Five

Leah is 5 years old! A whole hand. Like I mentioned last week, this age feels like a big milestone. She's officially leaving the baby/toddler years behind and becoming a big kid. In just a few months, she'll begin her Kindergarten curriculum. She'll start her first full year of dance, culminating in a recital next May. She just had her first birthday party with friends. This is such an exciting time in her life, one that fills us with pride and anticipation.

I read an article a couple months ago, which was part of a series entitled, "This is Childhood". In the five-year-old piece, the author writes, "After the slow, rickety, listen-to-every-click-of-the-wheels climb to the top of the rollercoaster that is the first four years of parenting, five lets you pause for just a moment at the apex. In the brief stillness, you suck your breath in as you look back on the journey that brought you there, anticipating the free fall and the loop-de-loops beneath you that will carry you toward adolescence and teenagerland and the great beyond. Five is both an end and a beginning."  This perfectly captures how I feel about 5. There were times, especially during the first year or two, where time seemed to crawl, where we eagerly waited for Leah to learn to talk, to walk, to sleep through the night, and so on and so on.

With each milestone, with each month and year in her development, we found something to love, to appreciate, to hold onto. Now, we look back and we look at the little girl she's become and it's pretty awesome. There were challenges, struggles, and tantrums to overcome. There are different challenges and struggles (and maybe tantrums?) that await us in the future. Still, this feels like a sweet spot of childhood. I don't feel sadness that we've closed the chapter on the first five years, that Leah is growing and changing. I am thrilled for her, for the experiences that await her, for the skills she'll soon learn, and to be able to observe it all.

At 5 years old, Leah is smart, curious, and creative. She loves to draw, to color, to paint, to use scissors and glue and puffballs and any type of craft supply you put in front of her. Leah adores animals. She seeks out every dog and cat she comes across, wanting to befriend them all. She enjoys watching the birds that come to our feeder and wants to learn and talk about wild animals. Leah appreciates nature and being outdoors. She plays on swings and slides, likes taking walks, collects varieties of flowers and leaves, and practices archery with her dad.

Leah is a dancer. She looks forward to her ballet classes and loves choosing a different tutu each week. She comes home and demonstrates the positions she's learned. She is attentive in class, looks up to older dancers and is a role model for younger ones.  Leah is finishing up Pre-Kindergarten. She knows her letters and numbers 1-10, she is learning letter sounds, and she is aware and curious about what things say: street signs, word bubbles, posters. She enjoys matching, figuring out which item doesn't belong to a group, and navigating mazes. She appears to be a visual, tactile learner.

Leah is silly, thoughtful, and energetic. Leah knows what she likes and what she wants. Leah can be shy and cautious at times, or independent and friendly at others. Leah has an active imagination, which she exercises daily. Leah is the best little girl I know. Certainly, I am biased, yes. Still, I look at her, 5 years old, and I cannot help but beam with pride. She impresses me and teaches me regularly. Her future is bright. To the moon and back, my lovebug. xoxo