Jenalyn is FIVE!

Jenalyn turned 5 years old on Wednesday! (oh my gosh! I have a FIVE YEAR OLD!!!) *deep breath* I think she had a pretty great day. Here are some highlights:

I let Jenalyn pick her birthday breakfast - she picked cereal straws. I woke up early that morning so I wouldn't be too rushed to eat breakfast with the family. I decorated the table special for her the night before. She loved it! Here she is slurping milk thru her straw:
She got to take snacks for preschool - they discourage cupcakes and I always try not to take anything too sugary (I swear I'm not a sugar nazi - look what she had for breakfast!!) so we got popcorn (Jenalyn's absolute favorite!), grapes and juice. I fixed her hair special for school too!
I was *soproud* how it turned out! (I got the idea off a blog - I'd link to it, but I have so many bookmarked, I can't remember which one I saw it on.) Anyhow, they made her a special birthday crown at preschool:
For dinner we went to Putters - a GREAT pizza place. It has a big indoor playground! We let the kids play like crazy while Jason and I ate our salads. When the pizza came, they weren't played-out yet, so we let them keep going until the pizza cooled down. There was only one other family in the playground/eating area so it was relaxing to just let the kids go nuts and not worry about it.

Here is Jenalyn chatting it up with Aunt Jennie on mama's iPhone while we were ordering the pizza:
The kids on one of the slides - my new favorite picture! It makes me giggle.
So my Jena-Bug is now considered a "kid" - she's not a baby, not a toddler, a KID! I have a big kid! Bah - she'll always be my baby girl! I love you so much, Jenalyn! Here are some of my favorite things about my baby girl:

• She seems to know when I need a hug or just an "I love you".
• She's very polite. She says "excuse me" "please" and "thank you" ...most of the time.
• She's great at sharing. It's not uncommon for her to break her snack in half and offer it to someone.
• She's [usually] really good at cleaning up when asked to. She is great at doing our chores and making her bed.
  
• She loves to help! Whether I am cooking, doing laundry, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, unloading the dishwasher - anything! She always offers to help.
• She makes the loveliest music! No matter what she is doing, she's either humming or singing. It is very pleasant to listen to!
• She has an appreciation for all things beautiful. i.e. flowers, ribbons, kittens, jewelry, sunsets or pretty dresses.
• She is very social - not at all shy like I was. She'll talk to anyone!
• She likes to play with her brother.
• She's always good for a snuggle!
• It is SO easy to make her laugh! And her giggle lights up my whole world!
  

I am so incredibly grateful and blessed to have her in my life and in our family. I truly believe she is one of Heavenly Father's finest!

I LOVE YOU, SUGAR BUG!