HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, JOURNEY!!!

Journey at 1. . .

and 2. . .

and 3. . .

and 4. . .


now 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Journey had a great 5th birthday-although she is now focused on being 7-her favorite number! We had our usual big family dinner the Sunday before her birthday. We went to St. Louis the weekend after and went to a Build-A-Bear workshop where Journey got to build her first (and probably only) bunny which she outfitted in a Halloween outfit and named "Candy Corn Bunny". We then went to the St. Louis City Museum, which is unlike any museum I've been too. Hard to describe-basically designed by an artist, in an old shoe factory, and full of "recycled" and "reclaimed" items, and pretty darn cool!

Journey had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast approximately 360 of the 365 days that she was four years old. I think she just got tired of them right before turning 5-oh she'll still eat them, but she doesn't ask for them EVERY morning now. Journey's vocabulary is expanding at an exponential rate. In the last week, I've heard her use "revolting" and "refrain" (as in to keep from doing something), as well as telling me a "replay" of what happened. Journey loves to have books read to her before bed and we try to get to the library every couple weeks to get new books!!

Journey is wonderfully silly and is a girly girl at times (she almost always wants to wear a skirt or dress to school), but then also not (she'll be hanging from monkey bars or tackling a cousin in same said skirt or dress). She had a friend and her sister over from school after Halloween. This was the first time the girls had been to our house and they went to Journey's room to play dress up with lots of dresses to choose from-Journey came out and asked me if we had clothes for her to dress up as FRANKENSTEIN!!! I must have seemed a bit leery, because then she assured me she would be nice! :)

Journey still has a wonderful imagination and wants to play pretend ALL THE TIME. Journey likes to have her picture taken and loves to pose for the camera. She also likes to try being the photographer too.

Journey is fast and loves to jump and climb. She loves to draw and write and is good at them both. Journey has grown a lot this year-two more inches since last April. It became very noticeable to me that Journey doesn't fit cuddly in my lap anymore-she is lanky and bony-not a little toddler anymore-sniffle.

We're very proud of Journey and love her to pieces!!!!!!!!!!!