Finley, believe it or not, turned six years old on Tuesday. She had a fabulous birthday weekend, kicking it all off with some of her best friends from school and daycare at a lovely "pretend sleepover" birthday party at our house. Kids came in their jammies and they ate pizza and cake pops before opening a plethora of presents. Luckily, Grandma Julie was here to help, because there was a LOT of time for all 12 of the girls to stay busy before getting picked up. While I painted faces, Grandma led them in games of musical chairs and London Bridge, which was a HUGE hit. Some of her friends have known her almost her entire life, like Emerson F., Brynn, and Mallory, and some of her friends were brand new from kindergarten. It was great to have them all together. One precious little girl, Molly, who was at her first birthday party, asked me if the party was almost over. When I told her it was, she said, "Oh no, this is the best night of my life!" It was pretty adorable and I'm pretty sure Finley felt similar.
On Saturday, Finley had many of her family members over to celebrate her big day. Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Kevin, Grandma Belva and Grandpa Tim, and Grandma Julie were there, as were Uncle Luke, Auntie Annie, Auntie Megan and Eloise. Finley was fighting a bit of a cold, but she held it together long enough to make it through the day. The next day, however, she crashed with a fever and a horrible cough. Luckily, it only lasted a couple of days and she was able to go to school on her actual birthday and be "Star Student" for the week.
At six, Finley is as stubborn as ever but she is growing into such a funny, smart, and talented girl. She still won't sleep in her own bed, but she gets braver every day. She has inherited her mother's love of shoes and fashion. I'm pretty sure she has about 7 pairs of boots and she is very particular about what shoes go with what pants (I'm telling you, she is her mother's daughter!). She hates getting her hair brushed, but she won't let me cut it. Her teacher says she is the best reader in the class, already reading at a second grade level. She reads for at least 15 minutes every day, sometimes for up to 45! She is learning how to add and count money and she loves music, art, and library (along with recess and free-choice, of course). She has met all but one of the kindergarten benchmarks and there's still half a year left. As you can see, she has a couple of admirers at school, too :) Today, it's hard to believe she was so nervous she threw up on the first day of school!
We love our dear Finley more today than the day she joined our family. She is everything we could have dreamed of and more. We are blessed beyond words that we were given such a special gift and look forward to cherishing this fun age.
