Mitch . Lacey . Layla . Marcus: 5 Years Old!

Layla turned 5! It's weird to think that we now have a "kid" as opposed to a toddler or a preschooler. It was so fun to spoil her all weekend and see her face light up with each surprise! She is such a sweet girl (with a side dose of sassy/moody), and we love her more than we can say.

On her birthday she woke up to 15 pink balloons in her bedroom. Mitch and I almost passed out the night before blowing them up since we were still getting over some nasty sinus infections! That day she took cookies to her preschool class and they sang to her. She got phone calls from grandparents and aunt and uncles all day long. That evening Mitch came home and we went to the mall where we waited to get her ears pierced. There was a girl who was getting hers pierced before us, and she had to be at least 12 years old, and she took a solid 20 minutes of crying, "I can't do it," before they finally did it, at which point she cried, "It hurts! It hurts" while I tried desperately to distract Layla so she wouldn't chicken out. I was pretty annoyed by this point because we had been waiting so long and Layla was getting less excited by the moment. (We had already gone to the mall earlier that week to show Layla where she would get her ears done, etc. since she was nervous. So this was not at all what we needed.)

Then it was Layla's turn and she willingly climbed in the chair, but I could tell she was fighting back the tears. I promised to buy her a giant sucker when it was over, and that seemed to do the trick. She did cry right after they did it and said it hurt, but she only cried for less than 2 minutes. She got her sucker, chose to eat dinner at the food court (Hot Dog on a Stick, a kid's dream), and played at the play place. Kinda ghetto, but hey, you're only five once, right?

On the car ride home she started whining, saying her ears hurt. I took her in the bathroom to clean them, and when she caught sight of herself in the mirror she immediately stopped crying and said, in a very dramatic voice, "Oh, I look soooo pretty, Mom!" Ha, ha! So I guess it was all worth it! She hasn't complained about her ears since that first night, and she does look so pretty. ;) Mitch had a hard time with it because it made him realize how much his little girl is growing up, getting her ears pierced and all. He's a sweet Daddy.

The next day was Layla's party with her friends. She invited nine total: seven girls and two boys.She wanted to invite several more, but I had to draw the line somewhere! I thought it would be complete chaos, but they were actually very well behaved. We colored a picture, played duck,duck,goose, and pin the candle on the birthday cake. Then Cinderella came! ;) She was legit. Her costume was perfect and the real deal. She did a couple silly magic tricks, read a story, and sang a song. My favorite part was seeing Layla's face when she answered the door and Cinderella was standing there. She couldn't even talk and her mouth just hung open for several seconds. It was awesome. She told me later that when the doorbell rang, she couldn't figure out who it could be because everyone she had invited was already there. Lol. Layla has some great friends and I hope she continues to have great friends as she grows up. She had a great time and the party was a success. Oh, and the little boy next to Layla, dressed as Batman, is her "boyfriend" from preschool. His name is Logan. When he walked in for the party Layla yelled, "Look! My boyfriend's here!" as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Mitch and I definitely shared a look across the room. It was one of those weird moments where you can totally see the future. Ha, ha!

Top Row: Rylee Hagberg, Lily Leasure, Elsie Edwards, Amelia Lifferth.
Bottom Row: Landon Packard, Cambria Vickers, Oakley Cragun, Layla Bott, Logan Wykstra.

That night she had a sleepover at my mom's to celebrate her birthday and she had a blast, as always. They also went and visited Baby Evelyn. Layla loves her so much! When she got home she told me repeatedly how cute Evie looked and how she loves to hold her. So sweet.

We had our families over Sunday night for Layla's birthday. They spoil her and she is lucky to have such a great family! So, we officially started the Barbie phase. Not my idea. I'm kind of against Barbies; I don't like how they make young girls focus on unattainable physical beauty, appearance, material possessions, etc. But, she loves them, and I can help her understand what is and isn't important in life, so whatever. She got some other great gifts too. Most importantly, she felt so loved by so many.

After all that, I was tired! Whew! It takes a lot of work to pull of a birthday weekend like that. And it was so worth it. I love my little buggy, and I am so proud of the person she is becoming!

Other news: Layla was accepted into the Chinese immersion program! Yay! She'll start in Kindergarten, so she'll go for five hours a day instead of three. The program goes through high school and we're super excited about it.

Layla is also starting Suzuki piano lessons this week! This is something that I've felt strongly about and want her to do. Mitch and I talked a lot, a lot, a lot about this and decided that this is something that Layla will do as she grows up (as in through junior high school) and there will be no if's, and's, or but's about it. It will just be something she has to do, and hopefully she will love it. But it is a skill that she can use frequently, and it is something that is so beneficial for her growing brain and confidence. I'm excited for her! I'm nervous for me. Suzuki method requires a lot of work on the parent that is the coach, which is me, but I'm up for the challenge!

Marcus. Oh, that boy. I love his guts! He is attached to one of Layla's baby dolls lately. Sleeps with it every night. So cute. He loves to help me with the laundry and will push or help me carry the laundry basket around. He likes to put the clothes in the washer too. Such a little helper and sweet boy. He told his first knock, knock joke! It went like this:
Marcus: noh, noh.
Me: Who's there?
Marcus: Nana (banana)
Me: Banana who?
Marcus: Poo poo!
Okay, so it included some potty language, but it was hilarious! "Nana poo poo" is a phrase that Layla says a lot, because she thinks it's hilarious, so I thought it smart that he used it as his joke. He seriously cracks me up every day.

He is getting better at talking lately. He can definitely communicate, and he is definitely a funny person. He has a great sense of humor! He is also telling me when he needs to go #2, and he has sat on the toilet for the last three days in a row, but hasn't had any luck actually going on the toilet yet. But, hey, it's a start!

Mitch is traveling again and we miss him when he's gone! But he is loving his work, he's almost done with his last class EVER, and I am just so proud of him and his hard work. We are very blessed!