Dear Laurel,

You turned five yesterday.

I hadn't planned much because we're planning to have a party with more family when we see them later this month, but the day turned out to be a series of pleasant surprises.

You behaved beautifully for your haircut and in the grocery store, easily chose what kind of sandwich you wanted for lunch, and went down quietly for a nap with Vogon keeping you company, not fussing when I woke you up for your phone call from Dora the Explorer. You were nice on the phone to everyone that called with good wishes and talked your Daddy's ear off for half an hour when he surprised us by calling.

You chose what you wanted for breakfast and spoke the words clearly, picked out what to wear and put your shoes on the right feet with a minimum of fuss, and even stopped squeezing your balloon after you were asked, although we later put it up after you discovered that if you let it up into a running ceiling fan it'd be knocked around the room. You brushed your teeth all by yourself, emptying your cup and rinsing the brush afterward for me to put up, then picked out a clean pair of big girl underwear and pajamas to wear to bed before climbing in for your hug and kiss before I turned out the light and closed the door on your first day of being a five year old.

You've come a long way in the past year and I look forward to seeing how you change in the next year.

Love,
your mommy monster