Turning 5

 Hi Sidra,
You've just turned 5 years old!  Wow.  You just had an amazing birthday party that was arranged by your mom.  I've posted a lot of pictures this time because it was such a big day.  By the way, blog readers, you can get a better look at the pictures by clicking on them.

Let's do some stats first.  You are now 42½ inches tall so you'll be able to go on some rides that you were too short for last year, like at the state fair.  And you're up to a little over 40 pounds.  You've grown about an inch and a half in the last 6 months. 

Now, about this big party.  It was a Princess Party.  Two women came dressed as Belle and Cinderella.  They brought some dresses for you and your guests.  You eventually wore at least 5 dresses before finally settling on the pink one.  I thought that you looked best in the white one with gold sleeves but I recall that you asked me about any of them.  Some of your guests tried other dresses but most stuck with the one that they picked first.  Your sister stuck with the purple one that they gave her based on her response to the favorite color question. 

My favorite part of the party was when your guests arrived you went to greet them and invite them over to try on one or more of the dresses.  You were very good at greeting them and making them feel welcome.  They all got to meet Belle and Cinderella and join the charade. 

After all the guests arrived Belle directed some fun activities.  First, some magic was performed so that you and the guests could become real princesses and princes.  You sprinkled magic dust on each of your guests and then a chant was recited to complete their transformation.  You got to sprinkle the dust on your little sister which was a cute moment.  Then all the guests sprinkled the dust on you and you got the special wand as the guest of honor at the party.  Other activities before the 'tea party' were storytelling, musical pillows, and limbo dancing. 

The tea party was next.  You sat at the head of the table while Belle and Cinderella served you.  They brought popular kid foods- cheese and crackers, peanut butter sandwiches cut into the shape of  a crown.  In the tea cups was either lemonade or water.  Dessert was a nice cookie. 

Then Belle sat with you on the stage while you opened your gifts.  Cinderella kept track of which gift came from which guest.  You were quite gracious about the gifts and did well thanking each of your friends for their gifts.  We only had to remind you once to do that.  Best of all, you read most of the cards yourself! All the adults were quite impressed with you.   Belle only helped you when you needed it and there was only one card that you didn't try to read yourself. 

There was also a "graduation" ceremony where each prince and princess was introduced and given a certificate.  I can't remember if that occurred before or after the tea party.


Belle asked everyone to take off their dresses before having birthday cake.  She said she could deal with most stains but cakes were tough to get out.  The guests sang happy birthday to you and you blew out the candles.  No one asked you what you wished for. 

I know you had a great time at this party and your mom raved about it being one of the best days ever.  She believes that because she was the one who made this happen and she saw what a good time you had.  I confess that I still prefer the "Paper Bag Princess" to any Disney Princess and the subterfuge required to make you believe the Princesses were real made me uncomfortable.  I got in trouble with your mom a few days before the party because I said something that could have revealed the truth to you if you were listening carefully.  I hadn't realized that she was telling you it would actually be Belle attending the party.  Another parent at the party told me I should lighten up and not worry about it because it's only for fun and your obsession about princesses is only a phase.  I suppose, but if you ask me a direct question I'm going to tell you the truth. 

Some other fun stuff happened yesterday.  You had two Skype calls from your uncles.  One even came from Israel.  In that one you turned the tables on your Aunt Jane.  She said "Sidra, do you want to know something funny, it's almost 8 o'clock at night here in Israel."  You said, "Ok, you can tell me the joke now."  We all had a good laugh about that.  Your Grandma and Grandpa came to our house for the day and to see your party.  I'm not sure if they had a good time at the party but they enjoyed spending time with you throughout the day. 

One of the pictures in the post is not a party shot.  It's your drawing of our family.  I asked you to draw it because I posted one about a year ago and I wanted to see what would be different in the new one, how your drawings have progressed.  I'll probably ask you to do it again next year. 

There's one more thing I want to tell you about.  Some Facebook users may have seen this already but I wanted to mention it here, too.  A couple of weeks ago you said to me, "I would never unlove you daddy."  It's certainly an endearing phrase and I'm sure you believe that and I want to believe it, too.  But I know that there are some challenging years ahead for both of us.  I know that kids commonly seek distance from their parents during the teen years and that's it's probably truer for fathers of girls than for the moms.  So, I guess I'm saying that I'm making a record of it in case I need it in a future argument.  Additionally, it's interesting the way that you phrased it, acknowledging that it's possible to stop loving.  It seems emotionally precocious.

So, you're 5.  It's seems to get better by the minute.  I'll keep you posted, 
Love, Aba

Certificate

Sidra's Family Drawing

Gift Opening with Belle

True Belle of the Ball

New Robe from Uncle Ben

Dress Up from Brookline Cousins

Skype Call from Israel

Curtsey

Shira Caught with a hat

Princess  Shira

Princess Esa

Prince JoJo

Princess Rachel

Prince Logan

Princess Megan

Awaiting Tea

Table decorations

Head of the Table

Queen and her Court

Gift Opening with Belle

Beautiful Princess

Esa gets some fairy sparkle

Little Sis

Checking with Mom

Belle's instructions

Turning Sis into a Princess

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Hi Sidra,

Posing with Glenda

Funny Face

Smiling at home

Before the Curtain

With Dorothy

I just wanted to tell you about our date last night.  Your mom suggested that we go to a production of the Wizard of OZ.  You decided you should wear your "Dorothy" dress that was your Halloween costume from 2010.  We decked you out with a basket to carry "Toto" and some red sparkly shoes.  To complete the get up your mom did your hair in pig tails.

You were a big hit in the lobby before and after the show and during intermission.  One lady suggested that you should be up on stage with the cast.  You told her that "Somewhere Over the rainbow" were the only words to "Over the Rainbow" that you knew.  You said you didn't know the rest of the song.  You even made an impression on a woman working at Burgerville where we stopped on the way home.  We ended up telling her about the whole evening.

We had a great time watching and you knew the plot very well because we had watched the movie the night before.  We wondered if my favorite song of the movie would even make it in the stage production.  It did, and we learned that it is called the "March of the Winkies."  It's marching music used by the soldiers (winkies) of the Wicked Witch.  It's what is played while the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion follow the soldiers into the castle after ambushing three winkies.

You said you didn't have a favorite song, although you do like to sing "Over the Rainbow."  We've actually sang it enough so that even your little sis tries to sing it sometimes.

We got to meet the cast after the show!  I knew there was going to be that opportunity at this particular performance.  I hadn't purchased the tickets for that because I thought it was lame that there would be a charge for it.  We had been to other kid's shows and they hadn't charged for this.  But the promoter explained before the opening curtain that it was really a donation to Ronald McDonald house, so I relented and made a donation.  You got autographs from the actors who played Scarecrow, Tin Man, Dorothy and Glenda.  You said your favorite was Glenda, because her dress was prettier than Dorothy's.  You weren't too interested in the Lion but flat out refused to go anywhere near the Wicked Witch.

I wasn't going to include the picture of you doing the "funny face" but you wanted it in. 
You've got a big birthday coming up, and I will talk more about how you've been growing up after that big day.
Love, aba