Annalise's Birthday

Against our wishes, Annalise turned 5 today.

(Hey Meredith, do you recognize the pitcher?)

In honor of her birthday she wore 4 different dresses.

Despite the wipe board, today was not Wednesday!

Birthday BLT and BBQ Chips

Stencils - a present from a friend.  Rain boots - a present from Mommy and Daddy, something she has "always wanted".

Serenaded by our neighbor/friend.  Now both C & A want to play the violin.

Overview of the Cake - Annalise told me a month ago she wanted a cake shaped like a 5.  Since she is prone to changing her mind, I decided not to ask her twice!  She loved it :)  It was just one 13x9 sheet cake, but making it into a 5 made it look much bigger.  And since the sides were not as high as the middle I had to use a horrendous amount of icing to even out the top!

Annalise is a funny kid - she has very un-kid-like cravings.  Tonight she ate a huge bowl of salad, her favorite dressing is Asian Sesame Ginger.  She squeals with joy when I buy prunes.  For her breakfast, she prefers to have a fried egg.  She is also a smart kid.  She has taught her self about half of the phonics handbook already.  She begs for worksheets, loves to compete with Caleb over who can get the most math fact cards right, and memorized all the Sparks Awana verses even though she's still in Cubbies.  And she is a sweet kid.  She tells me, "Let's have a girls day out" which she means she just wants to stay home and talk or play a game.  Sometimes she is so overcome with love, all she can do is hug one of us and say, "I love you."  And while so much of her is a mystery, I understand that part of her completely.