Etta turned five yesterday. I'm sure you are mathematically inclined, but all I keep thinking is that five years went quickly and in just another five short years she will be TEN and that sounds like such a "big girl" age to me! Only five years ago, in an instant, we went from an adult couple, responsible only for ourselves to parents- responsible for this new little life in front of us. I keep wondering what she will be like and what our family will be like in five years. Five years will be here before we know it. So, right now I do my best to be present and soak up each day. Our family is growing quickly and my babies won't be babies for long.
Etta has grown a lot in the last year. Her ability to communicate (speech and/or gestures) is the most notable area of growth. It's a big step that people other me or her Daddy can actually understand some of the things she is saying. She understands WAY more than I realize and often surprises me by responding to a question appropriately. We should not underestimate her abilities! We are working on writing her name. She makes an "E" with some prompting. It usually has a *few* extra lines going across, but she's figuring it out. She recognizes/names most shapes and colors and body parts. We're still working on letters/numbers and cutting with scissors. Etta has been potty trained since about Christmas. She still wears a pull-up when she's sleeping, but our big girl wears underwear the rest of the day.
Etta loves to climb and jump and slide and swing and throw (appropriately, to an intended target). She can be a little fearless at times and her impulsivity makes my heart skip a beat regularly. That said, her impulse control seems a little better this year. She is a better follower of directions, though her stubbornness sometimes gets the better of her. I'm still waiting for the day when I can trust her not to run off when we're in a public place.
She still loves music and The Fresh Beat Band, but we have noticed a shift lately in the choices she makes regarding videos on her iPad. More often than not, she is choosing to watch Mickey these days.
Etta is proving to be a great big sister! It's been fun to watch her relationship with Daniel develop and strengthen as he gets older. Of course she likes to push him around some and he has recently started biting, but that's to be expected (to some degree). I look forward to watching her relationship with her little sister develop.
We can't wait to see what this next year brings us!
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Etta's birthday fell on a Saturday this year so we were able to celebrate with a birthday party on her actual birthday! The party wasn't until 4:00 in the afternoon so we spent the day taking it easy at home. At lunch we gave Etta her annual Zebra Cake and sang "Happy Birthday" and for the first time EVER, she blew out those candles all. on. her. own!
If you are new to our blog this year and do not know the "Zebra Cake" story, I will tell the quick version (for the longer version-
click here - scroll down to the entry titled "Zebra Cake").
On the day Etta was born, I had not had a chance to eat much (I had slept in pretty late that day). When I arrived at the hospital to be monitored (because I was feeling very little movement), the nurses asked me what I had eaten that day and all I could remember was that I had eaten a Little Debbie Zebra Cake (which I had eaten hoping that the sugar would get her moving). The nurse gave me a *tisk, tisk* and told me that I was likely dehydrated and made me feel like my poor diet was the cause of Etta's distress. She was a jerk!
Anyway, we all know that the zebra cake didn't cause fetal distress and we also know that they sure are tasty! I ate a very healthy diet throughout my pregnancy with Etta, but those zebra cakes... those were my weakness! (For the record, I had zero zebra cake cravings during my other two pregnancies)
After the zebra cake, we gave the kids a bath and put them down for a nap. Daniel passed out pretty quickly, but Etta never went to sleep. Before we knew it, it was time to load up the car and head to Shipwrecked Playhouse in Cool Springs for Etta's party!
Once again, our awesome, super tasty cake was made by Dorea Johnston a local baker here in the Spring Hill/ Thompson's Station area. She can be reached by email- dorea8@yahoo.com or phone-615-308-0324 You can visit her blog (she never updates it, but there are some photos)-
http://tissosweetcakes.blogspot.com/
I don't know why it surprises me ever year, but EVERY year I tear up as the group sings "Happy Birthday" to Etta.
I love this shot!
We had a great time playing and celebrating the day with our friends and family! Thank you to those of you who braved the stormy weather to celebrate with us.
For the record, Alice WAS there! She just slept in the Ergo the whole time.
After we got home and after we had dinner and before Etta went to bed, I gave her the only gift she got that day (she was given several gifts, but we didn't find an opportunity to sit down and open them yesterday. She got to open them later.). It was a plush Mickey. She was very excited about him and even more excited that we let her take him to bed with her. As a rule, we don't allow Etta to have toys/stuffed animals in bed. She doesn't sleep well with them in bed with her and will even wake up in the middle of the night to play with them. But last night was special and we let her take Mickey to bed. She was so cute laying him on her pillow and rubbing noses with him. Of course, she woke around 4:30 this morning and didn't ever go back to sleep because she was just too busy playing with Mickey. She won't get to take Mickey to bed again. lol.
Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl! I Love You!
A little while after dinner, I received a few cards/gifts and I was presented with a cake with 33 candles on it!
