Five.Four Years

 5.4 Years

Dear JoJo,

My favorite memory of you this year is when we get to watercolor paint together. I love having all this special time with just you while the kids are at school. 

I am so proud of you for all the hard work that you have put into your reading lessons. THere were some days that it has been tiring to do, but you have pushed through it. When the lessons got hard, you never gave up. You would just repeat the lesson until you got good at it.

A favorite part of your personality is how much you love other people. You make dad and I feel so special with all your cuddles. Grandma loves how you run up to her each time with a hug. Even the older sisters at church (like Romana) appreciate it when you say hi and wave to them. 

Your greatest gift is being so positive. You are so positive when doing your chores. You are so positive when plans have to change. You are so positive when playing with your friends. You bring so much light and peace because you can stay happy and cheerful during the day.

If you could see yourself through my eyes, you would know how much you are adored. Being the youngest in the family, all your siblings love you so much and adore you. They go out of their way to share love with you. Both your grandparents just adore you. And Dad and I absolutely love and adore you.

Without you our family would be very quiet, too quiet. You are good at connecting with people. It is easy to fall into our to-do list or audio books. But you love getting people to be more involved with playing a board game or helping with their tasks. 

I like you because you are my buddy. I don’t have that much more time with you, but you have been with me on all my errands and meetings. You make doing the mommy stuff more fun because I have you with me, choosing fun and  loud music to go with it. I hope you stay my buddy always. 

I love you because you are my daughter and the sunshine in our life. I love you more than words can describe. You are the perfect finish to our family. We all needed you for a reason. 

I love you so much,

Mom

Five.Three Years

 5.3 Years

Five.Two Years

 5.2 Years

• Thanksgiving was a hit. In preschool, you had a little feast. You brought in apple sauce cups to share with your friends. During the break, we got to go to Gervais Elementary and play dodgeball with a huge group of friends. Surpise! The Strassers were there. Their cousins know Dusty and were invited. You liked seeing Vella. We ate dinner at Auntie Annie's house. When we walked into her house, she had bowls of peanut butter m&m. They did not last long. You loved this idea that you could eat candy without asking mom. The next day, we braved the cold and cut down a Christmas tree. I told you kids to get your coats on, but none of you listened. So when we arrived at the tree farm and it is 35 degrees outside, I turned around to find you and Millie in just a long sleeve shirt. Thankfully, you had leave a small jacket in the van and Millie used the gloves that I brought for myself. It worked out. We found a tree quickly and headed back to the barn to stand by the fire and watch creepy old animated Christmas movies. The Strassers were able to stop by that night to see our house and play. 
• Random-we went to take Mowgli for a walk and it was so cold that all the spider webs were frozen. It was cool to see all the designs in the bushes and on the mailboxes and fire hydrant. 
• We have been trying to get together with Grandma each week. On weeks that she goes to her doc appointment in Stayton, she stops by here for lunch. We met her at the Gilbert house the other day and played in all the rooms with her. We have stopped by her house for lunch and walked around the park. You love those days and are sad the weeks we have to miss it. 
• Christmas festivities are under way. Fun things that we did this month was visit the Keizer lights, decorated gingerbread houses, visited with Santa at the Ward Christmas brunch, and had Red Ribbon dinner where you got the reusable water balloons to play with in the bath tub.
• You were able to preform in the Nutcracker for dance. This has been something that you have wanted to do for a while. Your class was assigned a doll dancer and an angel. The costume was so beautiful. For the doll dance, they actually forgot to send your class out during the party scene so they had you come on afterwards to do the dance. The angels were so cute. You even had a halo on. Grandma and Papa along with Auntie Annie, joe and Elaine came and watched you the first night. The Leder girls came the next day to watch you.