Princess Abigail Turns 5

I know I'm the kind of blogger who does Christmas and Birthdays, but really, what else is there? ;) Oh that Brandon has opened his own firm? Yes, there is that. That we managed to participate in an epic 24th of July parade which involved figuring out how to get an inflatable pool full of water on a flatbed trailer from my house to the stake center without losing all of its contents? Well, yes, that was a true miracle. That Abby shot her first bow and arrow and it was a powder pink cross bow? That we went on vacation to Mt. Hood? That I entered a P90x challenge with my friend Max, one in which he is sure to lose and be forced to humiliate himself by doing Yoga in front of his close friends and family? That Brandon dressed up like a civil war solider in shorts for reasons that aren't exactly clear to me? Well, I guess I've missed a few tidbits in the last two months, but I'm going to get Abby's birthday! In no particular order (because I've yet to figure out how to use blogger's photos so that I get them in chronological order) I present to you Abigail at 5.

Hello Princesses! Welcome to my house. This is Abby's friend birthday party (minus one friend, Lexi, who came late). It was Princess themed. For posterity's sake, from left to right...Lacey Treese, (who is my new favorite kid! I loved when she told me that her vacation to Tillamook, Oregon "smelled like cow farts"), Abigail "The Birthday Girl" Leavitt, Natalie Hodge, Emma Chatwin, Madelyn Price, Madeline "The Salsa Dancer of Toddler-hood" Smith, Meghan Christensen, Abbie Thompson, Daisy Thompson and Hailey Larson. Phew! 11 Princesses a tired queen makes.

So you may wonder what Abby is like at 5...well, let me tell you

• She is convinced that she doesn't need to go to dance classes any more. She told me on Tuesday that she already knows all the dance moves there are and that real dancing "comes from the heart."
• She is easily the best behaved child in her classes. Her preschool teacher actually teared up thinking about losing her. Yep, she's that golden.
• She still cries every night when her dad gets her ready for bed.
• She sleeps with every stuffed animal she owns in bed with her.
• She is frequently timid but gloriously thrilled with herself in moments of bravery.
• She's a picky eater. As a baby she ate grapefruit and sauerkraut, I thought she would have eaten just about anything...I was wrong.
• She organizes all of her barbies in her doll house at least once a day.
• To her, the more accessories she has on, the better she looks.
• She screams bloody murder when there is a tangle in her hair.
• Her favorite colors are "rainbow," her favorite restaurant is Sweet Tomatoes, and she likes to sing Give Said the Little Stream every night before bed.
• She is an exceptional sharer.
• She embarrasses easily.
• She still laughs exactly like she did when she was a baby.

This is Abby one year ago. How you've grown! But how your sense of fashion has stayed exactly the same :)

We had a few parties...first, the party with cousins...

The aforementioned friends party...which I haven't recovered from yet. My kitchen island is covered in hot pink frosting (which has fantastic staining powers, what the HECK is in that stuff?) and my couch is absolutely covered in glitter from all the ball gowns that sat on it.

Pre-destruction. I don't think it will look like this again for at least a week.

My favorite party? The one in Washington State! Woot! I love the Northwest. It is my happy place. It was so weird this time. I went home and crazy fell in love with my little tiny town I'm from (well, tiny next to the cities I've been in for the last decade). Everything was beautiful, fragrant, and charming. I wished I could have spent the whole summer there and I think so does Abigail. Thank you family for a wonderful visit! (I'm serious about the whole summer thing...what do you think? My suitcase, your living room, next July?)

Happy, Happy Birthday, Abigail Dear. You have NO idea how many people love you, nor how well they love you, nor how lovable you are. They don't get better than you and I am one seriously lucky mom...

...but you've got to work on having cleaner friends.