Lainey is FIVE!

Lainey Lou is five! Yesterday - the 24th - was her fifth birthday. I feel like we've been waiting for "real five" for a while now. Now, we wait for wiggly teeth! :) She's convinced that the top tooth next to her open spot is wiggly...but I'm not so sure. ;)

Here is the birthday girl, on the morning of her fifth birthday, holding her crawling baby doll...one of her gifts.

"Sissy is real five. And I'm real fwee (three)."

Loves: dancing, gymnastics, tumbling, arts and crafts, parks, monkey bars, Barbies, baby dolls, school, her friends, and her family. One of her greatest accomplishments as of late is being able to tie her shoes. And she can even tie them in double knots! I am happy that she's learned to do this and even happier that she wants to do it. She's also gotten pretty good at sounding out words - or trying to - and reading small words/phrases/sentences. :)

Does not love: being told what to do, when I "ask her to do things that [she] doesn't want to do," when I tell her "no" when she really wants to do something, 

We gathered at Jason's Deli for a quick dinner and cake. 

Peculiar fact: Lainey only likes peanut butter sandwiches. No jelly. Just the peanut butter. Seems sticky to me, but what do I know? :) She is definitely getting pickier with food...arg. She doesn't like chunks of fruit in her yogurt or waffles or pancakes, "wet" fruit like pineapple or cantaloupe or strawberries...she's okay with apples, though. She prefers her fruit to be normal-looking, not smooshed. She won't eat smooshed things. 

Lainey is telling Brooke something awfully important.

She received another desired gift...this walking baby doll! 

Lainey loves to call Walker "Buddy." She especially does it when she's trying to teach him something or show him something. She'll say something like "Buddy. Buddy. Watch me. This is how you do it." And, as you can imagine, Walker is usually not impressed and will just do it his own way. :)

And Walker got a choo-choo train card from Big Yiyia and James! He was thrilled.

Height: 43 inches (50th-75th percentile)

Weight: 45.2 pounds (75th-90th percentile)

Lainey has an odd attachment to things. She doesn't like to give anything away, or throw anything away, if it once belonged to her. This even applies to her toothbrush. I'm thinking she's trying to exert some control over her life.

Lainey is still a very oral child. Whenever she can, she'll put something in her mouth. A Barbie arm, a marker, a bracelet, her HAIR, her fingernails, a necklace...she mainly does this when she's watching TV.  She will also still have accidents and not care about it ONE BIT. Seriously. Not a bit. ;)

Funny story: 

While driving to a doctor's appointment, Lainey suddenly said, “Mom. I gotta tell you something. It's a mystery. Kaitlyn has tiny feet but she's five. How does she have tiny feet if she's five?” :) 

Another funny story: 

Recently, her Uncle Chris had surgery. I explained that the doctors were going to go into his tummy and take the "sick part" out so he would be well again. Lainey had an awfully hard time processing this. She was quite concerned about how the doctors were going to "get past all that food in his tummy to get the sick part out." I think she really thinks that food just floats around in there.

Our (mostly) homemade Kit Kat and M&M cake!

The picture Yiyia, Big Yiyia, and Lainey...and then there's Walker with the photo bomb! :) 

Happy Birthday, Lainey! We LOVE you! You are one spunky, sweet, curious, creative, kind-hearted little girl. You keep us busy...and we're trying our best to teach you how to be responsible, respectful, and kind to others. I know it's hard to be told how to act and what to say, and it's really hard to be told "no" when you want to do something, but your mom and dad love you very much and want you to be your very best self now and in the years to come. Thank you for bringing such joy into our lives and the lives of others; your happiness and constant positive attitude is contagious. You see the good in everything, and I think that's so important. It's one of my most favorite things about you. :) We can't believe that you are FIVE...can't wait to see what this year brings. We love you, sweet girl!

The Broadmoor in Colorado

This past weekend, Ben and I had the privilege of spending a few days at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. It was beautiful. A place so full of history, beauty, and superb service. We went for a work retreat for Ben; we had such a good time. Well, that is, until Ben got Lainey's tummy bug. :( He spent the entire Saturday in bed. We enjoyed Thursday night, Friday, and Sunday together. But Saturday was out! Walker also came down with the bug on Saturday night. Ben got it early Saturday morning, Walker got it late Saturday night. No fun. I did take a few pictures of the resort. It's gorgeous!

And this was a cool little part of the hotel. As I mentioned, the hotel is full of historical facts and rooted in tradition. I loved that! I took several pictures of Bottle Alley...so cool! Bottles from the prohibition era lined one of the hallways in the main portion of the hotel. 

Lainey and Walker spent a very fun few days with Yiyia and Bud. Well, until Walker got the bug. Lainey "earned" the honor of taking home her team's trophy for the week. She smiled and pointed her toes in class so she was the lucky recipient! If you ask me, taking home the trophy is a pretty good reward for paying attention and doing what you're supposed to in class! :) 

And what do you think? Resemblance between Brooke at age 5 and Lainey at age 5? A little, yes!

On the mend...

Lainey got the mother of all tummy bugs on Sunday night (well, technically Monday morning). Between the hours of 2:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. she threw up ten times. TEN. That's a lot for a little girl! And eight hours later she threw up again...just for good measure. And hopefully that tummy bug is gone...outta here...won't be visiting us again any time soon. It was terrible! I have to say, though, she handled it like a pro. She would get sick in her little bucket and we'd give her a new one...and then repeat. I think she took three naps that day and watched a grand total of 12 hours of TV. ;) 

Her breakfast consisted of  two waffles and some Teddy Grahams on Tuesday morning. She ate every single bite. She was starving, I think!

And here are some cute feet. Walker sits like this when he plays trains. :)

MOVE Competition

Wowza. Lainey had her first dance competition yesterday, and my goodness. What an experience. For both Lainey and Mom. :) 

Lainey's favorite part of the entire experience was performing on stage. She LOVED it. And I have to hand it to her, that girl smiled the entire time and really turned it on for the audience. I am proud of her and her little team. They have worked hard!

We could not have done without Aunt Risa. She's Morgan's aunt, Marisa, and she helped the girls with their makeup and hair. She did Lainey's hair because I couldn't do it and Lainey was crying because I kept poking her with bobby pins. :) Anyway, thank you Marisa...so grateful for your expertise!!

The scene in the dressing room. It was so hard to keep those girls from snagging their tights and messing up their hair! They had to keep it together for about 2-1/2 hours!

Emiliana...and look! Her dad did her hair! I'm very impressed. He could have done Lainey's hair!

The amazing Aunt Marisa and her niece, Morgan. :)

A last-minute practice before heading to the stage.

AND, we are home. After a very frustrating drive home (lots of construction and traffic and a wrong turn...eeeeek) and a severe bout of carsickness (in the bumper-to-bumper traffic without an available exit)...Lainey fell asleep in Frisco. About five minutes from home. ;)

And, here's my cute boy. I had missed this little turkey! I was cleaning out the car (after Lainey had vomited) and turned around to find this...Walker, on his belly in the driveway, reading a Thomas pamphlet and talking about all the trains he sees. He loves his trains. :)