Happy 6th Birthday Baby Girl

Another day, and another birthday in our household. Yesterday, it was Tyler’s 10th, yes, 10th birthday. Today sees my not so little baby girl turn 6. I am not sure how that happened so quickly, but we all know that time flies when you are having fun and with this little one in our lives, it is certainly filled with fun. The first few years go by in a blur of getting through those sleepless nights and confusing dazed days. It is why I am glad I have this blog to look back, smile and remember them. I’m sure it wasn’t long ago was announcing I was pregnant with our baby and then our little baby girl was born.  Now here she is a big 6 years old.

Today it snowed, again, I see it snowed last year on her birthday and she loves the snow. It is a busy few days of celebrating both the kids birthdays, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We went out for dinner last night after Aria had her birthday treat of going to Build a Bear. She loved it, it’ll feature on my weekly post I expect. This year has seen Aria grow literally and in confidence. She is getting so tall but looking less and less like a little girl. Over the summer she got the tips of her hair dyed pink which she was chuffed about. It was just one of those wash out ones, but she loved.

The school days are a huge part of Aria’s life. She is now in Primary two, which is the second year at school. She loves school, she is in class with her bestie and has a lot of friends in the class. Not only does she love playing with them, but she also loves school work too. Phew. Her maths and reading are coming on as well as her writing. She’s a great wee writer and I have to say I’m impressed every time I do words with her for homework or we read a book together. I think reading has been the biggest change, she’s great at reading independently and loving being able to pick up a book or go to the library and read it herself. She still needs a bit of encouragement as she doesn’t think she can, but once she looks at that book the words flow. It is such a proud moment as someone who loves books, it is important to me to instil that love in my children too. I have watched her from afar when helping at the Easter and Halloween activity, she really has come out of her shell.  I am glad she is enjoying school and long may it continue.

Aria was one of the three wise men in her school nativity. She had quite a few lines and took the part very seriously as you can see. She did us proud, saying her lines correctly, loud and clear. She loves to sing as long as she thinks no one is looking at her, so she sang her wee heart out.

Before the big Wise Man performance, Aria was a chilly chicken in the school harvest festival. Singing away on stage at the church she and her classmates were awesome. She was proud to be there and she loves performing which is amazing for someone who usually hides behind my legs.

I’ve mentioned a lot about how stubborn she is and feisty, boy is she feisty, but I wouldn’t change her for the world. No matter how many battles we have over days of the week pants or the colour of her socks being wrong that day or changing her mind about school lunches, she is who she is. She’s a strong, independent, and loving girl, who I know will grow into one amazing woman one day. I am proud to be her mother. For now, she wears what she wants, it’s easier. Loves her hair to be plaited when wet so it is wavy when taken out and you have to pick your battles so it’s not a constant one. I had to learn to be a mother all over again when this one was born. The boys are different from each other, but she’s a whole new ball game.

Our holiday to California was the highlight of our year. Aria loved being in America and spending time with my Aunt and Uncle. She adores shopping for clothes and with her own money she was loving spending it on just that. The glittery and sparkly the better. Most of all she loved coming home and showing Aunt Ann what she’d bought that day. Disney was huge for Aria, she didn’t run and scream when she saw the characters, but she didn’t go near them either. I had hoped she’d go see the Princesses she loves, but as much as she loved to see them, she liked to watch from afar. We had to go and peek around the corner at Aurora 3 times before she’d go out and allow her to wave at her. She wouldn’t wave back. There is no reasoning with her, but that’s ok, it’s just the way she is and seeing those Princesses she loves so much made her year. She even got to go on a ride dedicated to the Snow White story. This is her favourite and she loved every minute. I think the best part of the holiday was the pool. Aria loved the pool. She even taught herself to swim. I told you she was stubborn and determined. She likes to do things in her own time, like potty training and riding her bike, she did it all first time, but on her terms. And here she was swimming.  By the end of the holiday, she was swimming unaided under water. Incredible. We had the best time and hope to go back.

