June enjoyed celebrating her 5th birthday with the family and a few friends! Because Tom will not be home on her birthday, we decided to celebrate a little early. June had chosen Dora as her theme, with a Dora cake, balloons, etc. She LOOOOVED hearing everyone sing "Happy Birthday". The only part of the day that wasn't a hit for June was the slip and slide. Since she has an absolute terror of walking barefoot in the grass, we had to ban her from using the slide with shoes on. Only recently has she been okay to walk in the grass with shoes, so I hope we are getting closer to this not being an issue. Christmas turned her into a present-opening pro, so she made quick work of tearing open the gifts, discarding the clothes, and checking out the toys. The lollipop garden made by Goo Goo was also a big hit! I can't believe how sad we were last year to miss her birthday while she was still in China : ( It was fantastic to celebrate her first birthday at home with her family, seeing how each piece of the planning made her so happy - from choosing her Chinese food for the party, to passing out the Dora goodie bags.
As we were filling 200 water balloons in preparation for the party, we told the girls that they would be getting a new sibling in January. The older girls were in disbelief and quite excited! (Tom was in disbelief as well, and the excitement took longer for him). June is happy to think about being a big sister and hopes that the baby won't be too big for her to hold. The thought is to move Quinn and June into a room together...stay tuned for details on the escalation of their bickering.
Tomorrow will be June's last day of preschool, and I think the loss of routine will be difficult for her...I will have to work on that over the summer. We will also need to worry about giving up naps toward the end of summer as we look ahead to full day kindergarten next year. Can't believe it has been almost 10 months since this girl came home to the family!!!
