Emily Turns 5 Today

Wow, time flies. Our baby is 5. I am speechless.

Darby and the Red Shoes

...what Emily calls "The Wizard of Oz."

Emily 14 Days Before Her 5th B-day

Maddy, You're Turning Into a Drama Queen

Oh my.

Maddy has figured out that when she cries mommy and papa come running and "big sisi" or "Em" gets in trouble.

We knew this was coming.

Now Maddy cries to try to get Emily into trouble. It's not working. She expects it to work. It's not.

So now Maddy is developing a flare for the dramatic - Emily barely touched me and now I am mortally wounded. Emily to her credit is always quick to apologize when there is a "real" accident.

Maddy's acting career also extends to spankings. Take for example tonight when I am changing her diaper. We always play games with each other, often tickling. Tonight we were playing and I ever so lightly tapped her leg. She instantly began to try to cry. I mean full blown, as if I had really spanked her! I looked at her and said, "Hey, that wasn't a spanking" and she instantly stopped crying.

She's a clever one this Maddy. Can't wait to see her as a teen. :)

A New Name for Papa

As I mentioned before, Emily has been very affectionate of late. She has taken to calling me "Papi" and does so in very loving voice.

Sometimes she puckers her lips and says, "I Luv my Papi." It's kind of like the way some people talk to their dogs using baby talk - "Dats a goood gurl!" - Yep it sounds just like that.

Then there are times she just calls me Pop. It sounds odd, but she does it with a smile so I'll take it.

I was just recalling with a friend tonight how when Emily was Maddy's age she would scream at the top of her lounges, "NO PAPA!" when I would try to do something with her esp. at night. It's hard to picture now but she would stand in a panicked state with her left arm extended to keep me away and scream and scream. I hate to admit this but sometimes Sondra and I would break out laughing because it was soooo dramatic.

At the time, my friend didn't believe me when I told her about the tantrums so I would call her mid-screaming and let her hear it. It was a real eye-opener because at the time Emily was always the perfect shy angel around company.

Emily's 1st Pinewood Derby

AWANA holds the Pinewood Derby every year. It's the same event that I entered when I was a cub scout. I thought it would be fun to make a car with Emily. Here is what we came up with.

Emily is Turning 5

Terrible 2's - not really. It was more like the 3's from hell. With 4 came a slight but continuous mellowing. Enough to make Sondra and I beam with pride every time we see the manners et. al. that we have fought so hard to instill in her.

Now 5 is almost here and it is such a turning point. I guess we all have key ages in our lives:

16: driver's licence
18: adult
21: um, well you know
30: Oh, crap, I'm old
etc..

But my 20/20 hindsight, tells me that age 5 may be the biggest of them all. For Emily is changing from a toddler/little kid into a young lady (or something akin to that). The maturity is feels overnight to me though that's probably the trauma of age 3 lingering.

Emily is by and large a very nice girl. She has her moments, but don't we all. Emily is good about sharing with Maddy. She asks instead of demanding. Her protests are even less weepy and/or dramatic. For example, she came in to wake mommy this morning. Mommy had been up during the night with Maddy and needed to keep sleeping. When asked to go play quietly, Emily did without hesitation. In the past, she would have stomped her feet and began yelling that it wasn't fair.

Emily did come back into the bedroom BUT she did so qietly and only to ask if someone could reach a puzzle for her. The cool thing here is that she had already attempted to get it herself. In the past she would just play helpless and not even make an effort. Way to go Em!

Guess What?

The question lives on (about 4 years and going strong). I still ask my daughters this about 5 times a day...

"(Emily or Maddy)Guess what?"
"PAPA LOVES YOU."

Maddy says the "Papa loves you line before I can." :)

Yesterday Maddy and I were in the backyard eating lunch together when she looked towards the back fence and said..

"Trees, guess what?"
"Papa loves you." :)

edit: 2 days later Maddy said to Sondra over and over, "Mommy, guess what?" - "Papa love you!"

Indeed.