5th grade!

 My sweet sweet girl, you are in FIFTH grade! You have grown up to be an amazing little woman, who is coming into her own. You are in Girl Scouts with friends every other Friday, you play soccer during the weekdays (daddy is your coach) , your best friends name is Gracie, you enjoy going to school, you love shopping, earrings, hair accessories, swimming, and ice cream! 

You are the most amazing big sister. You love so hard in Eli and Iris, you truly show them the best love. I always say, “Iris doesn’t know how lucky she is” because you love on her so much. You give her piggybacks from bed to the bathroom, you swim in the pool with her whenever she wants, you play lol and Barbie, you host tea parties for her (I think you secretly enjoy this yourself).

 I always dreamt you would be sweet, but I didn’t know how sweet it would be. If I were to describe you in one word at this age, I would say loving. You love on your people HARD! You always make them feel loved back and expect nothing in return. You are very generous. Often times when we are headed out the door, Iris will decide she wants a toy you had gotten. You will just give it up and trade her for the sake of her happiness. I love watching your kind hearted nature with others. 

You are enrolled to start alto sax in band in a few weeks. I tried to push you onto the flute for selfish reasons (i used to play the flute) but you weren’t having it. You and I argue over clothes, you always want to wear the same things to school, never switching up all the beautiful things in your closet. We shop and you want everything, then when it’s in your closet you don’t wear it. 

You are Iris twin a lot, and I LOVE IT (hopefully I can attach a photo). We just got back from the aulani in Oahu, and you had a blast. We went snorkeling in the ocean water; we saw sea turtles . You learned to surf at the north shore (and yes you caught waves out there)! We had shaved ice and went down the slides all day long! You drank so much Fanta your tongue turned orange! You love Disneyland, we visit often. You will go on incredicoaster but it isn’t your favorite. You aren’t really much of a roller coaster girl. You love water rides and big thunder mountain. You hate cake pops from Starbucks but never turn down any other sweets or candy. Your favorite color is pink (finally) , you just got your braces off (hooray). You are a daddy’s girl, and you know how to put on the charm for daddy. 

You love your papa time and often cry when it’s time for him to leave. You also enjoy when grandpa Don comes out to visit. You love In N Out and Panda Express. You don’t like PE or working hard on bike rides. You complain whenever we have to ride bikes to the smoothie shop. We went to Yosemite this summer and you had a BLAST. You jumped into the waterfall water with daddy when all the boys were too cold and scared. You ROCKED! You love camping and being outdoors. 

School does not come without frustration for you, it never has. You are in kumon for extra help with school and you don’t complain a bit about it anymore (yes, you used to cry ALOT about it). You are great at math like daddy when you WANT to try. You are super last minute and unorganized like mommy. You love mommy and daddy to help you with homework. You love hugs and love. When you are sad you will ask for a hug to help you feel better.

You and Eli are close, you share a bond I love to see flourish. He does some of your vocabulary words with you after school and you compete on who can spell the words fastest. You and Eli have your own rooms but prefer to sleep together in Eli’s room. I wake up to see you snuggling on him and it just melts my mommy heart. 

Mommy and daddy still lay with all three of you at bedtime. I know you are nearing the age of not needing me for comfort, and that makes me uncomfortable. I love how loving you are at bedtime, so naturally I don’t want it to end. You are becoming a preteen these past few months, learning your voice can be used to talk back to mom and dad. You often say “so!” “And?” “Whatever that means” and several other sassy comments that sometimes gets you into trouble. I have enjoyed every moment you have given me in this life, every memory we have shared together, and every lesson we have learned in this lifetime. I hope there is a lifetime of this joy you radiate and the love you give! I have said it before and I will say it again, thank you for choosing me Deborah Jean, for giving me the gift of motherhood and letting me be by your side! I will forever look back on these years with pride and joy! Love you baby girl! 

Mom