Kenley Dee is five years old today! I can’t believe how old that sounds! Five seems like a whole new ballgame and I am excited to see what this year holds for her.

Kenley started VPK (voluntary pre-kindergarten) in August at her same school. She has a new teacher, who we love, and has a lot of her old friends in her class again. During the week, they rotate between music class, PE, and art class one day a week and she has French two days a week. They are continuing with a letter of the week, but have also started sight words and other activities that introduce reading. Kenley does very well writing her name and all of our names using both lower and upper case letters. She loves practicing her writing and asks us to spell out words for her to write. She also has started working on math. She will have me write out simple addition problems and she fills in the box. Sometimes she will grab a handful of crayons so she can pull out five, then two, and count them all together to make seven. It’s super cute! Thankfully, we haven’t had much homework this year because I am sure we’ll get plenty next year when she starts kindergarten.

We continued the birthday interview tradition, so you can learn more about what she likes straight from her! Here are her answers from her fourth birthday.

What is your name? Kenley
How old are you? 5
What is your favorite thing to do? Go swimming
What do you want to be when you grow up? An ambulance driver
What is your favorite food? Ice cream
Who do you like to spend your time with? Mommy
What do you do really well? Ride my bike
What makes you laugh? Wrestling
What is the best time of the day? School
What are you afraid of? Monsters
Who is your best friend? Caelyn and Caleb
What do you like to do with your family? Wrestle
What do you like to learn about? The ABCs
Where do you like to go? To Kyler’s house
What is your favorite book? Madeline
If you had one wish what would it be? To visit Santa
What is your favorite color? Purple and pink
What is your favorite TV show? Sophia the First
What is your favorite animal? Giraffe, because it has a long, long neck
What is your favorite movie? Rapunzel (Tangled)
What is your favorite drink? Milk
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
What is your favorite restaurant? Tijuana Flats
What is your favorite place to go? That jumpy place (Rebounderz)
What is your favorite song? Princess songs (Disney songs)
What is the best part about school? Computer, where I work by myself
What is your favorite cereal? The ones with the sugar on it (Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
What is your favorite snack? Life (the cereal)
What do you like to take to bed? Coco, the monkey that we used to have but we gave it away
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike
What is your favorite fruit? Apple
What is your favorite ice cream? Mint
What is your favorite outfit? A dress
Where do you live? United States of America
What is your favorite sport? Soccer

My favorite thing about the interview is that last year she said broccoli was her favorite food and this year it’s ice cream. SO true. She is still a great eater and usually goes for her veggies first, but she’s definitely becoming more opinionated about what we have for dinner. There will be nights that she will go without dinner because she “doesn’t like it” but she will eat the exact same meal the next week with no complaints.

Kenley is slowly dropping her midday nap. On school days, we usually get the report that she lays quietly or does a quiet activity. On the weekends, it depends on how much we do or have planned for the day. She can definitely take a nap if we want her to, but that also means that she will go to bed a little later that night. She goes to bed around 8pm each night and gets up by 6:30am each day, no matter what time she goes to bed. She is definitely a creature of habit.

Kenley Dee, you are bright, energetic, and have a big heart.
Happy birthday, sweet girl!