Caroline at 5 years old

This is my long overdue post about Caroline and who she is at age 5. It is mainly for us to look back on and remember all the things that make her who she is.

Caroline at 5 years old is 3 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 34 pounds. She wears 5T shirts and 5T pants that she just got tall enough for this past fall. She likes to wear a mix of dresses and pants/shirts for school.

Eating her birthday breakfast crepe in bed

Caroline started kindergarten this past fall at our new school. She is doing great and working very hard to always be a good listener. Her teacher told us that while she was very quiet the first month she is now starting to share more and has opened up during class time. Caroline knows all of her first 25 sight words, all of her upper and lower case letters but apparently is still struggling with counting. Her teacher told us she could only count to 12 by herself and with no prompting (in October). We have been working with her very hard so that she can feel more confidant in the "tricky teens."

Caroline took swim lessons twice a week in the summer and loved every minute of it. She has always been our water baby. She moved to Sparks in AWANA and enjoys that as well. She keeps asking me to do dance so we may try to sign her up for that next to see if she would be interested in that as well.

Caroline is stubborn, feisty and can be dramatic at times. We were working on a phonics book the other day and after we finished reading it she said, "I will NEVER do that again!" She recently got her flu shot and despite bribery of getting ice cream after she still screamed at the top of her lungs and kicked the nurse. *She did not get ice cream afterwards.*

She still loves to play with her Calico Critters or any little figurine. Her newest game that she enjoys is taking all of her stuffed animals and putting bows in their hair. *she won't wear them in her hair so its good that they are getting used* There are many times that she likes to play by herself but she will also play with her siblings as well.

Caroline loves art time. She usually has paper and markers in her hand and is very good at drawing. In August we went to Chicago for a couple of days with Aunt Adriane and spent the morning at the Art Institute. They have a great kid area and she loved doing all of the crafts that they had set up there.

Caroline will watch TV if it's on but likes to play with her toys more. She likes to watch Barbie, Spirit, Tru and Frozen.

Caroline is a good big sister to Lucy. She will include her in play most of the time but she is beginning to be a bit more territorial with her things. She is trying to figure out how to be a good little sister to Liam. She doesn't have to do much to get on his nerves. Sometimes that is on purpose and she uses it to her advantage to annoy him and get him into trouble. Other times she is trying very hard to get him to laugh at her and its a bit of hit and miss. She is beginning to be really goofy to try to get people to laugh at her. She is extremely imaginative with her play which is lots of fun to hear.

She is a good sleeper going to bed between 8-8:45 and waking up on school days by 6:45ish. She is our slow riser and it takes a lot for her to get of bed in the morning. Sometimes she sleeps in on the weekend until 7:30.

Caroline is a good eater most of the time. She enjoys trying new things such as Brussel sprouts. Her favorite meal is cheese tortellini with sauce and also Spaghetti with Pesto meatballs.

She still thinks that she wants a cat as a pet. Now with Butters gone she is always asking when can we get another dog to replace her.

We love any time we get to spend one on one time with Caroline. It's been so fun to watch her personality develop into a kind, loving, creative little girl.