Our sweet ‘Lilly bear bean butterfly inchworm’ turned 5! At 5 years old she is quite the explorer and outdoor enthusiast. She loves to ride her bike, swim, carry tools around on hikes and bug hunts, complete science experiments, and bake in the kitchen. She is making close friendships and learning what it means to be a friend. Lilly generally wakes early, around 6:15 or 6:30, and crawls in bed with us for a bit. At bed time (and after ‘family bed time’) she is content in her room by herself for up to an hour flipping through books and stories. She is often influenced to play mermaids or princess dressup by her sister, but otherwise has zero interest in this. Lately she is less interested in art and more interested in nature and science. If I were to guess at a career path for her at this point, I think she’d make an excellent architecht, but we’ll let her figure that one out on her own. 🙂

We celebrated with a birthday hike and bug hunt at Chautauqua, lunch at Noodles & Co, cake baking and decorating, and dinner and presents when Bill returned home from work. Her most prized gifts were a very special Wizard of Oz book from Todd, Jess, and Nora, and a new purple Specialized bike from Nana & Boppa and Grandma & Grandpa! Thanks to all who made this such a special day.

For the complete set of photos, click here.