Happy 5th birthday Nadia. You have really grown up this year! We celebrated your birthday with a trip to Smith Mountain Lake over the weekend. We rented a cabin next door to Grammy and Papa and you and Trixie had a blast walking back and forth between the cabins. You went kayaking with dad, made crafts with Grammy, and played outside. Today you requested to stay home from school with just mom– we had a relaxing day together! We baked a vanilla cake with strawberry frosting, and you asked for macaroni and cheese for dinner. Next weekend we will celebrate your birthday with some friends from preschool at the playground.
When I think about this past year, your interests in a lot of ways are similar to the last few years. You continue to love to read books, some of your favorites this year were the Mercy Watson books and some of the Roald Dahl chapter books. You learned to write your name and my guess is you will start to read before kindergarten.
Swimming was a surprise this year- up until this summer you really only enjoyed splashing near water not being in the water. With a lot of encouragement, you made great progress with swim lessons this year. It was fun seeing you swim with a kickboard on your own when we went to the beach in August. We are proud of your hard work at swim lessons! We know you will enjoy being able to swim at the break when we go to Puerto Rico in November!
One of your favorite places to go is Busch Gardens. You and dad went to Busch Gardens together several times this summer and you finally were brave enough to ride the Sesame Street roller coaster. We also got to go to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania with your cousins Eleanor and Laurel. It sure is fun watching you have fun!
You are definitely an introvert and still enjoy having time to play on your own at home. You love making intricate set ups for your dolls, the little critter dollhouse, and your collection of little people. You have a great imagination and sometimes recruit Trixie to help with your dolls. You also love building with the magnetic tiles- although it’s so frustrating when your sister comes along and smashes them.
You also love making art. You love going into the art box and pulling out markers, paper, glue, and scissors to make your creations. Dad is pretty good at drawing your favorite characters and you guys have a lot of fun sitting down together to draw. We always encouraged you to make your own creations on blank paper, but it’s been interesting to watch you start to color inside the lines on your school work. When we went to a family day at the local art museum you got to help color a mosaic tile as part of a group art project. I could tell the artist leading the exercise was nervous to give you a job, but then was impressed by your focus and careful coloring. I can’t wait to see all the things you make this year!
While we are late to the party, you finally expressed interest to watch a whole movie! So far we have watched Lady and the Tramp, Frozen, 101 Dalmatians, Cinderella, Encanto, Robin Hood and Mulan. We tried Moana but you thought it was too scary! Lady and the Tramp and Mulan seem to be your favorites.
Today when we were spending time together you looked at me and said, “I’m glad you’re my mom.” Nadia- we are so glad you are our daughter! We love you so much!