Happy 5th Birthday, Laura Ann!

We actually let her open her gift from us yesterday since she is at home on Mondays & would have the whole day to play with it. That ended up being a great idea because she played with it ALL DAY LONG. She literally did not move at all for the 3 hours after she opened it!!

She requested cinnamon toast for her birthday breakfast.....and of course she loved the candles & singing!

The birthday girl took cookies & Strawberry Shortcake napkins & hats to school to celebrate with her Crayon Class friends

I gave her a leftover cookie for her snack when she got home & she asked where was her candle?? So, I added a candle & sang to her! This girl can't get enough of birthday fun!

She had a hard time deciding on where she wanted to eat for her birthday dinner, but finally decided on Cracker Barrel. She enjoyed gravy & biscuit and then chocolate birthday cake. She wasn't crazy about the waitresses singing to her.....guess they aren't as good as our family!!! :-)

Then we headed to the movie theater and watched Dolphin Tale.....such a great movie!! We've been looking forward to it since the summer when we saw the dolphin show at the Georgia Aquarium.

We sang to her one last time when we got home and she enjoyed one last birthday cookie.

Whew, what a day! We celebrated from the time she got up until the time she went to bed. And we were thrilled to get to do it. This little girl is such a huge blessing in our lives and brings us such joy. I am so thankful that God chose me to be her mom. Watching her grow up is bittersweet. I'm so, so thankful that she is strong and healthy on one hand, but on the other, I just want to freeze her and keep her a little girl forever! These birthdays are just coming & going way too fast. It seems like she should only be about 2! Happy Birthday to the most precious little girl I know! I love you more than life sweet girl and look forward to seeing what God has planned for your little life!

Some things to remember about you at 5:
-You LOVE to draw & color. You spend lots of time everyday doing this.
-And speaking of drawing, you are quite good at it. I always love the details you include. You seem to relate to life in this way & draw lots of your life experiences. And since these are all your precious works of art that can't be thrown away, our entire house is overflowing with your artwork.
-You also like to read books, play anything princess (especially dressing up) & play with your babies
-You adore you brother, but are not afraid to put him in his place if needed. Nobody messes with Laura Ann & gets away with it.....even Daniel.
-In an effort to be just like Daniel, you refuse to wear pajamas to bed.....just your pull-up!
-You have your daddy totally & completely wrapped around your little finger! I guess a better way to put it would be that the two of you have a super special relationship. You call him your prince & he does a great job playing the role. I just hope that some where along the way you learn that your next prince (husband) will have to say no sometimes, even though Daddy never does!
-You are a 'frilly' girl.....you love anything that sparkles, jewelry & make-up
-But even so, you can hang right in there with Daniel & his buddies doing something rough
-You are SO BRAVE! I learned that about you this year after 2 ivs & a broken arm. You took all of that in stride & were such a trooper about all of it!
-You love school & church.....mostly because lots of crafty things happen in those places.
-You aren't shy in the least, but for some reason (attention, I guess?), for the better part of this year, you wrap yourself around my leg anytime I have to drop you off & have to be pried off by your teacher. No tears, though!
-You love to SING and you sing a lot at home......mostly when you are in your room by yourself or in the bathtub, but we can still hear you!
-And speaking of singing, you are quite the drama queen too!
-You are the most curious child I have ever met & ask at least 4 million questions everyday. Lots of which I have no answer to. This does not make you happy. You want details, lots & lots of details. I am already praying for your future husband in this regard. Bless him!
-You wake up slowly, just like me. It's not unusual for you to wake up, but not come downstairs for an hour!
-Most of the time, you are totally unselfish & giving. You gladly share almost anything with Daniel, no matter how important is to you. It doesn't matter if it is candy or a toy, you are happy to give. Love this about you!

This list could go on and on as always, but I'll stop here. Gran calls you her sunshine & you truly are such a big, sweet, bright light in our lives. I love you and look forward to celebrating many, many more birthdays with you! I'm praying your life verse for you today:

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strenthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12