goo - 5 years

oh goo. my heart is so full right now. because i have a sweet little five year old girl living under my roof.

i'm going to be honest. i have put this off for a night that i wasn't frustrated with you. and i have been trying to write it for a while now. which is kind of a theme of this past year.

to say it's been a tough one would be an understatement. we feel like the Lord is really molding us into the parents He wants us to be. and you have provided daily challenges for us. to hold firm. to be consistent. to discipline you but not crush your gorgeous spirit in the midst.

last year, ten days after your birthday, i gave birth to your new little sister. you LOVED/LOVE her. you were so excited. but we have pictures of you coloring by the window of my hospital room while bigH and daddy and i loved on E. and our other family members talked about our new arrival.

• you love E. you love her SO MUCH. and you were elated that day. but it takes a lot to get you jumping up and down. and her arrival? heh.
• now? any time she cries, you run to her room or yours and get a stuffed animal as quickly as you can and give it to her. and honestly, it brings tears to my eyes. you are incredibly thoughtful around her.
• you and bigH? have had a tough year this year. he would do ANYTHING for you. and/but sometimes you aren't kind to me. normally, he shrugs his shoulders and lets it roll off his back. but sometimes he's had it and he taddles like he's never taddled before. and you despise when he taddles on you. daddy and i have worked SO HARD on helping you truly love one other and have the other's back. and trying to teach you to be loving and gentle and kind to him. and to use sweet words that make him feel good, not bad. and to make sure the tone of your voice is loving. and to watch how you look at him. because it hurts his feelings when you glare at him. we're praying that by the time E is old enough to really interact with you guys, you'll have this sibling relationship down pat.
• you have become quite opinionated with regards to your clothing. and oh goo...how this has been a source of stress and contention between us. it has become a DAILY (sometimes multiples times a day) battle of clothing choices. i have always dreamed of picking out clothes for you and seeing you in clothes that i LOVE and hoping that you will love the same ones. but...no.
• your clothing choices are: anything pink, purple, and/or sparkly. you would be in heaven if everyday you could wear a tank top and skirt, preferably the same color. you love your school shoes, but you always wear them with character socks. you love your north face flip flops. you wear your saltwater sandals every sunday but only because sunday isn't a choice. and also on sundays, you wear a smocked bishop dress and a bow. and i'll tell you...you look breathtaking. you love wearing ugg-looking boots in the winter. you love crocs in the summer. once you decide you like an outfit/article of clothing, you request to wear it everyday. you LOVE character clothes, which mama has a VERY HARD time with. you love skorts.
• you do NOT like having your hair brushed. at all. at least by me. you'll tolerate having daddy do it after bath. but only during a tv show. and oh my word, goo. you have AWESOME hair. i so wish i had your hair. it's a great color -- mix of brown and red. not to mention how wavy it is. not curly. not straight. wavy. it is awesome. and your hair? is ALWAYS in your face. my goal this year is to teach you how to put it behind your ears.
• speaking of hair, you never want to brush mine. every so often, i'll just throw it out there, and nope. not your thing.
• you LOVE having your fingernails and toenails polished. but you pick the fingernail polish off within the same day, so we've quit having those done at the salon. :)
• you've been to the eye doctor AGAIN. because you are having the same problem with your eyes. but the (new) doc said he didn't want to do surgery a third time. so daddy and i are praying constantly for ultimate healing.
• last year, you had a HORRIBLE time getting used to school. this was your third year at the same preschool, but it was a very difficult time. you cried every morning, and your teachers had to pry you off of me. i cried every day. all the kids in your class knew you as the little girl who cried at school. but you stopped pretty quickly after. the longest you ever cried was an hour. but after you stopped crying, you were perfect the rest of the day. your teachers and i tried several different things to help with the "transition." (i was surprised there was a transition seeing as how this school wasn't new to you.) the one that worked was me taking you 15 minutes earlier than everyone else. also, ms. elise, who works in the office, helped immensely by offering support to me and encouraging you when you had an easier drop off. you had wonderful friends and your teachers and friends really loved you.
• you also had a VERY difficult transition to going back to church. when E was born, we stayed home for several sundays. so when we finally went back, you cried loud and hard. but there is a guy who works in the childrens' area named dave who has been a lifesaver this year. anytime we see him in the hall after a tough drop off or a sunday morning when you seemed sad, he would head to your class to check on you.
• it takes a village, goo. and God has blessed us with amazing people in our life.
• you love to "read." you love books. you love puzzles.
• you still love princesses and ballerinas.
• you went to princess ballet camp this summer. and were pretty much in hog heaven the whole week.
• you went to VBS with bigH this year. i was so sad when i dropped you off because you didn't know anyone at first and you looked so sad. but i was so proud because i picked you up and your teachers said you had a wonderful day. and made a lot of friends.
• you would rather play by yourself.
• you love make believe.
• you have a rock/acorn collection.
• you try hard to play PS games with bigH. anything to get to play with him, you'll try.
• you think bigH hung the moon. you look up to him so much. yet, you guys bicker like nobody's business.
• you have perfected the art of pouting. i can't count how many times i said, "goo, it seems like you're not very happy right now. why don't you head into your room and come out when you find your happy place?"
