5 year olds can swing themselves!

I still cannot believe I have a 5 year old child. I remember being pregnant with her and thinking, Wow, I cannot imagine what it is going to be like to have a tiny little baby. I would also think what will it be like to have a 5 year old, a teenager, a woman!? SHEESH!  

Jelly 5 a la Dad

The time has gone too quickly because here we are 5 years later and we have a 5 year old. She constantly amazes us by her knowledge of things around her and her vocabulary is astounding. This year she started Pre-K and has been moving towards reading every day.

Two days ago, we pulled up to the post office and Hayden shouts out, "Hey Mom, look that door says P-u-l-l, that says Pull!" I was in the midst of organizing to go inside so I acknowledged her with a "uh huh" and went on with what I was doing.

She calls out, "Mom, the other door says P-u-s-h, Push! "

It was then that I put two and two together and realized for the first time Hayden had read a word all by herself. I whipped around with a huge smile on my face, screaming, Hayden! You just READ! You did it!! See how you did that!?!? She was BEAMING! I was so stinking excited for her. What an exciting moment to share with her.

Another think Hayden has been working on is learning the concept of swinging herself on a swingset. We always walk out and push her and tell her how to do it herself but she just hasn't figured it out yet.

Hayden at her Owl Skating Party

Hayden and Ella & Preslyn getting ready to skate it up!

Getting ready to go to school on her birthday

So the night after her birthday we went to her grandparents house and she ran out to the swingset ahead of everyone else. She got one starting push and as I walked out the door I hear excited squeels coming from the playset, "MOM, DAD, FIVE YEAR OLDS CAN SWING THEMSELVES!!!" She was pumping her legs back and forth and swinging all by herself.

What a cute little milestone that kicked in right as she turned five! Perfect timing since BJ and I had acquired a hand me down swingset for her, for her birthday, to be given to her the following day.

Hayden Jadie-Elisabeth...oh how you rocked our world at 3:44am, 5 years ago! You are a genius & make the world better. I love everything about you and who you are.You are so full of energy & zest for life. When I grow up I want to be just like you ;) Have the BEST day ever little boo-boo. We love you for ever, we'll like you for always, as long as we're living, our baby you'll be.

5 years ago

we were two kids in love, without a clue of what our life would be like as husband and wife. Of course we had ideas of what we wanted out of life, and what we saw our life being like, but really we didn't have a clue past that day.

Our wedding was amazing. There were lots of tears, surprisingly mostly none of them were mine :) But mostly there was sheer happiness. It was amazing to start one day with one life and end it with a totally new one. It was exciting and new and when the wedding was over, we had had so much fun that I just wanted to do it all over again.

I remember getting a call from our hotel the day after our wedding asking me something, and BJ was in the shower or something, and when I answered they called me Mrs. Munson, and that was the strangest thing ever. I'm sure I blushed, and then answered quietly, "Yes, this is Mrs. Munson." It felt so weird to say it out loud.

It has been a wonderful five years from those early days. We have grown together so much. It hasn't always been peachy, but those times have made us stronger and helped us learn how to be better for one another. Every day is another piece of our journey. We have made so many memories and are truly the best of friends. We know each other way to well and sometimes during conversations we don't even have to finish the sentence because we both already know what each other would say and we can just move on.

I can't believe in just five short years we have added three beautiful children to our family. They have changed us in more ways than I can explain. Each one of them is such a gift and has their own little part of this world. Hayden keeps us on our toes, and no matter how much energy and craziness she exerts in her days, she always asks to be rocked, "Back and forth, back and forth" every night before bed. Ella is just a sweet angel and brings the balance into our lives. She can light up a room with her amazing smile. And sweet Preslyn...she is just mesmerized by her sisters and people. She is like a little sponge just absorbing everything around her. I just love them all so much. I am thrilled to see them grow and learn about life and God. I pray that all of their hearts are tender towards Him, and they will all grow up to find wonderful Godly men like I have found.

For our anniversary we took a short trip to San Antonio. Our original plan was to head to Austin, but we couldn't find any hotels available in the entire city. So we changed our plans and headed back to San Antonio. We stayed at a beautiful hotel on the Riverwalk, The Watermark Hotel and Spa. It was so nice. The restaurant, Pesca on the River was so good and the service was perfect. BJ had to do a little work while we were there, which was a bummer, but I got to catch up on some much needed sleep!! We relaxed and strolled around the river, shopped and saw Indiana Jones at the theater. Then we went to the Guinness Record Place and saw some of the amazing records that are held and BJ made me go to the haunted house exhibit, which I HATE!!! I was freaking out the entire time. I'm a sissy at those things. On the last day BJ had a massage while I got a pedicure. I started reading a new book during my pedi, "The Memory Keepers Daughter". It is really good so far, and was really nice, because i haven't been able to read and fun books in a long time. So I'm enjoying it. Hopefully I'll get to finish it sometime soon! We had a nice time together and are looking forward to the next 65 more or so!

I love you forever BJ!!