5 year letter

My sweet, sweet girl,

You are now five. You have talked about this age for so long and it's finally here. "When I am five, I will listen," "when I am five, I can ride a scooter," "we can go to Disney World when I am five," "I'll go to big school when I am five." You have a list of things you say you won't ask to do once you're five (ask for help after going potty or washing your hands, drinking milk out of a silicone cup in the morning) that I anticipate aren't actually stopping anytime soon.

Five is hard.

Every parent I have talked to has agreed that the transition from four to five is a tough one for parents. You still seem so little but now there are so many more expectations that other people have. Previously if you were at the store doing something childlike, such as running or whining, when people ask how old you are, they seemed sympathetic "ah, four. she's still little." Five just seems like a significant jump. Now you are school aged. Man. That feels like a punch in the gut, sweet pea.

You are growing and your personality is so apparent every day. You can still be slow to warm up to people and new situations but once you are comfortable, you just love to entertain. You tell stories and update us on all the things you are learning or experiencing. You love the theatrical build up of telling us something new. "Hey mom, you know what happened today? [dramatic pause] Someone pooped on the porch at school!! [peals of laughter]" Oh yes, potty humor is particularly hysterical. "Mommy, [friend] stopped the toilet today and Ms. A had to put gloves on and stick her hand in there!!"

You love fiercely. We love that you continue to give giant hugs with tight squeezes. You love to be picked up. You love to be held. You love to cuddle. Please don't change that. You love your friends and you seem to really be internalizing all of the messages you hear at home and at school about being kind and being a good friend. I am so thankful for this. That said, you do occasionally get in tuffles with your friends, surprising me when you tell me that a friend pushed you into the picnic table and when I ask why, you sheepishly admit that you pushed her because she was in your space and wouldn't stop playing with you, despite your request to play with someone else.

Some days, you enjoy playing by yourself for hours. Even at school or at birthday parties, I will catch you off to yourself playing. However, sometimes you don't want to be left alone even long enough for me to let the dog out or wash my hands. You love reading and you are pretty obsessed with writing letters. We certainly don't push writing at all and we know that all kids have their strengths. Writing is yours--we think your handwriting might have already surpassed your daddy's. It's been awhile since you mastered writing the alphabet (though, of course, you still write a fair number of your letters backward) and you quickly moved into writing "bubble" letters and then trying your hand at writing "fancy". This year, you insisted on addressing almost all of your birthday invitations. You even got up early on Saturday, took your class list into the living room, and got to work. I was blown away.

You continue to love asking questions and doing experiments. Sometimes you ask unsurprising questions we know the answer to (why is it raining?), questions about movies that are hard to describe (why does Gaston stab the beast? why is the beast mean?), and sometimes you ask things completely out of the blue (where does the Grinch live? why do astronauts keep their helmets on in space). Your memory is also so very fun to watch and experience. It is surprising and wonderful! We use it as a helpful tool sometimes but also suspect that it will sometimes lead to our frustration.

You're currently doing ballet and gymnastics (dance/tumbling combo). You seem a bit tired of ballet but are very excited for your recital next month.

Last but not least, by the time I write your next letter, you will have started kindergarten. I just don't even understand how this is happening. The days are long and the years are short. So so short. Slow down, baby. Help us to remember. We know we will never enjoy every moment but I sure hope we have lots of happy moments and recognize when they are happening.