The big 5!!!

My girl is growing up!  This time 5 years ago, I was in the hospital, pretty medicated and wondering when the real labor was going to hit.  We had scheduled an induction to make sure Daddy would be able to be there thanks to a new job requirement that would begin a few short days after her estimated due date.
In some ways it feels like yesterday that my baby girl was born, in others ways, it feels like she has been part of my life forever.  I love that.

My girl is whimsical.  She loves all things Princess-related. (It's a good thing, too, because her friends really spoiled her with dress up costumes, tiaras and wands as party gifts!) She also has a bit of a dark side, as impersonating all the Disney villains is great fun for her.  However, the scary scenes in Beauty and the Beast do still frighten her, and I am not along to sing along with Gaston or his cohorts because they are mean.

We celebrated over the weekend with a gymnastics party.  Grandma and Papa, several of her classmates and local friends came, as well as Kelly, Juliana and Catey from TN:

On her actual birthday, we went out for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant:

Here are some flashbacks from birthdays past:

FOUR!!!!

THREE!!!

TWO!!

ONE!

a few long awaited words

As he climbed out of the bathtub and into the towel in my arms tonight, Buddy exclaimed the sweetest words to a mommy's ears.  "I ya you Mommy, I ya you! Muah!" he planted a wet kiss on my face.  "I love you too, B." "I ya you too, Mommy!"

This is the first time he has told me he loves me first, at least verbally.