Emily is 5

Yes, I know Emily turned 5 last month too but I had to get this entered before school started. Maybe I can get more done when both the girls are in school all day. Or maybe not. She sure is growing up and becoming such a little lady. She loves princess, Barbies, dresses, reading, looking beautiful, fancy nails, and hair. She is just like my Mom. She is very inquisitive and is always asking questions about everything. She had her Princess party with Stephanie this summer and had a hard time deciding what kind of Barbie cake to have. In the end she decided on a mermaid cake. She still has such an wild and creative imagination. I hope she doesn't lose that as I am looking forward to reading some wonderful creative writing stories as she grows up.

She is looking forward to K5 very much and loves the idea of staying all day. I think it will be hard on both of us starting out but hopefully we both get use to it. She loves her friends at school and did talk about them every once in awhile over the summer but this is when real friendships will begin. She has been swimming and getting more and more confident as the summer went on. We found out that she loves the pool water better than the lake water as she did no swimming in the lake on vacation this year. We are headed to the Dells and are trying to talk a lot about water slides to make them sound so exciting and hopefully she can give them a try. She is so like me as a child though and fearful, cautious, and scared that I need to give her a break sometimes. If she doesn't want to go I shouldn't push it too much.

She is such a wonderful sweet big and little sister to Matthew and Stephanie. In some ways she needs to be a big sister to Stephanie which is hard and I have to remember that she doesn't have anyone to show her how to be older and that she is only 5. She does such a great job of playing dolls with Stephanie and trucks with Matthew. And even princesses with Matthew and trucks with Stephanie. They make a great team together and I am blessed with such a sweet little girl. Mommy loves you very much. Every day, no matter what.

Stephanie is 7

So hard to believe. I can so remember being 7 and it being my favorite number and loving my cake that I can't believe I have a daughter who is 7. This past year has had it's ups and down but I think overall Stephanie has made great strides this year. The school year started out a little rough but she did well overall having lunch with the other kids and playing outside with half the school. First grade is going to be a huge transition and staying all day is going to be hard on both of us. She will also be taking the bus with Emily so that will be a huge transition but I plan on following the bus the first week or so. Hoping that works out for them. They are excited now but we'll see if it stays so exciting.

This year Stephanie really knew it was here birthday. She was into the preparation for it, the presents, cookie cake, and her fun activity. We went to a local zero depth pool in the morning, therapy in the afternoon, and her birthday pictures in the evening followed by her cookie cake. I think she has a great day and was happy it was her special day.

I am hoping and praying for a wonderful year for her as she is 7. She has come a long way in her understanding and resounding to questions, following directions better, more language and working more on her pronuciation as still a lot of her language is not adult formed yet. We are working on teaching her the letters in her name so she can know them and learn to write them. She is making progress, slow but still learning important skills but has a long way to go. I really want her to have a big year as this will be her last year receiving therapy in the home and I want to make sure she gets the most out of it as possible. Hard to think about the future of what we will do when therapy is done and we are on our own. She brings such joy to us every day and is a wonderful blessing in our life. We love you sweetie! Happy 7th Birthday!