FIVE

Yes! It's true! Ellen has lived with us for 1/20th of a century (not counting her time spent in utero, sucking up resources and not contributing to the household).

The traditional birthday hat ...

(She kept saying it was a "baby" hat and I told her to snap out of it because she will be wearing it until she is 40. I guess I will be breaking into her house with my camera - hope I'm still that nimble at almost 76).

Yesterday was a school day, so she got to take treats (Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe Joe's - go get some. Seriously.) Per her report: she got to pick her job for the day ("standing at the back of the line and telling people what to do"), got to stand on her chair at lunch to sing Happy Birthday, got to hand out treats, and got to sleep on "top loft" for rest time. All in all, sounds like a pretty good day.

My mom picked her up early for a little shopping adventure and ... let's just say ... so far what I've learned about being the mother of a 5-year-old is that it requires staying up late to watch YouTube videos of how to do Rainbow Loom.

We rounded out the day with a spontaneous pizza dinner (Spin pizza and "crouton salad" was the birthday girl's choice) with 3 of the 4 grandparents. What a lucky girl!

 Yes, this is the world's tiniest cupcake. Tiny, but delicious - thanks Dolce Bakery.

(Love this little series of pictures so much! World's Tiniest Cupcake Toppled by Too Big #5 Candle!!)

We are looking forward to her birthday party this weekend with 20 of her closest 5-year-old friends. If you haven't gotten Ellen anything yet, just send me some wine and we'll call it even.

Oh, and can't forget the sentimental Mom post HERE.