5 years with Rinny

It's a terrible confession to make, but when I was pregnant with Corinne I wanted a boy. I thought a girl and a boy would be perfect. But you get what you need. And without knowing it, I needed another little girl, but more specifically- I needed Corinne.

Wes calls Corinne my "protector." When he breaks out in karate moves and pretends to attack me, Corinne bolts out of her seat and kicks him with her tiny little legs and swings at him like the Tasmanian devil. Since she's exactly hip/crotch level, this can be extremely dangerous for daddy. But she's my little side kick and when you mess with mommy, you mess with her. But she's a daddy's girl too. He's her protector and whenever she's hurt or sick, Daddy is who she asks for.

She loves me. She lets me know it almost hourly. She tells me. She snuggles me. She draws me pictures. Love just sort of radiates off this kid in our house. She's almost always smiling or laughing (a laugh that's 100% contagious, I wish I could just bottle it up). She adores Taylor, despite their fights, and is constantly asking me when Taylor will be home from school. She also loves going to pre-k and would go everyday if we let her. But I like having her home most of the time, because now that she's 5, I'm going to miss having her by my side when she goes off to kindergarten next year. I don't even like to think about it. She will go willingly and excitedly, and won't bat an eye...and it will kill me to smile and wave back at her.

It's easy being her mom. I remember when she was 3, and there's no way I could have uttered that sentence. I remember crying to my friend Fran one day about how she was such a hard kid. How I was sure everyone cringed when they saw her coming because, dear goodness, she was a tough toddler. She was so sensitive, and if you looked at her the wrong way, she'd cry...or hit you...or both. And her ear infections made her SO crabby, I didn't know what to do half the time. She's still sensitive, but she's learned to control it. And the shyness that sort of crippled her has melted away.

She loves gymnastics and dance, and she's excelling at both. She also just asked if she could take an acting class because she wants to sing the song from "Frozen," but she wants to sing it "on a bigger stage than Taylor sang on." It's been interesting to see her competitive spirit come out this past year.

There are a few things I hope I never forget about Corinne at this time in her life. Lately she does a "butt dance" randomly throughout the day, which consists of putting her feet apart, hands in the air, and an adorable shake of the hips. She also loves YouTube videos of gymnasts and anything from "Frozen." She hates it when I'm sick. She loves her buddy, Zero. She still wants me to lay with her to fall asleep, and I oblige because who are we kidding? It's more for me than for her.

I love this kid so much.

 

She is quite the little dancer. She was very excited to have makeup on for these pictures.

Hot tubbing on her birthday. You can't see it, but the snowy mountain of Big Bear are in the background. Thank you Grandma and Papa!

Cousin love.

She was SO happy at her party! Success!

Another special birthday for my Becky Boo Boo.

Look how graceful Becky looks, while I look like a fluffy, grey blob.

Paint Nite was very fun. It's nice to do something different!