5 Years Old!

Jessica turned 5 on Monday, the 28th. We asked her if she wanted to go do something special as a family the weekend before her birthday. She said she just wanted to play games. Jessica LOVES playing games. That was the plan, until Daddy saw that Toy Story 3 would be showing at the Kadena theater on her birthday. She just had to go, so we had to celebrate her birthday over the course of two days to get it all in.

After church on Sunday, we had her newly found favorite dinner- lemon chicken. (This is a step up from last year's waffle dinner choice.) Then began the family board game time, followed by the family Wii time. Look how serious she is in this picture! She's so competitive, and she hasn't learned how to lose gracefully, yet. She loves to play Mario Party 8, and she's getting pretty good at it. Still, she demands that we give her a handicap everytime. When we play shorter games, she kills us with the handicap. Then she and Cassie played about 20 rounds of Uno. Mom joined in for a few more right before bedtime.

Monday morning, she opened presents before Dad went off to work. Cassie and Carston gave her a FurReal kitty and Mom and Dad gave her a new 'Just Like You', American Girl Doll. She chose to have a Japanese-looking doll this time, and she's named her Kaori.

Mommy made waffels for breakfast, and then Jessica spent the day playing dolls with Cassie. Mommy even joined in and worked on some of the more tangled doll hair.

When Daddy got home, we headed out early to get to the theater. It was the first showing of Toy Story 3 at this theater, and we didn't want to wait in a huge line or have a problem getting seats. We bought our tickets, then ran over to the BX for some dinner- Subway, Jessica's favorite!
We had a long wait at the theater, but we really liked the movie. Jessica really got into it, and was so worried that she began wailing loudly. She had to sit on Daddy's lap.

At home, a cat birthday cake was waiting. Jessica had just enough energy to blow out the candles, but decided she was too tired to enjoy a slice. She headed up to bed. Cassie and Carston enjoyed some for her.

I can't believe my little girl is five years old! She's registered for Kindergarten in the fall. Kindergarten is full-day here, and while I like the idea that I don't have to cut my day in half, I'm not sure what I'm going to do without my little Jessie with me all day. She is at times the most frustrating child ever, and yet also very loving. She can be a big helper when she wants to, but often she tells me she's "not a cleaner". She uses a lot of excuses to keep from doing what Mom and Dad have asked her to do, and she throws quite a few temper tantrums when things aren't going her way. But, she's been a very good sport with the move. She's usually willing to go, go, go with me, and she enjoys seeing new things. She's not so big on trying new foods, though. Jessica is the child most likely to come over and give me a hug, just because she loves me. She loves her sister, and wants to do everything with her. She's so excited to ride the bus with her in the fall. I know she's ready for school; I just hope school is ready for her!