Happy 5th Birthday Stella!

Today is our sweet Stella's 5th birthday.  In the above right picture, she is showing you how old she is in case you didn't know =;)

She woke up today to find a basketball hoop (which can expand in height up to 6 ft) set up in our living room.  That was her big present and she was so excited about it.  Somehow, I managed to not take any pictures of it.

When Ommy came to visit last time, she brought with her several dresses for Stella.  This pink butterfly dress was Stella's favorite dress and she said that she wanted to save that dress and wear it on her birthday.  That was back in April.  Well, Stella didn't forget.  On the morning of her birthday, she told me without any hesitation what she wanted to wear!
 
Today was a very hectic day for us.  Beside it being Stella's 5th birthday, we had a walk-through of the house we had purchased recently scheduled for 5:30 PM (and closing on the house is tomorrow).  By the time the walk-through was finished, it was close to 7 PM.  Stella was told that she could pick any place she wanted to go to eat for dinner and she chose Jason's Deli because she loves the free soft serve ice cream you can get there at the end of your meal.  Stella didn't care that we were so late for her birthday dinner; she was happy as a clam to be going to Jason's Deli!  Here's a shot of the two of us enjoying our ice cream at the end of dinner.

Someone else also likes the ice cream at Jason's Deli...

When we got home after dinner, Stella opened the rest of her presents.  After the basketball hoop, she loved all of the board games she got like Operation, Connect 4, Guess Who, etc. 

What is Stella like these days?

• Well she still continues to be a sweet girl for the most part, but like most kids, she likes to push our buttons and test her limits.  
• She loves to boss her little brother around, but she is getting better at sharing her toys with him.  As a result, they play together a lot better these days.
• She is very observant and hears and sees everything, even when you think she is not listening or paying attention to you.  
• She loves being a goofball, like her Dada, and thinks that anything weird or silly is hysterically funny.
• She is very headstrong and does things the way she wants to do them.  Most of our battles with her stems from this attribute of hers.  For example, getting her to practice on the piano is a constant and ongoing struggle.
• She loves going to Chuck E. Cheese, playing on the computer, riding her bike, and playing at the playground.
• She loves going to the library and reading books on her own which she is very proficient at these days.  She also loves doing her many Kindergarten and 1st grade level workbooks.
• Stella is a girlie girl and loves things like painting her nails, getting new clothes, shoes, wearing dresses, hair clips and bows, jewelry, makeup (always wants to put mine on and I say no), etc.  Her favorite colors are pink and purple.
• She is still very innocent and sweet and does not have a malicious bone in her body towards others.
• Stella wants to be an artist when she grows up.
• She is a chatty Kathy at home and can be with others with whom she feels comfortable with.  She will rattle off story after story!

I am sure that there is a lot I am forgetting, but that is just a glimpse of what Stella is like these days.

We can't believe that our little girl is 5 years old.  In just a little over a month, she will be starting kindergarten.  Even though she is more than ready to go, her parents are not.  We love you so much sweet girl and are so proud of who you are and how you are growing up!  Happy Birthday Peanut!