Eliana turns 5

Almost two months ago now, Eliana turned 5 years old!  What an exciting birthday - a whole handful.  For her birthday, we celebrated by having her best friend Adele and her family over for dinner and cake.  Eliana is not much of a fan of surprises, so she actually helped make the cake with me.

Blowing out her candles

Eating the icing off of the cake

For her birthday, Eliana really wanted a snuggie tale.  For those not in the know, this is a sleeping bag style blanket that looks like the tail of an animal (fish, shark, dolphin, etc).  Eliana is the queen of memorizing commercials and anything she sees on TV she wants.  She was so excited to open her gift and find a mermaid tail snuggie tail.  She said it is perfect for just about anything you want to do - sleep in, watch TV, watch a movie, have a slumber party... Pretty much everything!  I was cracking up when she was telling me this because she was totally a perfect advertisement for this blanket.  I love my sweet little girl!

She of course slept it in that night and has ever since!

So excited.

My little mermaid

She spent the next day kinda hopping/walking around in her tail.  She wore it on the couch while we read books or watched TV.  She wore it to sit at the table.  She wanted to wear it in the car, but found out it was not compatible with a 5 point harness on a carseat, which made her cry a little (side note - she has now officially graduated to a booster seat full time, which she is also excited about - but she has lost interest in wearing her snuggie tail in the car).  She even brought the tail with her to COSI, the children's science museum in town, to wear when we saw a movie in the planetarium!

It's perfect for watching movies!

I should contact the company and tell them about their biggest fan.  Eliana would make the perfect spokesperson for their commercials.  This has to be one of her top favorite things right now.

Eliana also received some money for her birthday.  This is the first time she has really gotten birthday money that was hers to spend (and not meant for a college fund) that she really understood the point of.  Shortly after her birthday, we went to Once Upon A Child to pick up some shoes.  She and William of course found some toys that they wanted, which always happens when we go to Once Upon A Child.  At first I told the kids no to the toys because we were shopping for shops.  However, Eliana asked if she could spend her birthday money and buy the toys herself.  I thought that was a great idea!  She picked out a pony, a little stroller, and a craft book with paper and supplies like glitter.  She even had a little bit of money left over that she used to buy William the large T-Rex dinosaur that he had found.  How sweet!  She spent her own birthday money on buying a gift for her brother.  We often talk about sharing what we have with those in need, and she mentioned that when she got the toy for him.  I was so proud of her!

At her 5 year appointment, Eliana was 45in tall (90th percentile) and weighed 45lbs (82nd percentile).  She passed her hearing and vision screens.  All in all, she is a pretty normal girl.