My 5 Year Old!!!

I can't believe my baby is 5!!!  I know I say this every year no matter what age my kids turn, but I really can't believe how fast time flies!  In everyday stressful moments it seems like time couldn't go any slower, but when these big moments happen, I realize how fast time really is and how much time I have wasted and won't ever get back.

Gracie Jo is such a wonderful daughter and I love her so very, very much!  She kept reminding me that there would be balloons in her room when she woke up on her birthday.  I've done this before and now she thinks it has to happen every birthday.  So this is what she woke up to at the foot of her bed.

Love Lindsey's face in this one.  Haha!

Gracie was so good about sharing with her brother and sister.

I love this balloon!

I bought a pack of princess crowns that came with stickers for decorating.  There were four in the pack so Gracie got 2 and Lindsey and Cooper each got one.

He doesn't look too thrilled to be wearing a princess crown.  Ha!  He kept moving it down to his eyes and saying that it was glasses.

I told the girls to blow me a kiss.

Gracie had been trying to set up for her "party" all day and Lindsey and Cooper kept on messing things up so she was so happy when they went down for their naps and she could finally get everything in it's proper place.  I didn't mention anything to her about doing this, she just decided to do it on her own.

The pink bean bag with the pillow was where she wanted to sit when she opened her presents and she set the other two bean bags up for Linds and Coop.  She told me I could sit on the little couch and Daddy could sit in the rocking chair to watch her open her presents.  Then she asked me for some toys to give to Cooper and Lindsey to play with while she opened presents.  When I asked her about the pink bean bag she said it had a pillow so she could be "comfy".  Haha!

Notice that there is a pony on each armrest of the couches?  She wanted them to participate too.  She is such a little perfectionist who likes to be in control of how things are (just like her Mom).  Poor thing was a bit confused about "surprise parties" because she asked me all worried where she should hide when she heard the garage door open and knew that Tim was home from work.

Tim surprised Gracie by getting off work early and bringing a flower home to her for her birthday!  So sweet!  She loves her Daddy!

Spoiled little girl!  Thanks everyone for the gifts, cards, and phone calls!  She had a great birthday!

She got too excited to open presents and didn't even sit in the bean bag chair she had set up for herself!

New clothes from Granny and she's wearing new clothes from Aunt Heidi!  Thank you!

Money from Aunt Sarah. . . she's been begging to go to the store and pick something out!  Thanks!

We figured it was time for her to have a "big girl" bike and she's been doing great with it.  We just haven't figured out how to get the helmet to fit quite right.

A couple short videos of her riding around in the house (it was raining outside).

Talking on the phone to Aunt Elizabeth while wearing her new gardening gloves from Grandma and Granddad.  Thank you!

Playing with her new Dora Dollhouse accessories.  She got a living room set and a bedroom set from Granny.  Thanks Granny!  And thanks again Matt for the dollhouse!

Coloring her princess marker pages from Aunt Kirsten.  Thank you!  Once again, she was so good to share with her siblings.

Lindsey wanted to try out the bike.

This pinata was so strong!!!  Tim and I ended up having to break it open for them.  They didn't even rush after the candy.  They just calmly sat down by the candy and started eating it.

I love my little Roo!

We had to take a picture of Olivia to show that she was there too!  She's getting so big already and starting to really chunk out!  Love it!  Earlier on the couch Gracie was talking to her and she kept on giving her the biggest grins!  What a nice birthday present . . . sweet baby sister smiles!

Eating the yummy cupcakes!

Gracie is such a beautiful, smart, loving, helpful daughter.  She always wants to please us and she is the first one to help clean up.  She always lets me know if Olivia is crying or Lindsey and Cooper are doing something they shouldn't be.  She is an amazing artist and is getting so good with letters and writing.

Kindergarten registration will be in March and I can't believe she'll be going to school this fall!  She is so excited and has been waiting to turn five for a long time now because she knew that meant she would be able to go to school.  This is a picture/letter that she gave me.  See if you can figure out what it says.

(Mommy I Love You From Gracie)  So sweet!

This is a picture she drew awhile back.  She told me she was going to draw a character from my favorite movie.  I didn't even know that she knew what a character was!  Ha!  It's the brave little toaster and she even got some 3D in there.

This one is Baby Jesus in His manger bed.  She is a better artist than I ever was.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!  We love you so much!