She’s FIVE. That just seems impossible to me. We were JUST in Berlin, riding trains and trams, going everywhere in her red stroller, biking… We were JUST in Phoenix celebrating her 3rd and 4th birthdays… The saying is so true:
The days are long, but the years are short.
There have definitely been some very, very, very long days… but the years? Good grief. They fly by in nano seconds.
Adelaide… where to start. She is such a joy. She is a joy bringer, and a joy giver. Speaking of giving, it has just recently become abundantly clear that her love language is giving gifts. WOW. She gives and gives and gives. I have to stop her. For instance, we are still potty training Sydney and doing the reward thing. She has told Sydy many a time that SHE will give Sydy rewards as well if she stays dry. So when that actually happens, Adelaide goes to her room and starts bringing all kinds of gifts to Sydney. She keeps going back for more and more. And not just the “junk” or unwanted stuff, either.
Then today at her birthday party (more on that later), she loaded up her goodie bag from the pinata loot and about 20 minutes later was passing stuff out to all her friends. 
I hope she is always a giver. She loves to get gifts too… like CRAZY.:)
Adelaide is very sensitive to those around her, picking up on emotions and such. She is gentle and kind. She is tender hearted. She LOVES people. Sometimes a little too much (as in um-please-step-back-and-give-me-some-space). She dreams of being a princess. She loves to dress up. The more bling the better. Her sense of style is so completely unique. I crack up when she dresses herself and comes down the stairs. And I long for these days of carefree style to last much longer than they probably will. She loves to “read” and is actually getting close to being able to read on her own. She loves stories and begs for Daddy to tell her made up stories all the time. She memorizes songs lightening fast! I am glad to know that we can use music in the future to help her remember/learn things. Beauty and the Beast is her FAVORITE movie right now… Diego and Dora being runners up. She is very helpful to me (most of the time…). She is very forgiving and very very loving. I am soooooo very thankful for the gift of her presence in our lives.
Adelaide, you are a treasure to us. We adore you and are so thankful for the person you ARE right now, and the person you are developing into. God has such beautiful, wonderful, almost-too-good-to-be-true plans for your life. You have a destiny to walk with Him and love Him and love those around you. You are a blessing to your mom and dad and sisters. You are a dear friend already. You are absolutely beautiful from the inside out. I can’t wait to see what this year holds for you and for us all. I cannot wait to see the mountains you conquer and to walk with you through the valleys of your five year old life. We love you deeply, my dear!
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the Party:
I made these “cookie pops” for her to take to her class and celebrate with. They just seemed more fun than just plain cookies.
I decorated the table with pictures of Adelaide from 2 weeks old till the present. I just printed them out on my printer, double taped them to the plastic table clothe and drew random frames around them. I also labeled the pictures with her age. I don’t think the kids gave a rip about it or even noticed them, but the moms thought it was really cute.
The party was a cookie decorating “theme” but really was just a compilation of some of Adelaide’s favorite things. We found the Hello Kitty hats at a thrift store and she loved them, so i bought plates and napkins to match. The only thing she really requested (other than gifts, of course), was a pinata. And we found a princess tiara one at Target. That was her favorite part of the party (other than the gifts, of course .
I baked sugar cookies to decorate, and in the end, maybe 5 or 6 ended up being actually decorated. Note to self next time: provide little drinking cups of icing for each kid to use so we can cut down on the double dipping. Yeah, I could have just labeled this party the “eat icing” party.
Once all the kids were thoroughly hopped up on sugar, it was pinata time! I did put toys in it rather than just candy, but there was a significant amount of candy in the thing too. John had to “weaken” the pinata so the little people could actually break it open. And then there was much screaming and converging and hoarding of goods.
We then opened gifts so fast that I don’t even know what came from who etc. Parents of children who came to the party and who read this blog, please know we are very thankful for all the wonderful gifts… I just don’t know who to thank for what!!!
After some socializing of the adults, and crazy screaming and playing in the house, the party was over and my kids succumbed to their sugar coma. I think it was a success. And totally worth the sugar highs and screams and messes and effort… for our special 5 year old!
