The Sadie-Lady is 5!

pumpkins!

Big things, really big things, happened last week.  Halloween, trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, the ballet, the circus coming to town.  Lots of excitement but probably (at least according to Sadie) the most exciting thing happened on Wednesday, Nov 2.  Yep, that's the day that the little girl turned 5 and I couldn't have anticipated how excited she was about this.  She now checks that her clothes all have 5T on them instead of 4.  If there's a 4, you wouldn't believe the face I get- a mixture of disappointment and frustration.  How could I still let my 5 yr old wear 4T clothes?!  And there we can see that we will not be growing out of our flair for the dramatic...

But we are happy to have a healthy, active and bright 5 yr old.  Not a day goes by where we're not completely amazed by her- either by her complete rottenness or by how caring, smart, endearing she is.

Year 4 started out a little crazy with the little girl being hospitalized for Kawasaki Disease.  It was a bit scary seeing my girl so sick and yet, through it all, she was her happy little self.  The doctor at Children's kept remarking about how happy she was, how sweet she was.  Because of the trickiness of the disease, there was a never ending stream of  interns coming in to check out her rash, her eyes, her fever and of course, she enjoyed the attention.  And we were just thankful that they caught it in time, treated her and that she has recovered fully but still has no desire to ever have another pinch (and mommy doesn't blame her).

swimming in the creek at camp

After that adventure, the year progressed much easier.

Sadie has really grown quite a bit in the past 6 months.  She's developed an amazing understanding of her brother and a sweet ability to help him.  She talks him through changes that might throw him.  She encourages him to play and read and make friends.  She stands up for him when other children try to exclude him.  I'm so proud of my girl!

with Ariel and Prince Erik

at Disney Studios

And she still has this amazing self confidence that I only dream of having.  My girl has no second thoughts about going up to her princesses at Disney World and talking to them about her visit, to ask Prince Erik where his dog is, even to tell the little old lady working as a volunteer, how happy she is to be at Disney World.  She danced to the music in Tomorrowland, and strutted her stuff at Disney Studios and of course we had to wear our Cinderella dress all day (in 80 degree heat) to meet her princess.  I sit back and watch her and think how wonderful it must be to not second guess yourself constantly.  I've also promised myself that I will do everything to protect that self worth and confidence.

The girl has continued into another year of ballet and improves with each week.  She practices and shows off her steps to g'ma's and papa's.  I don't even need to bug her to get ready for class in the morning.  She does it all herself.  She has a dream.  A dream to be a ballerina/cowgirl.  Not sure how the cowgirl part will come about but she's got the ballerina part down.

She was able to see her first ballet, The Nutcracker, last December and this past week we saw Peter Pan.  It was a Mommy/Sadie date which of course meant we had to be fancy.  She loved it!  Seeing Tinkerbell and Peter Pan flying.  Seeing the crocodile chase down Hook.  We both really enjoyed the afternoon and I have to admit, we're looking forward to The Nutcracker again.

the first day of school

Sadie is in pre-K for one more year.  This year she's going to Eden Christian Academy.  This is a great Christian school if you're looking for something in the North Hills.  She's having so much fun in her new school and memorizing Bible verses.  It's so sweet to hear her reciting God's word.  And with the new school there have been new friends and lots of playdates.  She's been really enjoying the special treat of going home with one of her school mates and spending the afternoon playing.

In other big news, the little girl is learning to read.  She's picked up a bunch of sight words and has started being able to sound out others.  It's been exciting and empowering.  She's thrilled to be able to look at letters and find the words, to do what her brother's been able to do for so long.  It's also made the house a little more quieter as my two little bookworms curl up with their books for the afternoon.  It's happy.

Flower girl for Aunt Betsy

Sadie's has been in 2 weddings this year.  The first in August for Aunt Jackie and then in September for Aunt Betsy and of course, she enjoyed having the spotlight on her.  She did a very good job for both events and managed to get most of the guests at Aunt Betsy's wedding to do the chicken dance around her.  I wish I had pictures or video of that moment.  It was something else but Mommy, Daddy and Caleb were also doing the chicken dance too.

We've been so blessed to have another year watching our girl growing and learning.  We often don't know where this energetic extrovert came from but we love her so much.  Our family wouldn't be nearly as exciting without her.