Brynn

1. Brynn loves to wear nightgowns.  Between hand-me-downs of Molly's and new ones that she has been gifted she has plenty that she can wear one every night of the week.  She actually probably has enough to last for a couple of weeks.  She often doesn't want to get dressed in the morning and, even more often, gets in her jammies early each night.

2.  Brynn is a pretty easy-going kid and rolls with the flow for the most part.  We had originally planned her birthday party for the 5th but had to push it back a week when I found out about a funeral I wanted to go to.  When I told her she said, "Oh, that's fine.  That will be great!"...or something along those lines.  She has a similar attitude in a variety of situations.  This is a quality that I love about her!

3.  Brynn is not easily embarrassed.  In fact, she is always trying to do silly things to get attention and to make us laugh.  I also love this about her, although occasionally she is not very lady-like!

4.  Brynn is not too shy around grown-ups.  She will talk and answer questions to any stranger that she meets.  She can carry on a conversation with anyone on the phone as well.  Although, I have noticed that she'll stick close to me in certain situations (for example, she didn't want to sit with the other kids at library story time and opted to sit right next to me-I was okay with that).

4a.  She is also not concerned about being put on the spot.  When someone doesn't show up to do a prayer or something in Primary, she will get up there without hesitation and do it. 

4b.  She is also good at making friends with other kids that she previously has not met.  At the park or wherever we might be, she will often make a new little friend.

5.  Brynn can be a little flighty or ditzy or maybe it's just that she is unobservant.  I've noticed this with her preschool. It's like she's there but not there, if that makes sense.  She also is still so confused about our extended family and who belongs to who (like who is married to each other, who their kids are, etc.)  I think she just doesn't pay attention.  The other day she asked me why Grandma April had two dads and one mom at her house.  I had to explain that Grandpa was Grandma's husband and Brett was her son!

6.  Brynn's appetite is about what you would expect from a 5-year-old.  She is neither too picky nor too adventurous.  She eats breakfast and lunch great but I never know what I'm going to get from her at dinner.  One night she'll clean her plate and the next time we have the same meal, she doesn't touch it.  She loves salad, though, and will have multiple helpings of that anytime it's served at dinner.  And she does love her fruit and eats her veggies too.

7.  Brynn still loves to dress-up and puts on a princess dress or some other dress-up outfit almost everyday that we are home.  It is not unusual for her to not get dressed in normal clothes until we actually have to leave the house.  She also loves make-up, wearing dresses to church, and all other girly-girl things.  I usually pick her clothes out for her (because she doesn't ever get dressed on her own-see #1) but occasionally she picks her own outfit and that sure is a fun thing to see what she ends up with!  I have really come to love this part of parenting, if it did take me a while to not be in control all the time. :)

8.  Brynn loves to be in the kitchen with me baking and helping with dinner.

9.  Brynn's 5-year-old stats: she was 27 lbs 6 oz (<1%) and 38 inches (1st%).  We're waiting for Ivy to catch up to her weight-wise! :)

10.  Brynn is very affectionate and gives hugs freely.  She has a certain facial expression that she makes every time she is being lovey to someone.  It is too hard to explain but if you know Brynn, you would know the exact expression I'm talking about!  She is very tender with Ivy and is constantly hugging her-but she hugs her around her head and Ivy is not a fan of that.  

Brynn brings so much fun and laughter and enjoyment to our family.  Her laugh is one of my favorite sounds to hear.  She is goofy and silly and completely random and we love her personality and the dynamic it brings to our family.  She loves playing pretend, doing service for others in our family, bearing her testimony, and playing with Stockton.  She is a poser and, lately, I can't get a picture of her just smiling, she is always posing or making a funny face (see picture below).  I have cherished our "plans" over the last couple of years and am starting to feel really sad that she is going to be leaving our home for Kindergarten this fall and am starting to wonder if I have taken advantage of our time together in the best way possible.  I know we will never have this amount of one-on-one time together again.  She has always been a mommy's girl and has stuck close to my side even when we're at home, so the adjustment to her being gone will be a hard one.  Harder than the other two, for some reason.  On the other hand, I feel a lot of excitement to watch her grow up and see her fun little personality continue to develop.  I know we have lots and lots of fun times ahead with our Minnie Brynnie!