• you say your favorite color is pink, purple, farkly (sparkly) -- as though that is one color. and i really think in your mind it IS one color.
• you love to sing in the car. and there isn't a sweeter sound.
• this fall, you're going to a preK class at a new school. luckily, you'll have your best friend claire there. you'll have to wear a uniform, and i'm hoping that takes away some of our morning issues. when you finish this year, you'll have a choice of going straight to first grade at bigH's school or going to kindergarten also at bigH's school. we've already made that choice for you. you'll go to kindergarten. so you can have bigH's kindergarten teacher. she LOVES Jesus, and we want that to be your first public school experience, just like it was for bigH.
• your favorite shows are magic school bus and peppa pig. you just got into the wiggles because daddy got free tickets to their concert a couple of weeks ago, and you two had a good time together. you used to like jake and the neverland pirates, wow wow wubbzy, doodlebops rockin road show (only if i'm not here), dino dan (if i'm in another room)
• you love to color houses, people, rainbows, the outline of your hand, and flowers. but you need help drawing butterflies, stars, and hearts.
• you successfully colored "dad" with an "x" through it the other night when you were mad at him. that seems to be a wisner kid rite of passage.
• you have a temper. oh. my. heavens.
• you are beautiful. i know. i'm totally biased. but sometimes i can't NOT stare at you. and marvel at God's incredible creation.
• you are a big fan of extreme words: always, never, "uh yot" (a lot), tiny, ever
• you don't have the concept of time figured out. you say that anything before today was done "on the yast night."
• when there is something you don't want to do, you say "but that is going to take bor uh yong time." (that is going to take for a long time.)
• we joke that everything you touch either breaks or spills. poor you.
• you can suck a juice box dry in no time flat.
• you love to "snort" like daddy pig (on peppa pig). the face you make while doing it is PRICELESS. (fyi: it sounds nothing like a snort.)
• you love to play hopscotch.
• you love ANY flavor of sno cone. and you could probably survive on snocones and fruit salad.
• you just got into the wiggles and you love to do captain feathersword's "blow me down."
• you say "once ago" when you are talking about the past.
• swimming lessons this summer? oh heaven help me. even though you can put your face in the water and hold your breath, you sat on the side and refused to do much. and when you DID do something, it was because she forced you, and you cried the whole time. needless to say, you didn't get a lot out of swim lessons this year. and neither did she (super awesome teacher). you were DEATHLY afraid of the deep end. daddy and i just talked about you "loving to swim," and we changed that to you "loving to be in the water."
• you are the only wisner to be rescued by a lifeguard. and because of that, you successfully evacuated that pool. which resulted in an incident report. awesome. except no. not awesome at all.
• your eyes are very sensitive. they get red quickly and often. you've figured out that it feels good to put a cold washcloth over your eyes. who knew you'd keep the cloth ON?
• you have a moderate to severe addiction to bandaids and neosporin. in fact, one of the things you wanted for your birthday was "uh yot" of bandaids. and a lot of bandaids you got.
• you don't really have a favorite anything. you love a lot of toys, music, shows, movies. but you don't really hone in on one thing.
• this summer, we went to disney world. you got to meet so many princesses. but your favorite was prince charming. and you hugged him "bor a yong time." you got your hair "yarn wrapped," and it's still in...six weeks later. you did NOT like splash mountain and made that VERY CLEAR to us. the one thing you talked about more than anything else was the swimming pool and the popsicles. of course. you liked the magic carpet ride. you got the mad hatter's tea cup ride WITH alice herself.
• you and bigH love dave, our mailman.
• you say you're talking in spanish. and you really just say quickly, "licka licka licka licka bicka licka."
• you are the only person i know who can LOOK outside and get thirteen mosquito bites.
• this year was the first time you were the little sister at all of bigH's games (football and basketball).
• you play your mobigo for ten minutes before bedtime.
• you love a lot of different food. but you are picky about some foods. you don't love pizza because "there is ALWAYS too much red sauce." you don't love many meats. you'll eat pepperoni in your lunchbox. you'll eat a slim1 ham and cheese sandwich from jimmy john's when you don't realize you're eating it (especially when it's warmed). you ALWAYS want someone to blow on your food. you could survive on fruit and vegetables.
• you played soccer this year. and LOVED it. and LOVED your coach, Coach David. you kicked a goal, and i went NUTS for you. it was such a proud parent moment.

the actual day of your birthday was so amazing.

1. we served you breakfast in bed. you ate pink donuts. bigH colored you a picture and a holly shiftwell, from cars2.
2. you got to watch any show you wanted.
3. a friend of ours watched E while you, bigH, and i went to see winnie the pooh at the studio movie grill.
4. you went to a bookstore with papa and bigH.
5. your dinner of choice was cinnamon rolls and chocolate cereal and orange juice.
6. as for gifts, you asked for bandaids and a tray for movie night.
7. you got 7 princess barbies, lots of strawberry shortcake play toys, and lots of coloring supplies.

goose, i tried to explain to daddy the other night my feelings for you. and the only way i could explain them was this: no matter what my feeling is for you, it is intense. when i am disappointed in you, i could spit fire. when someone messes with you, i want to be violent with that person. when you do something funny, i laugh louder and longer. and when you do or say something sweet or meaningful, well, i am a puddle of tears.

i love you more than i can even explain. you do such kind things for your brother. you love your sister with your whole heart. you could eat daddy with a spoon. and you and i? as you say, "mama, i like you a yot. i'm glad we're pals." you bless my life immensely, and i am so glad God gave you to us five years ago.

love you, goozeroo.