Isabella is Five!

Isabella turned five years old this week.  How amazing.  We had a pretty relaxed birthday. A few weeks ago I asked her what she wanted to do on her birthday and her first answer was "go shopping!"  So, we had cake and presents in the morning and then we went shopping.  She got to spend the birthday money she got from her grandparents and great grandparents and we added some to it as well.  It was a blessing, really, because I've given up trying to find clothes for her.  We simply don't agree and every time I find something I think she'll love, I'm dead wrong.  So I gave her toys and things as presents and just let her pick out her clothes herself.  It worked great.  She picked out things I would never have selected and she's happily worn them now three days in a row when she's not wearing the outfit Kelly's parents sent her.  They are apparently much better at picking out clothes for her than I am. :)

Bella is a great girl.  She loves everything girlie - princesses, ponies, strawberry shortcake, care bears, barbie, and hello kitty.  She loves candy and cookies.  She specifically asked for Oreos for her birthday.  She loves to play with her "babies" -her stuffed animals.  She will dress them, pretend to bathe them, feed them, put them to bed, and even put them in time out.  She loves to ride her bike and play card/board games.  Her favorite is Sleeping Queens. She's an optimist who never stays sad for long and always knows how to put a happy spin on any situation.  She's a fashionista with a real eye for style, color, and flair.  She wants to be a hair stylist and a mom when she grows up.  She is very sensitive to the spirit and is always very attentive to scriptures.  She is very creative and imaginitive.  She's never without an idea of what to draw or act out and she loves being in charge of the activity for family home evening because she'll make up her own game that relates to the lesson, sometimes even designing her own board and corresponding board game. We have had some amazingly fun times playing the games she comes up with. And, much to my dismay, she still sucks her thumb and picks her nose simultaneously all day long and  refuses to stop. We love Isabella.  Our family is so much better because she's in it.

What she wore to go shopping:  The headband she made herself, the outfit from Grandma and Grandpa, leggings from Easter, and her new zebra print flats.  She had wanted them a couple weeks ago so I bought them secretly and saved them until her birthday.  She was so excited.

After shopping we came home and played some Wii (a birthday tradition in our house is to borrow a Wii system from a friend and have unrestricted play time for 2 days.)  We borrowed some Barbie games to go with it and she loved it.

Then we invited some neighbors over and played on the trampoline with the sprinkler - their first time ever doing that. The kids thought it was awesome.  I thought it was still just a bit too cold, but they didn't care.

The day prior to her birthday, they celebrated it in preschool.  She got to put 5 candles on the cake and then everyone sang to her.  She loved that.  For some reason, though, she hated the crown they made her.  She refused to wear it at first, but the teacher insisted she do it just for the picture and while they sang.  She couldn't tear that thing off fast enough when they were done.

I was trying to take a few pictures of my new 5 year old but the boys couldn't stand not being a part of it.  So they joined in.  It turned out pretty cute anyway, though.  Silly kids.

We went to another friend's birthday party this week at a park with a river.  Despite the icy water, the kids couldn't keep themselves from it.  Everyone was soaked by the end of the day.

Monday Bella and I are going to get manicures together for the first time and then in a couple weeks we're going to Great Wolf Lodge.  The trip was supposed to coincide with her birthday but the timing ended up wrong.  It's no big deal, though.  This way her birthday can last even longer!

Down on the Farm

One of my favorite field trips that Bella's preschool (and Benjamin's two years ago) makes is to Real Life Farm.  It is a small farm smack dab in the middle of a suburban neighborhood but it is amazing for kids.  They have baby sheep, goats, cows, ducks, rabbits, chickens, and horses and the kids get to pet, hold, feed, and/or ride them all.  It is so much fun.  Thank goodness the weather cooperated and we had a fabulous day there.

Before we went I prepped Christian for the cow milking.  I was a bit worried that he'd be too scared of the big cow.  "You're going to be brave, though, right and try to milk the cow?  Because she's very nice and gentle."  "I will be brave," he replied, "but Edwin will be a bit scared." :)  Edwin is what he has named his stuffed dog.  It was really cute.  We had a discussion about why Edwin doesn't have to be scared and by the end of it, Edwin was also excited to go to the farm.  Christian was wonderful too.  He held ducks and rabbits and milked the cow without hesitation.  But his favorite past time was climbing on hay bales and giving me a scare as he almost toppled head first off a particularly high stack.  He's not the athlete that Benjamin is but he's trying to be.  Bella's favorite animal in the whole farm was the cat.  That was the only animal she was interested in petting or holding and it was the only animal she talked about afterwards.  I have to hand it to that cat - it was incredibly soft and silky.

We look forward to going back when it's Christian's turn in preschool! :)