{ Lewis is 5 }

Today was a special day at our house. Sophie lynn (Lewis) Hammer turned 5 years old today! She has been planning for and talking about his day since January. She made calendars and kept them on her closet door so she would know how much longer until her 5th birthday. At first I thought it was because she wanted a special day all about her. I came to realize that although that is a huge plus, she is mostly excited to turn 5!

Last night as she was going to bed she said, "So Mom, in the morning when I wake up I'll be 5 right?" And I was woken up this morning to the sound of her running through the house shouting "I'm 5! I'm 5! Hey everybody wake up! I'm 5!"

I always like to go through baby pictures on their birthdays and see how much they've changed. Sophie looks very different then how she started out!

I thought she would have dark hair and eyes when she was born. But her hair got light and her eyes were blue (until she was about 2 when they started going green).

This is at her 2nd birthday. Man she is so beautiful.

And again at her 3rd birthday.

Well, this morning started out like all birthdays do . . . by waking up to a house decorated for a special day!

Sophie was dying to open her presents so we let her dive right in. She made me a list of the gifts she would like to receive and when I was at the store she called to asked me where I was on the list. She knew exactly what she wanted. I said I wanted her presents to be a surprise and she said, "just tell me what store you're at". When I told her Wal-mart, she said, "well, I guess you'll have to stop at Target when you are done there because the sunglasses on my list are at Target!" What a goose!

After opening her gifts, she requested pancakes for breakfast. I don't think she even ate one bite because she was so excited to get out her new stuff and play.

Sophie LOVES to color and draw. I am always impressed at how quickly their pictures turn from a scribbled mess, to an actual discernible picture. Sophie loves to draw people. And not just stick figures, the people she draws are always performing some kind of action (swimming, dancing, even having a baby). She is also doing incredibly well with reading and writing. Ayden was ahead of his class when starting kindergarden and I believe she can even read a little better than he could a year ago. She writes in sentences now and does very well with sounding out words and spelling. I'm so proud of the good student she is.

For her birthday, Sophie asked to have a Zoo party with her cousins and her best friend Ashlee. So that's just what we did! And it was a crazy day! But the birthday girl loved it and that's all that matters.

{Some of the guests}

{Waiting for the Velociraptor to spray water out of his mouth}

{ Visiting the Elephants}

We found a little patio and took it over to host our Birthday Celebration! Sophie was very excited for MORE PRESENTS!!

{ the cupcakes }

{ a very pooped mama }

{ baby loving on a popsicle }

It was a successful birthday celebration for a wonderful princess Lou!

I love this girl more than words can express. She is such a fun part of our family. She makes us laugh. She make Myla cry. But there really is something special about her. She has a challenging personality at times. But she has a good heart. She has a beautiful smile. I'm thankful to be her mom. I'm grateful to have a special day for her and make her feel special. I'm proud of the person she is becoming.

Happy Birthday Soph!