A whole month has passed since Greta turned a whopping 5 years old. (How did that happen!?) She woke up on her birthday and ran to the mirror in the entry and stared at herself. After a few moments, she said, "I still look four." And then she paused and said, "And I still feel four." Ha! The truth is, she doesn't look 4 to anyone else; she looks about 6 or 7. At the grocery store and park and post office--anywhere we go--she is consistently put in an older age category.
It all makes me feel like she is growing up even faster. At five, Greta is about the most outgoing girl I know. She loves talking to people, visiting our neighbors, delivering hand-colored pictures to a dozen people a day--BUT very much dislikes being the center of attention. We had family over for a party the evening of her birthday, and she didn't want anyone singing happy birthday, she passed on blowing out candles and preferred to open any gifts one-on-one with the giver. Although those are traditional feels-like-a-birthday moments, we respected her wishes. That morning we gave her our gift to her--3 GloFish!
She promptly named then Stephanie, Sasha and Chloe. I am now convinced that it might be the best gift of all for a five year old. She is always checking on them, playing peek-a-boo through the different slots in the tank, is diligent about helping me cleaning their tank and feeding them and the real bonus, fish are so low-maintenance on our end. Greta is thoroughly entertained and feels so important. We usually don't write about birthdays or our girls very much, but since posting the above photo on instagram a month ago, reporting that Greta got some fish for her birthday, I have received no less than 75 inquiries for where we got the tank. Hear ye, hear ye! I ordered it from Amazon right here. I wanted to wait awhile to give a full review on it, but the truth is I love this tank! It holds a gallon of water and if you have a Beta fish or something, you can get multiple and the tanks actually stack--which is where this tank gets its "fish hotel" name. There are cutouts in the white outer shell making it look compartmentalized, but it is actually just a hard-plastic sleeve the tank sits inside of--we remove it and give everything a good wash once a week. The long cutouts at the top double as handles which are convenient for carrying the tank over to the sink on cleaning day. If I had to say a negative thing, it would be that it is very white. I would describe it as paper white. Not creamy at all--which I am suddenly realizing most of our surrounding whites are more creamy. Minor thing, really.
Anyway, if you're looking for a gift for a five year old…or yourself :) Fish and this tank, respectively, make a pretty good looking, fun pair. Now we're thinking of the perfect gift for a one year old. Faye's birthday is just a couple weeks away! Any ideas?
Ps. Chris's second post for Charbroil, all about updating your outdoor grilling area, is live on their blog right here.
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Greta still looks like 4. :)) so kute
There's an activity cube at Target by B Toys (zany zoo wooden activity cube) - colorful but not garish and tons of great activities. It's was the first birthday present for my kiddo, and it's still great after 7 months. She also still loves the blue Ikea wagon (and their kid's play pots and pans are endless fun) and *any* of the Fisher Price little people things (all were purchased around one year and are still played with).
Cute fish tank too!
Fish are the best. Our betta fish has become more of my companion than anyone else's. Ryan thinks I'm a total weirdo, but I say hi to him and talk to him all throughout my day. He sits on our kitchen counter and I just love seeing him swim around while I'm in there cleaning the dishes or cooking.
I noticed it more with Ellie, but around age 1, both girls loved to put their toys inside boxes or strollers. But what we loved was the grocery cart. I still have Brinley use it when cleaning up toys around. She fills that sucker up and puts all the toys away. We got ours at Target.
That is a cute fishtank. Word's I never thought I'd pair together. Your daughter's absolutely darling!
Our girls seem very much alike. Mine is going to be 4 in a month and...yeah she looks like she's 6. I'm 5'4" and she come up to my ribs and shes...50 lbs! Tall girl like her daddy. I can't really carry her anymore which is very very sad. I'm almost 3 months pregnant so soon I'll get to hold a little one again. She also HATES being the center of attention and cries at her birthday parties. This year we decided to only invite the grandparents/great grandparents and hope there are NO tears. Ughh the grow up way too faast! Greta is so beautiful!
My daughter just turned one and she received a Step 2 car (the kind that mommy or daddy can push) and she LOVES it! Although since you both are tall, maybe you want to check it out in person to make sure the pushing isn't awkward for you. Another idea is the Smart Trike. My daughter also loves her Janod Crazy Doggy Babywalker. I've been reading for a while...can't believe Faye is turning one! Time flies. Enjoy the day!