Boxing Day Baby!

Baby no more, Sophie, you are five!

Such excitement you have felt in reaching this milestone. So much emotion as you make the transition from Kindergarten to School. You keep asking, ‘When do I start school?’ and we keep saying, ‘After the holidays!’.

You are such a little fire cracker, filled with endless energy, questions and observations. You are quite proud of the title ‘Little Miss Chatterbox’ that people bestow on you (you were an early talker and keen to express yourself x). Your confidence and self assurance is wonderful. When we’re out you always volunteer to order food, drinks, ask questions and seek assistance where needed.

Your physical strength and energy is incredible; as well as exhausting to experience. We find ourselves pacing our time with you, taking it in turns to have ‘one on one’ time. We need to recharge our energy levels before a play-date with you! If only we could bottle up whatever it is that makes you tick. You were walking on your first Birthday and riding a trike the very next day! You were riding a pedal bike, without stablisers, at the age of 3 and like to impress everyone with your amazing head-stands.

As you slept on the eve of your Birthday I watched over you and remembered crawling on hands and knees to the car at 11pm Christmas Day evening. You were born on Boxing Day morning and for the first two weeks you simply fed and slept (little did I know then that I’d be feeding you till you were four, but it was only once a day by then!). Barely a murmur or cry passed your lips. We thought you would be such a peaceful child, and I suppose you are in the sense that you seek justice in life and wish to be clear on what is right and wrong (and are quick to suggest to others what is the correct behaviour – as seen in your eyes!).

I remember writing a blog post when you were four month’s old and I was totally ‘in love’ with you, wishing you to stay so perfect forever. But, as I wrote in that post, every age is magic – but in different ways – and it is for us, as parents, to let the challenging and tougher sides of parenting not weigh down our spirits so that we can clearly see the magic and highlights of each age.

Thank you for bringing your energetic spirit to our lives and family. We are sometimes tested by your endless zest for life, though we admire it greatly. You wake with such enthusiasm for each new day (one of my favourite posts I wrote about you waking up one morning is ‘Eyes as fresh as a new dawn‘).

Your smile and laugh is so contagious and your eyes so full of deep emotion. Such dark brown warmth resonates from your eyes, in contrast to your fair hair that shines in the sun like golden flax. You do not linger long on emotions, but live in the moment. You are not one to hold a grudge or let a dark cloud hang over you for long. Tears are quickly wiped away with a fresh smile and new laughter.

We had a fun time celebrating your Birthday. You woke up at the crack of dawn, but waited till everyone else was awake before opening your presents. You had jam on toast for breakfast with a beautiful sweet pea flower for our little princess (and how you loved your ‘Princess and the Pea Board Game!’).

We went out for ten-pin bowling and lunch at One Red Dog Pizza.

You did so well at bowling! Alice enjoyed watching too. Here’s a little video of the Birthday lunch and bowling…

We made a chocolate cake late on in the day, just in time to have a slice before bed (and decorate the remains of the cake the following day!).

You were so grateful for the gifts family overseas kindly sent and friends close to home thoughtfully gave.

And the Toy Story 3 Lego that you received from Uncle Chris and family, as a joint Christmas & Birthday present, is keeping you very quiet and amused for hours and hours. Your concentration and skills in following the instructions and constructing the buildings are amazing!

We have an exciting year ahead as you start school! We wish you all the very best and all the happiness in the world. Here’s some video footage of your Birthday morning for you to remember always! You were certainly VERY excited to be turning 5! We love you x