My baby girl is 5 years old!! It is hard to believe. I still remember the day she was born and yet, I'm already forgetting all the little stages inbetween. They really grow so fast. She's starting to wear 5t and xs shirts and not quite outgrown 4t pants. She's wearing size 8 shoes. At her check up she measured 40 inches tall and 37 pounds. She's still on the small side for her age. She's now on a schedule where she sleeps from about 8:30pm to 8:00am with some variance. But she needs at least 10 solid hours of sleep to function happily. Her hair has grown quite a bit and she gets prettier and prettier every year! I think she will be an exotic beauty when she is grown.
Dakota has been in preschool for 2 years now. She is just finishing up her second year and ready for Kindergarten in the fall. She loves school and is very smart. She learns new things quickly and makes friends easily. Her best friends are Mariah Pham (from her class), Bailey, Lucy and Trey (her cousins), and Lily Feil (our family friends).
Dakota has tons of interests and is good at many things. She is very athletic. She is great at gymnastics. Last summer she was learning to cross the monkey bars on her own and could get pretty far. She also learned to swim last summer and is a pretty great swimmer. She can hold her breath for a long time and has enough strength to cross an entire pool, length-wise on her own. She loves movies and has a great memory... she remembers songs and lines after only hearing them once or twice. She had a speaking part in the primary program this year that was about 5 lines long, and she did it all on her own from memory. She is definitely one of the smartest kids in her class. She scored at the top on all her learning and development tests. She attends school this year M-Th from 9am-1pm and she does great! She is starting to learn to read and can read some short books with simple words. She's also learning simple addition. She attended gymnastics once a week for most of the year.
Some of her favorite things right now: the color blue, noodles, pears, Go-gurts, chocolate milk, granola bars, turkey sandwiches, grilled cheese, baby bell cheese, Ninja Turtles, Disney Princesses, her princess dolls and dollhouse, littlest petshop, dressing up, riding her bike, swimming, gymnastics, dancing, and playing make-believe with just about anything and anyone. She often plays "house" with her friends where someone is the mom and someone is the baby. She loves to play mom. She plays very well on her own for long periods of time; she also plays well with friends. And she cherishes any time she can get with adults: she loves to color and hunt with dad, paint nails and read with mom, play make believe and games with Grandma Marsha, go to the movies with Melissa, cook and do crafts with Mima, go out with Betty...etc. She's been asking for a dog for awhile now. She still loves outdoors and hunting like her daddy. She's a great little hunter and camper. She is very physically tough... she can hike all day or track thru Disneyland with little complaint. But she has a very tender heart. She is very aware of others' feelings.
She is a great negotiator...she is a girl who definitely knows what she wants! You can't put anything past her. She is very observant and has that amazing memory. She is a good girl who instinctively wants to do the right thing. Sometimes she puts up a fight, but in the end, she always makes a good decision. She is loving, caring, thoughtful, and sweet. She has that bit of girl drama that comes out every once and awhile. I'm a little bit nervous for the pre-teens/teenage years. But overall, she is a really good easy girl, especially if you are spending one-on-one time with her. She is very independent and can do most things by herself. I lay out her clothes, and she will get dressed, put on her shoes and button/zip her jacket. She can fix herself toast, pour herself a drink, fix a plate of snacks, look up her favorite shows on the computer, make her bed, hang up her shirts, clean her room, help clean the house, fold cloth diapers, put her dirty dishes in the sink or washer, buckle herself in the car, open the garage door, use the restroom and wash her hands both at home and in public, walk to primary and do small specific errands that I send her on. She is a great helper!
She is also a fantastic older sister. She cares for her brothers and is so excited to have a new sister on the way. She instinctively takes care of them for the most part but also likes to boss them around a bit. I often have to remind her that she is not in charge. If Ryden wakes up and I can't get him right away, she will go in and entertain him in his crib till I can get him out. She will bring him his binky or pick up his fork when he drops it off his highchair. She and Oakley are best buds and flop back and forth between fighting and laughing together within minutes of eachother. They've shared a room for the last 3 years and are very close. Oakley looks up to her and loves when she includes him in things or plays games with him.
Recently she has been to the ballet twice and a live theatre performance. She loved both and did well! On her actual birthday, she was spotlighted in class and then went to dinner at Chili's with Marsha, Jichan, Gma Yukie, Lucy and Melissa before attending a performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. She loved the play and being sung to at the restaurant. As a family, we celebrated her birthday a week later at Chuck-E-Cheese with Mima and Dave and close friends and family.
Dakota is an essential member of our family. Sometimes I think she is the face of our family. Anyone who meets her just falls in love with how cute, smart and friendly she is. People always ask me if she's mine and go on to tell me how cute she is or how much they just love her. We can do nothing but agree, because we absolutely think she is the best! We love you miss Dakota! Our lives wouldn't be the same without you!
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