Happy 5th Birthday, Diddles!

Happy Birthday, Diddles!  It's been a year of new growth and new challenges.  I've been reading a book about how we parents often label children with negative labels like "stubborn, impatient, difficult".  Negative labels have a negative connotation, but each "negative trait" has a positive side to them as well.  I know a lot of stubborn adults, but we don't call them stubborn, we call them "passionate"!  The book encouraged us to shift our view and our words by instead using words like "passionate, focused, determined, perceptive".  These are all words I would use to describe you!  You have your own mind and your own agenda.  Nobody pushes you around.  You are a bright, creative, fun-loving and strong-willed person.  We love you so much.  

Whipped cream is so good!

We're getting ready to begin a new year of school.  One more year of preschool will be best for you, we think.  Let's hope you like preschool a little better this year than you did last year!  It was a fight every day from Spring Break til summer!  I hope it will help that you're in the afternoon section and that I'll be driving you, instead of having you take the bus.  You have expressed interest in learning to read, saying things like, "I just don't know how to wead!  How do you wead?  Ugh, I can't wead!"  I'm hoping this new interest will drive you to overcome the tough parts of school and focus on the learning that can be found.  

You are adventurous and love excitement and fun!  You're funny and I love your laugh and smile.  You bring us a lot of joy.  A couple weeks ago you went on your first roller coaster at a carnival.  It was a fast, loud, twisty-turny roller coaster.  Off it went with you just tall enough to ride.  You looked positively terrified!  Down went your head in your lap, and when it eventually stopped, you got off and said, "Dat was SO fun!  Can we ride it again?"  You can't swim, but you push our hands away and toss off the lifejacket and "swim", gulping huge gulps of water and practically drowning every time, but oh, you are doing it by yourself.  

You love soft-served ice cream (yet you call it "hard" ice cream), Happy Meals, toast, smoothies, cereal, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and chocolate. You deeply inhale  the aroma of any new dish of which you are unfamiliar, and usually try anything once.  "Becusting" is my favorite word you say, although I dislike hearing it about my cooking!  You love to win, and will cheat at every game you play (at least you take turns)!  You love babies and teenage YW (especially your babysitters), and grandmas (especially your own, but others will do in a pinch).  You love primary songs (Birthday songs, Mary's Lullaby, I am a Child of God, and God Gave us Families), the Frozen soundtrack "Frozen Heart".  You love being by yourself, and seem to "recharge" as a true introvert does when you are given time to just be alone and quiet in your own head.  I know you love Boo and Yaks, but they've been a little much for you to be around all summer long.  You want to play with them, but really you don't, and we've been working on knowing when it's time for a "reset" by being by yourself.  Daddy is your "fwend", and he's aspiring to be your "best fwend".  You seem to think such status is earned, and that boys are boys best friends and girls are girls.  The other day this funny conversation happened:
Diddles:  "Dad, are there bears in the forest?"
Dad:  "Oh, yes."
Diddles:  "Will they eat me?"
Dad:  "I will not let them.  I will punch them in the nose!"
Diddles:  (considering this with a smile) "They will NOT be happy about that!  Then they will eat YOU!"

 I don't want to be "braggy", but you are a beautiful little girl.  Everywhere we go (grocery store, gas station, Walmart, dentist office), there's almost always someone who will pull me aside and comment, "She is the most beautiful child!  Oh, her hair and her eyes and her long eyelashes!  She is just SO beautiful!"  I blush and nod and say 'oh, thank you'.  I think it's been a bit of a tender mercy because your uh...."spirited" behavior is typically excused on account of your cuteness.  "Oh, it's okay," they say.   "She might be naughty, but she's sure cute!"

A face only a mother could love!

You are creative and imaginative.  You love to dress-up and pretend, and play with your "maginawy fwends".  You love to paint and cut paper and create collages and other projects.  From painting a cardboard box into a "car" to using a whole skein of yarn to make a "piderweb trap", to cutting up vegetables for a "lovey dish".  You are able to focus your energy and attention for hours on creating things, and doing a great job at them, too!   You are perfectly content to independently work, so long as you don't run out of any art supplies (tape is our most precious commodity!) You love to chop vegetables and mix ingredients, and bake!  You are so happy and proud when you accomplish something creative.  Family Night, Home teacher visits and family prayers, and Sharing Time do NOT hold your attention.  We're working hard to focus and stay on task, even when it's "not my favorite". 

Banana peel art!

Princess and her puppy

Baking sugar cookies

A genuine smile - my favorite!

1. What is your favorite color? pink

2. What is your favorite toy? Plastic animals and figurines

3. What is your favorite fruit? cantaloupe and pineapple 

4. What is your favorite tv show? My Little Pony, Ninjago

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Kraft Mac n' Cheese 

6. What is your favorite outfit? Pajamas

7. What is your favorite game? Hullaballoo

8. What is your favorite snack? Crackers

9. What is your favorite animal? Split tie between dogs with spots, cats with stripes and horses

10. What is your favorite song? "Mary's Lullaby"

11. What is your favorite book? Cinderella

12. Who is your best friend? Mom
13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios (with extra honey on top)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside ? Make a snowman or swing
15. What is your favorite drink? water
16. What is your favorite holiday? any holiday with presents!  
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Blankie with tags and Princess pillow
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Toast and a smoothie
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Little Caesar's Pizza
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? (no comment)  


We celebrated your birthday a few days ago with Dad still in town.  He's out of town for a class/conference this week.  We made a delicious cake and had a "FROZEN" party for you.  You love to open presents - the more the better!  Mental note for next year:  Save the presents until the "real" PARTY begins at night.  We let you open them in the morning, and had to re-wrap them to open again at your party.  "You just didn't do it right, Mom!"  See?  Passionate!  We love you, and are so happy you add so much spice to our family.  Happy birthday, Diddles!