Happy 5th Birthday, Sarah!

Oh, Sarah. Five? Come on, girl. You have to knock this off! I mean, five is BIG. Big enough to ride a bike all the way up the hill with no help from Mom. Big enough to go to birthday parties all by yourself. Big enough to tackle monkey bars and go up slides backwards. Big enough to go to Kindergarten.

That’s right. Kindergarten. I think I have more anxiety about that than you do, though. You proudly tell everyone you meet that you’re going to Mill Creek next year. You’re excited that Landon and Rory, friends from preschool, will be there with you. You’re also thrilled that you’ll get to spend time with Jack Potter and the Day girls in before and after care! You want to learn to “read and count to eighty-fifty” (your words, not mine!), but, truth be told, you’re more excited to play in the gym than anything else.

And I know my anxiety is just something I need to get over. You are SO ready for this. In the last year, you’ve grown so much! You’ve grown physically, of course. All of your size 4T clothes are way too small, and you’re even wearing some size 6 pants! It makes me sad to see that “T” disappear from your tags, though. I know you’re no longer a toddler, but I don’t want to think about how big you’re getting every time I do laundry! You’re wearing size 11.5 or 12 shoes, which is also hard for me. Once you’ve outgrown your current tennis shoes, you’ll be in adult sizes!

In addition to just getting bigger, you’ve grown in your knowledge this year. You can count to 50 with no mistakes and you know all the sounds that letters make. You’re blending sounds to read small words and recognize quite a few sight words. You still love to have books read to you every night, but I’ve loved watching you start reading to Kate, too.

Actually, I’ve loved watching almost everything you do with Kate. You are the most amazing big sister. You are patient and kind, and you always think of ways to include Kate. You share toys and snacks (sometimes you pick what you want and give the rest to Kate, but still…). You push her on the swing and you don’t get frustrated when she slows you down. You teach her to do things and encourage her when she needs support. When she cries, you’re always there for her. And she loves you so much in return. She asks for you as soon as she wakes up in the morning and she wants to do everything exactly the way you do it. I’m just so happy she has such a good role model in you!

It’s hard to believe, but you’ve still had a lot of “firsts” this year. You became a cousin for the first time last April, and you’ve loved every moment you’ve spent with Teddy! You participated in your first school performance this Christmas, and you had your first dance recital last spring. You had your first trip on an airplane in December when you took your first trip to Disneyland – a trip that also included your first roller coaster, your first non-freak-out experience with characters in costume, and your first trip with “just Mom!”

Right now you’re really into coloring and watching videos on your iPad. You love My Little Pony and Disney princesses, and you are very excited about pretend play of any kind. You love riding your bike and drawing with chalk and blowing bubbles and playing at the park. You are also very into Play-Doh and Kinetic Sand. You love playing with your friends and your sister, but you’re perfectly happy playing on your own, too.

You’re also into watching movies. Last week, you and I went to go see “Zootopia” in the theater. You are big enough that I got you your own popcorn, but you are still young enough that you climbed up onto my lap when the movie got a little scary. I know those days are coming to an end, so I treasure each of them as best I can and hold you as close as you’ll let me!

Since seeing “Zootopia,” you’ve been a little obsessed with watching the music video for “Try Everything” by Shakira. The song was used in the movie (complete with a dance sequence), so you love the music video because it uses clips from the film. I love listening to you sing along, though! I have to tell you, my dear, I think you inherited my singing voice (which is not the best). But what you lack in natural talent, you make up for in volume and attitude! You ROCK. Every time. And this song is worth rocking out to, little love! It’s kind of your anthem right now, and it couldn’t fit you better.  I mean, listen to these lyrics:

I keep falling down
I keep on hitting the ground
But I always get up now

To see what’s next

Birds don’t just fly

They fall down and get up
Nobody learns without getting it wrong

I won't give up

No, I won't give in

Till I reach the end

And then I'll start again

No, I won't leave

I want to try everything

I want to try 

Even though I could fail

That’s you, girl! You want to try everything. And sometimes you do fail. But you don’t let it get you down. You’ve never once refused to do something because it’s “too hard” or “too scary.” Sure, you complain about stuff. We all do! You talk about things that scared you after you tried them (Eh-hem, the Matterhorn!). But you’re never too scared to try them in the first place. And that, Sarah, is what makes you so spectacular.

Okay. It’s one of many things that make you spectacular.

I love you, Little Bit. Keep shining. Keep trying everything.

Happy 5^th birthday, Sarah Jane!

Love, Mommy