Pioneer Girl

Dearest Mia,
Last week you turned FIVE years old! We can hardly believe it. We celebrated your birthday with new friends this year, and you had a blast. (Photos here.) The past eight months have been a roller coaster ride, and you handled it amazingly well. You had a lot of goodbyes with friends and family, first in Portland, then in Miami. That was the hardest part, but through it all, you never stopped smiling.

Here are some fun facts about Mia at five:

1.  You are as headstrong as ever, and you are proud to be able to do "big-girl" things such as tying your own shoes. But, Canela, your precious, still goes everywhere with us:

2.  You love pre-K, and you are making friends fast at your new school. You've started reading and writing! Your favorite classes are science and art.
3.  You have a penchant for drama. You LOVE to play pretend, but you are not big on improv. You prefer to write everyone's lines when you play. (We think what you really want to do is direct ;)
4.  Your favorite TV shows are "Phineas and Ferb," "Atencion Atencion" and "Sid the Science Kid."
5.  Although you have quite a few "fancy" toys, the allure of a cardboard box is still irresistible:

6.  Your favorite color is still blue... (and purple and pink and green...)
7.  You still love books, and for the past six months you were obsessed with the "Little House on the Prairie" series and pioneer life. You even went as far as to make us call you Mary Ingalls on a daily basis while Canela played the mischievious Laura. And you insisted on calling us "Ma" and "Pa." (Refer to #3.) I think the story resonated with you because the main character is a four-year-old girl whose family moves cross-country :)
8.  You started school about a month ago, and you've had a runny nose ever since (not-so-fun fact).
9.  You LOVE music, and you love to dance. You like salsa and reggae and rock! The other day you said, "I love any song with a guitar in it."
10.  You continue to crack us up with your great comedic timing. For example, recently you said: "Mommy, I am grateful for everything you do... Well, not so much the timeouts."

Happy birthday, Miamor! We love you!