The Rothlisbergers: Our Big 5 Year Old

Madison's birthday was a little different this year with Reagan's arrival the day before, and I was concerned she would feel slighted, but she said she had a great day! Thank you to Nana, Papa, Aunt Jenna and Jordan for taking over for me and making it awesome!

She woke up to decorations and a birthday donut with a candle in it at Aunt Jenna's house where she stayed the night since Jordan and I were at the hospital! Nana and Aunt Jenna went all out to make it special. I had Jordan running all over the valley that morning to find her a Frozen birthday balloon, which he finally found and brought back to the hospital right before Madison came to visit that morning. I also had a birthday button for her to wear. We all hung out at the hospital for a while and then it was time for her birthday party! She really wanted a Frozen birthday party with a few friends so we planned one for her but kept it fairly low key just in case Reagan decided to make her arrival. Good thinking on our part! We gave Madison the option of postponing until the following Saturday so I could be there but she really wanted the party on her birthday so Jordan rocked it with help from Nana and Aunt Jenna. I had tried to do as many things in advance as possible to it would be easy for Jordan in case that's how it worked out and I think it went well (although the nurses were laughing a bit as I spent Friday evening in the hospital gluing cotton balls onto poster board to finish Olaf!)! She had four friends over, and they decorated princess crowns, played pin the nose on Olaf and played Frozen tag. She also had a Frozen-themed birthday cake. I'm so glad she wanted a store-bought cake this year so we already had that taken care of! After the party, everyone came back to the hospital so I could be with her to open her presents from us. I had a bit of a hard time being away from her for all the festivities since I'm normally the crazy one for birthdays, but she had a great day so that's all that matters!! Now we just have to figure out how to handle back-to-back birthdays for the rest of our lives :)

MILESTONES THIS YEAR
* Learning how to read
* Having a part in her first Primary program
* Starting Dance class
* Moving to Arizona and making friends with cousins
* Getting two teeth knocked out
* Learning to ride a scooter
* Learning to change her earrings by herself
* Moving to a bunk bed and sharing a room with McKinley

ACCORDING TO MADISON
1. What is your favorite color? Pink*

2. What is your favorite toy? Soft Cuddly Music Dog and Ella the Dolphin
3. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries*
4. What is your favorite tv show? Magic School Bus and Sid the Science Kid (she also loves to watch home improvement and cooking shows with me on Netflix - her favorite new pretend game is now Chopped and she always has opinions on the homes/design stuff!)

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? PB&J Sandwich with yogurt
6. What is your favorite outfit? My dance costume for my recital
7. What is your favorite game? Twister
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit by the Foot (I bought this as a treat for General Conference weekend and she LOVED it, which is funny because she hates fruit snacks)
9. What is your favorite animal? Monkeys
10. What is your favorite song? I Am A Child of God*
11. What is your favorite book? Frozen and There Are Monsters Everywhere

12. Who is your best friend? Mayli and Brynli (we love cousins)

13. What is your favorite cereal? Captain Crunch
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride the 4-Wheeler
15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate Milk*
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas* and My Birthday
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Soft Cuddly Music Dog and Ella the Dolphin
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Captain Crunch
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Macaroni and Cheese*
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? An ice skater*
* indicates the same answer as last year

MOM SAYS I'M ...
* Smart. This girl is insanely smart. She basically taught herself how to read and can now read anything you put in front of her. She also writes pretty well and can usually figure out how to spell simple words on her own. That being said, she is SOOOO excited to start school. Some people tell me she's going to be bored but she wants to be there so bad I think she'll be fine! She likes to teach McKinley things too, and McKinley wants to learn things just because Madison can do them! She's gotten really into learning about calendars and telling time lately too. She's very curious and always asks questions about how things work and why things are the way they are. No wonder her favorite shows are Magic School Bus and Sid the Science Kid!
* Creative. From the time she was just learning how to talk and would make up songs and stories, Madison has always been very creative. She's fantastic at art projects, coloring and drawing and has an incredible imagination when it comes to playing pretend.
* Compassionate. Madison is very good at thinking about others and making sure everyone is happy. She's very aware of people's feelings. When I took her to get her shots (just her and I), I promised her a donut afterward. As soon as we walked into the donut shop, the very first thing she said was, "Do you think we can get Daddy and McKinley a donut too?"
* Sensitive. Along with being compassionate, Madison is very sensitive. This is usually a positive trait but can also sometimes be a negative. She's very aware of what's going on around her and how people are feeling. When she walks into an unfamiliar situation, she takes her time sizing things up and reading the people and things going on before she does anything. She always wants people to be happy. However, as a result, she tends to get her feelings hurt easily and sometimes struggles and gets overwhelmed in new situations. It's something we're working on with her, especially before she starts school. But in general, she's so sweet and it's wonderful that she cares about everything and everyone so much!
* Spiritual. This girl is definitely the spiritual giant in our house. She loves saying prayers, reading the scriptures, attending church, the whole thing. She bears her testimony every Fast Sunday and actually asked to give a talk in Primary. She watches our scripture movies all the time and can now read out of the scriptures herself. Her primary teachers are always raving about her!
* A Great Big Sister. Let's be honest: McKinley is a terror. She's a bull in a china closet. And Madison is SO fantastic with her. McKinley is generally very aggressive about everything in life, and Madison just rolls with it and takes it in stride. We're actually trying to encourage her to stand up to McKinley a little bit more! She loves to teach McKinley things and help her anytime she can. The bunk bed thing and sharing a room was completely Madison's idea and something she has loved! McKinley simply worships her! I know she's going to be just as wonderful with Reagan. I'm so grateful to have her as the oldest child in our family.
*Observant. Madison notices and remembers everything. Sometimes I have to watch myself because she'll call me out on a facial expression or voice tone that I don't even mean to have! She thrives on structure and routine and hates when things don't go the way she expects them to. If you promise something to her, you better be ready to deliver because she won't let it go!!

GIFTS
This is going to be an incomplete list since I wasn't at the birthday party to see and write things down!
* Bathtub markers
* Frozen microphone
* Heart shirt
* Guitar
* Scripture case
* Scripture coloring books
* Magformers
* Sleeping Beauty doll
* Big Elsa doll
* Money

Some pictures pieced together from everyone's phones!

Opening presents in the hospital

Frozen Party

I had made the birthday sign ahead of time, but all the balloons and snowflakes were done by Jordan on the day of the party! You can also see the snowman we did the night before in the hospital!

Decorating their princess crowns

Cute princesses after playing Pin the Nose on Olaf

Her Frozen cake. She was so excited to pick this out at the store!

I was kind of underwhelmed by the "Frozen" theme of the cake but Madison loved it so it's all good. The light blue plastic thing in the bottom corner was a little toy with a picture of Anna and Elsa on it