Annabelle at 5

As a mother of small children I often have to use my imagination to get through the day. Sometimes my imagination comes in handy when trying to resolve an issue while avoiding a meltdown. Other times I use my imagination to create games or in other active play with my children. And sometimes, like for this post, I use my imagination to simply imagine that circumstances are different than what they truly are, for my own benefit.

So for the moment, I am pretending that it is November 1st and updating my blog with activities from the end of October is the appropriate activity this morning. So yes, this is for my own record keeping!

I have already posted about Annabelle's 5th birthday celebrations. But I wanted to record a little bit about Annabelle at this age.

At 5 Annabelle has learned to rhyme. Often times if you ask her to make a rhyme she won't simply answer "dog" with "fog" - She'll say "Dog, fog, gog, whoop-alley nog". Perhaps the influence of Dr. Suess? I'm not sure, but it is pretty amusing.

At 5 Annabelle is starting to learn how to read. At school she memorizes sight words and is learning to sound out other 3 and 4 letter words. Often while driving around she recognizes logos and shouts out that she can read that that sign or truck says "Sears" or "Macy's".

At 5 Annabelle has developed a more nurturing role with her peers. She has always been ready to boss them around but now she seems to want to help them and care for hurt feelings and fingers. Her teacher told me that after accidentally stepping on another child's fingers, that Annabelle burst into tears herself because she felt so bad about it.

At 5 Annabelle is still chatty. When comfortable with other adults she will talk and talk and talk. Her voice is still a little louder than most, but she has informed that she just has a loud voice and that she is not yelling. She is still helpful with Asa, when we are running late she will even dress him while I get ready myself. She is still snugly, but only at bedtime or when watching a show. She is still girly and loves accessorizing and wearing skirts and dresses.

At 5 this girl still has our hearts.