses down.  I also found some cool jungle decorations at the dollar store.  So I think her decorations turned out really cool.

On the morning of Sophie's birthday we had a party with her friends.  We had a swim party outside.  The kids could play in the swimming pool, go on the Slip'n'slide, or play squirt guns.

Then we had cupcakes and popsicles.

After that we dried off and opened presents inside.  The kids then played while I painted their faces like jungle animals.

It was a really laid back party, but the kids had a ton of fun.  And I hope Sophie felt really special on her big day.

Then as soon as Isaac got home from work we ran to Arctic Circle (Sophie's choice) for dinner.  We had to rush back home for Sophie's family party.

Since Isaac was gone for work before Sophie woke up that morning, we hadn't even had time to open presents yet.  So Sophie opened our presents with all the aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  We gave her a scooter, roller skates, and a baseball bat and mit.  Lacey and family gave her a cool little doll that can slide down a zipline.  Grandma Karla gave her some clothes and books.  And Grandma Sugar gave her Zootopia and some craft kits.

It was a crazy busy day.  But I hope Sophie had fun and knows how much we love her.  Here are a few things about Sophie:

• Sophie is so sweet and thoughtful.  She is always drawing cute pictures to give to her friends and family.  She hates when people are sad and upset and always tries to cheer them up.
• She is really excited to start kindergarten and loves learning new things.  She's super smart and always amazes me with the things she knows.
• She takes after her mom and doesn't eat breakfast very well.  But she loves lunch and is getting better about trying new foods at dinner.
• Sophie and Aspen have been really fun with playing with their imaginations lately.  I love listening to their conversations and hearing the things they come up with.  Sophie is definitely the ringleader, but Aspen loves following her lead.
• Sophie is so friendly and instantly finds people to play with everywhere we go.  I love seeing how accepting she is of other people.
• Sophie is such a good girl I often feel like she's neglected as I take care of Aspen and Luke.  But she's such a sweetheart and always seems to understand.  I really enjoy the time I get to spend with her and love the conversations we have together.
• And she loves drawing.  She's getting to be such a good artist.
• She takes such good care of baby Luke.  He loves watching her and she can get him to laugh more than anyone else.  

I love my Sophie girl so much.  She makes me want to be a better person and mom.  I can't believe she is 5 already and will be starting kindergarten.  It seems like just yesterday she was born.  But I'm so glad to have her and can't imagine life without her.