Happy Birthday Marissa!!!

Marissa turned 5 last month!!! (And trust me- if you've been around her at all in the past month you'd know- she loves to tell everyone!)  Her birthday was pretty low key, we went to Chick-fil-A for dinner,

 then came home and opened presents after.

 Since ours are a day apart, we kind of celebrate together, at least the cake.

 I tried to convince her to pick something else besides chocolate because that's what everyone else had picked for their birthdays and it's not my favorite (for cake anyway), but she was set on it.  Boy it did not turn out pretty at all but it tasted pretty good!

 A few things about Marissa at 5 (and a couple more pictures of her)

-She is SO excited to go to kindergarten next year.  Every day she wants to "practice for kindergarten"- she writes her letters, reads her little books, practices tying shoes, etc.  In fact lately if I want her to do something I try twisting it into something she needs to practice for kindergarten, with mixed results;) ("Marissa, you need to go play with Sadie because in kindergarten you need to be able to play well with your friends!")
-She lives and breathes to play with Shane.  Often when he gets home he will want to relax or read one of his books, and she does NOT like that, and I hear "Shane, play with me!" all the time.  He is pretty good to her though, and they are so cute together and are so imaginative in their play.  She and Sadie do not always get along or play together as well, they are both a little bossy and that doesn't always jive!
-She is still a mess, but getting better at times.  She still has a big oral fixation and puts all kinds of stuff in her mouth, way more than Sadie.  She is kind of impulsive in that way.  The other day she told me that dandelion stems tasted like green beans ha ha.
-Still a very good eater, though like me she likes variety and can get sick of things quickly.  But she loves all kinds of fruits and vegetables, she would choose them over many other things.  She is a lunch kind of girl and it is not at all uncommon for her to eat something along the lines of 2 sandwiches, 2 bananas, whatever other fruit we have, a yogurt, crackers, string cheese...I'm not sure where she puts it except she is always moving so I guess she just burns it right off!
-Loves Aaron and is pretty good with him for the most part.
-Gets embarrassed very easily and covers her ears if I talk about something she did in front of someone else, even Josh- even if it is a good thing she did!  She also covers her ears when she is upset about something or nervous, like when she is up in front of primary.
-Is a sweet girl and really wants to please and tries her hardest at a lot of things.