Karissa is 5!

The look on Karissa's face here about sums up her excitement for her 5th birthday. Even having it 5 days after Christmas, which I would think would take some of the excitement out of it, she still counted down the days and was well aware of what comes up right after the biggest holiday of the year. Luckily for Karissa, Daddy will always have off work on her birthday and the kids will never have school, so we always get to spend the day together. This year, she wanted to play Glo Golf at the Zap Zone. She had a great time, even though she doesn't quite have the right hold on her golf club. Austin enjoyed it too, though he mostly moved the ball with his hand. They all liked the decor, which all glowed in the dark, though you can't tell in the picture.

Other than talking to family and opening presents and cards from them, all of which she enjoyed, the next big highlight of the day was watching Tangled as a family, which we got from Netflix just in time for her special day.

Karissa got this necklace from us that holds little "gems" in it. Each color represents a different virtue: patience, love, kindness, truth, and charity. She also got a zebra pillow pet from us. Zebras are her favorite animal. She also likes ponies and unicorns. She loves to pretend. In fact, it sometimes gets in the way with reality, but I'm glad she's got such a good imagination. Lately, her favorite thing to "play" is "The Lost Girl". She wanders in and pretends she was lost, then found in a river or some other dramatic location.

She still loves to sing and dance and play with little toys. A new found love has been a computer preschool website with games she enjoys playing. She has always enjoyed drawing, but lately she wants to make books and enjoys having me spell words for her pages, or writing them myself, then putting it together. I think she'll be ready for Kindergarten in the fall.

Happy Birthday Karissa! Stay tuned for her pony party in two weeks!

Oh, and Happy New Year!