Here are a few more pics from Layla’s spring season of soccer. She had a great a great time, scored lots of goals and had fun with her friends. We were very proud of what a team player she was.

With Maggie

Our baby girl turned five this summer. After so long as parents it’s hard to believe we are finally through all those dizzying years of car seats, booster seats, step stools and preschool. Diapers are already a distant memory and in a couple of months Layla will start kindergarten and learn to read. This birthday felt big indeed.

At five, Layla is sweet, fierce and tenacious. She’s a girly-girl with a spunky, goofy side – which I suppose is what we expected given she’s got three big brothers to keep up with. Layla loves animals, dolls, Barbies, horses and unicorns, dressing up, dancing, singing, drawing, playing school, swimming, playing outside and her family. She wants to be a gymnastics teacher or a school bus driver when she grows up and we are sure she will do anything she puts her mind to. We love you, Layla Blythe. Happy 5th Birthday!

What five-year-old girl doesn’t want a Frozen themed party these days? We had a royal celebration at our house, complete with a visit from Elsa herself. The girls were entranced!

Elsa!

Storytime

Face painting

With Clare, aka Cinderella

Maggie Rose, aka Moana

Harper, aka Cinderella

Clare, Georgia, Brittan, Layla, Elsa, Maggie, Harper and Maggie Rose

The moms – Laura, Lindsey, Elsa, Caroline, Megan & Jeunai

Last bedtime as a four-year-old

Birthday Princess

A babydoll from Nana

Birthday photo shoot

Opening presents with her brothers after school

I got this angel on my 5th birthday and passed it on to Layla

Kisses for everyone

More party pics

We still had the helmets from when the boys were little. We sort of recreated the pic of them holding Layla as a baby in their helmets.

Pinata time

Grammy brought some of her old dolly things for Layla

Unfortunately, the Seattle American Girl store was a Covid casualty, one I didn’t find out about until I was looking to take her to the store to make her own doll. It closed the March before her birthday! So we did the next best thing and designed one online, but at that point it wouldn’t arrive until after her birthday. Angelina, arrived a week late, but better late than never. Layla was so excited to open the box up and see her!

They have the same skin, hair, and eyes, and Layla chose her outfit and accessories.

Another sleeping babe pic

Here’s what we were up to in May. But first, an adorable Frenchie pic:

Chipmunk visitor

And a squirrel

I had fun playing with an app on my iPhone

Kieron’s 5th grade state float project

Logan’s birthday party

A pupacino for our pooch

Yoshi, exploring the great outdoors

Just a chipmunk teasing poor Yoshi

These three… all in one pic!

These two are often close to one another

Kieron sculpted this scorpion out of clay

We got some bamboo for our new planter in the backyard. It was a lot of work digging it up and dragging it home!

In Costco without masks! We took a pic to commemorate it. Too bad it didn’t last long.

Vaccinated!

Art projects

Counting down the days to kindergarten

Mailing a letter to his pen pal, Porter

Sleepover with Phoebe

Kieron earned the ice skating merit badge

Braces!

“Please play with me.”

Kieron pet sat for our neighbor’s adorable cat, Mr. Purrington

We got a slip ‘n slide

Silas loves his Kiwi Crates!

We tried some pink hair

We got our boat back in May and promptly headed to Lake Sammamish. The first day on the water was a sad one as there were engine problems and we had to cut things very short. Silas helped Jonathan fix the boat over the next week and we were back at it the next weekend. The kids were excited to take Phoebe with us, although I think she was more nervous than happy about being on the water.

Layla had her ballet recital at the end of May. Here she is with Maggie & Clare on picture day.

Matching masks

Dress rehearsal

The big day!

They danced to Rainbow Connection

Look at her arabesque! (She’s in the middle back.)

After the show