a cute handful

The birthday posts always take me the longest to finish, but I'm so glad to have them.  Our Garner Bug turned 5 in November and though this age is super fun and easy, I cannot believe we are all done with the baby and preschool years.  Thankfully, she has held on to some of the baby looks and still loves to be babied...so we get to drag it out a little bit this last go-round.

This personality has been the hardest to put my finger on.  Garner absolutely cracks us up at home... we never know what she will say and she is full of spunk and sassiness.  But there are still very few that get to see that side of her.  She is going on 3-4 years of being super shy, quiet and even a little rude to everyone in public.  (Especially men.)  Our pediatrician says it's not a bad thing to be hesitant with people (as she is giving him the evil eye ;)), but B and I struggle not to be frustrated by it sometimes.  Thankfully she has gotten comfortable in her church and co-op classes and with a handful of family friends, so we have hope it'll come with time!

These days, Garner loves to snuggle and read and play outside.  She loves treats and doesn't love to exert too much energy.  She would still let me carry her everywhere or push her in a stroller, even if her feet are dragging the ground!  I'm surprised all the time by things she knows and has picked up on from her big brother and sister, but still don't correct her kid-grammar all that much.  "I hadded to go inside, mama." :)  It's just too cute.

She loves schoolwork and is reading more and more all the time.  She plays well by herself, with dolls or coloring or puzzles...but likes to know that we are all somewhere close by.  OH!  And she loves to play with anyone's long hair and has lots of different hairstyles to offer ;).  I think she will be a little bit girlier than Greer is, but has lots of grit too, so we will see.  Her favorite friends are Sam and Millie, and she has followed the rest of the Masseys with her obsession with babies.  We are thankful to have lots of sweet babies in our lives for her to love on, but she has a special, special place for cousin, Joshua Brink.

She loves to help in the kitchen and clean up/wipe down surfaces, looks up so much to her big sister and loves Jesus.  She tells us that she knows she will still go to heaven right now if she dies even if she hasn't asked Jesus into her heart because she isn't quite old enough to understand. (I think she's had a conversation or two about it with the bigs. :))  She is constantly humming or singing under her breath and always has a sweet smile ready for her mama.  I can't imagine a more perfect baby for our family and am so thankful for her!

As we sat down for her birthday-eve pics...

She asked to do a video instead.  I had no idea she would say any of this! :))

Cousin Charlie was in town and Daddy came home from work for a few minutes with a couple of birthday surprises.  So love :))

Then, on to the library...or "Garner Heaven" as the bigs call it ;)

And some park fun with Joshua added :))

I always feel like I've forgotten something big about her at this age, but the bottom line is...
we love her spunky, sweet self so much!  Happy birthday, Garner Bug :))