Five Years Old!

I think it is a rite of passage for parents to often say, "where has the time gone?"  I know I have said it thousands of times and I know it can be written many times throughout this blog when talking about Lila and how quickly she has grown-up, but it is true.  It is like life gets placed in a vacuum when you get older, get married, work 40+ hours a week, and start a family!  

Lila's transition from 4 to 5 was a little harder on me than I anticipated.  She is officially a "kid," not a toddler; she will always be our baby, but it feels like in the eyes of society she is now expected to be that much more grown-up.  The night before her birthday I was tucking her in and I got a little weepy thinking that I was putting a four year old to sleep and she would wake up a five year old.  It isn't like she would be different when she woke up, but the year ahead is full of so many new adventures, some exciting, Kindergarten, and some which require her to leave things, such as daycare, that she has known since she was 8 weeks old.  She caught on that I was a bit sad and we had a moment talking about all of the new, somewhat scary, events that would take place this year, and with a little squeeze and a kiss goodnight, I tucked in my four, almost five, year old!

We do birthday's big in our house!  When I was growing up birthday's were something to be celebrated!  It is something that Mike and I believe, too, and have continued that tradition ever since we were dating.  This particular year, Lila's birthday fell on Easter weekend.  At first I didn't really think anything of it, until our weekend started filling up quickly with family gatherings for the holiday.  While I love the time spent for Easter, I started to get a little bummed out that it was potentially going to interfere with Lila's big day!  We traditionally have a big party for her with family and friends, but this year it looked like we might have to mix things up a bit, which I was a bit skeptical about.  We decided to split up her celebrations among the family time we had scheduled for Easter.  While it was different, it worked out perfectly for everyone, including Lila.  I think she secretly enjoyed all the mini-parties!

Her birthday landed on Good Friday, so her first gift was the fact that she didn't have school that day!  Mike didn't have class that day, so I took the day off so we could all spend the day together celebrating!  We properly decorated the house in anticipation of Lila waking up and seeing all of the love and thought that was put into her special day!

Getting prepped for the birthday girl!

Balloons...

and more balloons!

Birthday decor everywhere!

Waking up to balloons on her ceiling...how did they get there?!

First morning as a five year old!

There is something about the "oohs & aahhs" of your child when they come upon their birthday gifts or something that was made especially for them!  Lila's excitement bounced around the room as she looked at each of her princess art pieces and her bike.  She hadn't even gotten to her wrapped presents and she was exclaiming how "happy" she was with her gifts!

Elsa & Anna

Ariel & Rapunzel

New wheels!

On to the gifts with wrapping!

Unwrapping her new toys!

Taking a quick spin around the house!

After presents were all unwrapped we got cleaned up and headed to Iowa City to Lila's favorite spot, Build-a-Bear!  Lila has many toys, but her most favorite things are her "buddies!"  So, she was thrilled to know she was going to get to bring a new buddy home with her!  After we stopped at Build-a-Bear, she chose to eat at her favorite restaurant, Red Lobster, for her favorite biscuits and noodles!

Lila and her new friend, Treasure!

We got back from Iowa City and got prepped and ready to have a small celebration with my side of the family.  Lila requested a taco bar for dinner, so we had everyone over to eat tacos and have some birthday cake and ice cream!

Three amigas!

Make a wish!

 

New rain boots!

What could be in this box?!

It's an Elsa dress!!!!

Posing with Grampa and Laura in her new dress!

We had a busy day the next day, but there was a little bit of time in the morning for a little dress up and play!  She didn't waste any time getting that Elsa dress back on!

Queen Elsa

Goofing around!

Saturday brought our first event in our new neighborhood!  One of the things that we have been excited about is the close knit neighborhood group that we keep hearing about!  There are many events throughout the year in which the neighbors all get together, this particular event was the Easter egg hunt in the park.  Lila has already met a few of the neighbor kids and is having tons of fun playing with them in the evenings, but this was another way for her to get to know more friends and for us to get to know the neighbors a bit better!

Hunters to the line!

On the hunt!

The Easter event was really cute!  Not only did they have the egg hunt, but they had many other activities for the kids to participate in: bunny sack races, cupcake decorating, painting, cake walk, etc.  The weather was perfect and the kids were having a blast!

Painting her Easter egg!

On the playground

Sweet girl!

After the Easter event we loaded up and headed over to Mike's grandparents for Easter dinner and another birthday celebration!  At this point, she could get used to having presents and birthday cake everywhere she goes!

Coloring with Aunt Maria

After more presents we ate a yummy Easter meal, and Grandma knows how to get right to our girls heart, by combining cake & ice cream, with an ice cream cake for dessert!

"Happy Birthday to you..."

Make another wish!

After two fun filled days it was Easter Sunday!  What on earth could that Easter Bunny get her that she didn't already get for her birthday?!  We weren't totally sure the bunny would come this year considering she had gotten so many good gifts for her birthday, but guess what...he found us!

The Easter Bunny has been here!

Where will the trail lead?

Look at all the eggs!

Getting closer & closer...

She found a basket full of goodies!

Bunny ears!

An Easter tradition!

We finished up with our family time on Easter morning and got ready for an Easter road trip to Lamont and Strawberry Point!  Our first stop was Lamont to see my Dad's side of the family for a little while.

Road trip!

The Smith side is always packed full of people!  With family members scattered about, we don't get to see everyone together that often, so it is always fun to get together and catch up.  Lila's little cousin Audra celebrated her 3rd birthday in March, so they exchanged gifts...surprise...they both got each other Sofia stuff! Too funny!

Birthday girls!

We arrived in Strawberry to have lunch with my Mom's side of the family!  My grandparents spend the winter in Arizona, so this was the first time we had all been together since Thanksgiving!  Once again, we had a delicious Easter meal and celebrated Lila's birthday, yet again!

Family love!

While Lila's birthday was a bit different this year due to the holiday, it was a wonderful weekend celebrating with her and all of our family!  We are truly blessed to have everyone relatively close so we can have our little girl grow up knowing what it is like to celebrate special occasions surrounded by the people that love you.  

I can't even imagine the posts that lay ahead as we navigate this fifth year!  I know it is so cliche to say this, but birthdays become less and less about material presents as we get older, the real celebration each year is the gift that she is to her Daddy and I!