Sophia's 5th Birthday

Sophia has been telling me probably since her 4th birthday that she would be 5 soon.  No joke.  So it's not exactly as if this birthday sneaked up on me.  I think there might have been a 364 day countdown.  This does not, in any way, shape, or form, mean that I was in anyway at all prepared for this birthday.  Emotionally, that is.  I don't think I can count for you the number of times I was teary eyed just thinking about it.  5 is so old!  I'm just not ready to have a 5 year old.  5 moves Sophia out of the preschool category and into the elementary age group.  I'm so not ready for that.  I'm not old enough.  And I'm not ready to let go and admit that my first born is that big.  Already.

It takes me back to when my littlest brother was just a kid and every year on his birthday I would tell him that he wasn't allowed to have any more birthdays.  I remember telling him that every year for as long as I could remember.  He never did listen to me, though.  Now he's married and turns 25 next week.  This year, I managed to refrain from being the bossy older sister trying to prevent him from growing up.

Instead, I rechanneled my efforts and told Sophia that she is absolutely, positively not allowed to have one more birthday.  5 is it.  I'm done celebrating her birthdays.  Forever.

That being the case, I took a few pictures to memorialize this last birthday celebration.  Sadly, they aren't nearly the caliber I would hope for for a last birthday tribute.  (But the disclaimer is that one of our really good friends has been at everyone of Sophia's birthday parties and she usually plays photographer so that I can focus on the party, and she was absentee this time around.  I always knew I appreciated her talents, but now I know even more so how much.)

Sophia's 5th birthday was all about horses.  She has now proclaimed that she wants to be a "back horse rider" when she grows up.  Every year we struggle to find a gender neutral theme.  (Let's be real; we all know she'd LOVE a princess tea party.  But she always wants to invite just as many boys as girls, and somehow I think they would be less thrilled than Noah about fancy dresses, lacy gloves and very fragile teacups.)  So this year, when she suggested the horse theme, we ran with it!  We started off the party with everyone creating their own stick horse.  It was a pretty intensive, hands-on activity for the parents in attendance, but fun none the less.  Too bad I missed photographs of any of the Kentucky Derby races that ensued in our front yard to end the party.

Needle in the Haystack Game.

Never mind that they were actually pennies and plastic horses instead of needles.  And straw instead of hay.  And that Tim and I failed to communicate that for the sake of the small people involved, the game should not be as difficult as it's metaphorical namesake and hence used the entire bale of straw.

There's my cowgirl digging for treasures in the straw.

And my cowboy.

Horseshoe Toss.  Never mind that they were actually plastic rings rather than real horseshoes.  Those that came expecting the aforementioned princess tea party were not as excited about Straw and Horseshoes.

Horsie cupcakes.

This was her actual birthday.  Ensemble courtesy of Oma (minus the sunglasses, which were actually a birthday gift from Phoebe).  All to ensure that she has something to go with the cowgirl boots.

Oh, and what about the dinosaur pin she's sporting, you might ask?  That was actually for Noah's birthday, left for him specially by the birthday fairy.  Grandma actually sent one to Sophia for her birthday last year.  But it was pink.  And had sparkles.  Sophia didn't care for it.  It's been in our playroom ever since.  The morning of her 5th birthday, first thing in the morning, I can't get her to come up for breakfast.  She's wandering the playroom.  Looking for the long-forgotten (by me, anyway) birthday pin from last year.  Obviously, no luck.  So we substituted Noah's.  I'm pretty sure she wore it to church that day.

Doing what she loves best.  She's a self-proclaimed "little fishy in that water."  Every year since she was two, we have ventured to our smaller, local water park Pirate's Cove for her birthday.  We briefly tried suggesting somewhere else this year, just to change things up, but she was sold, and I guess if you have a good thing going, there's no need for change.

And, lastly, just because I can't resist sharing this photo, here's a glimpse of what she loves to do these days.  All day long, "Mama, can I hold Phoebe?"  Phoebe, on the other hand, isn't always quite as excited about this form of sisterly bonding.  Is there really any wonder why?  :)  After all, who really needs two Mamas?

And there you have it.  The chronicling of Sophia's last birthday.  Ever.