Aria loves toys, she sleeps with hundreds, or what feels like hundreds or soft toys. She also loves playing with dolls, especially baby dolls. She nurtures, feeds and dresses them. Her and a friend round the corner, play for hours outside with the dolls and it’s just lovely to watch. She chats away and is so loving towards them. Making slime has also become a huge part of her life. She and Tyler make this a lot. Both have the recipe down to an art and make it often. Colouring is another of Aria’s favourite past times, she loves me to print off pictures for her to colour. She prefers this to draw but will spend hours filling in notebooks with scribbles, doodles and words. Aria is enjoying playing outdoors more and more and going round to friends houses, this is a big change for her as she rarely ventured away from the front door. It is nice to see and hear that she is chatty when there. She still doesn’t like talking much when I am around,  still hiding behind my leg and getting shy. But, when I am not there, she’s actually ok. This makes me feel better.

Aria is very close to her siblings, even with a bit more of an age gap than between the boys. Aria and Tyler are particularly close and play a lot together. Tyler makes sure she is ok and one of the sweetest moments was when Tyler fell the other day and Aria was over picking him up, hugging him, making sure he was ok. It was just lovely. Aria always wants to know where her brothers are and do like to make sure they are around. If we are out and about, she is always keeping an eye on where they are if one lags behind or wanders off. Even in the supermarket. It is very sweet.

Aria has been trying out different things but has recently started gymnastics. She goes with her wee bestie and they both love it. She has been doing gymnastics in the house for such a long time, I knew she’d love it when she went, but getting her to go was the difficulty. Now she is there, there is no stopping her. She had the best time when we went away with Robert’s family. She adores her cousins, especially her twin ones. She looks up to them and they are so good with her.

Aria is still a huge Disney fan and loves watching films, Snow White still being her favourite. Although The Greatest Showman is high up that list now too. What’s not to like? She’s just recently started watching the Harry Potter films and is getting into that in a big way. There are a lot of toys about since the boys are big fans. It is nice to share something you love like Harry Potter with your kids and I look forward to reading the books with her as I did with the boys. The latter books Lucas is re-reading himself and it’s great to see them love it just as much as I do. Aria enjoys going to the cinema much more than her brothers, so it sometimes sees us going together if they are at the football. We watched the new Nutcracker film and A Wrinkled in Time last year. Both films we enjoyed. Aria loves the Nutcracker story and we read it often. I hope to take her to the ballet to see it one day soon. We also went to see Disney on Ice this year, which featured Moana and she loved it. She doesn’t seem as sensitive as Tyler when it comes to baddie music so that is good. I am looking forward to many more cinema, theatre and arts visits with her in the years to come.

After mastering the art of cycling when she was just 4 years old, Aria has been loving having a big girl bike and been out and about pedalling in her little heart out over the summer. She is great at it and loves going out on it.

I am trying to get better at doing Aria’s hair. Her best friend’s mum is amazing at it, but my fingers just don’t seem to work that way. Surely I am not the only one? I am getting there at French Plaits, but she loves just having bunches or plaits in, then having her hair wavy. Her hair is such a gorgeous colour and she loves having it too. She’s proud ginger. I wish I had that colour, to be honest. It is getting so long, but fine. She is getting used to having it done when she’s not screaming blue murder when I brush it. Honestly, it’s crazy. She loves bows and they are cute.

Aria and her dad have a lovely bond and she adores him as he does her. She’s a Mummy’s girl but loves her Dad being around and playing with her. She is a deep soul and only gives hugs when she feels comfortable, which is ok with us. It’s been lovely to watch her bond grow with her Dad and her brothers. She is still painfully shy, but getting there. Animals are another big part of her life and as much as she loves her cat Twilight, my Mum’s dog Oreo holds a special place in her heart. She has been great at taking him out for walks and wraps him up in a blanket when he’s over. He’s a very lazy puppy.

For her birthday Aria wanted to get her ears pierced which she got done over the Christmas holidays for them to heal. She was so happy to finally get them done. She’s had a great birthday and looking forward to her family birthday dinner and cake. Her 5th year has been a great year and it’s been so wonderful to watch her grow in leaps and bounds. Gymnastics was a huge step and I am so pleased she is loving it. Aria is such a sweet and happy girl, kind and loving with a heart of gold, but fiercely independent. She is one of a kind and I am looking forward to seeing what her 6th year is going to be filled with. I know she will take it in her stride and will do us proud. Although, I still can’t believe she is actually 6. Happy birthday to our gorgeous girl and I hope your day is filled with everything you wished for.

I have blogged since before she was born, meaning you can read all about her first birthday, second birthday, third birthday, fourth birthday and fifth birthday. So many great memories to read.