Last month Little Miss J turned 5. Five whole years of having her in my life. That sounds unreal - it is as if she has always been here. I certainly can't imagine life without her! This year has been a big one as she has started school full time. She has absolutely thrived and although I miss our afternoons together, it is so lovely to watch her make friends, learn to read and write and to grow into a little girl.
As I do every year, I'm sharing 12 pictures of her from the year gone by. Honestly, when I was looking at them I just couldn't believe that some of them were from this year - they seemed from another lifetime ago. I guess that just shows how quickly time is flying.
So here is Little Miss J's 5th year in photos...
February
Doesn't she look so little here! Her hair is so much shorter too. We were having a lovely day out climbing on a little adventure trail we found at our local farm.
March
This was taken when she was in morning nursery. They had a little collection of animal toys that you could be chosen to take home for the night and write about your adventures with. She was absolutely obsessed with them!
April
This is her at her little brother's Christening. We had a chocolate fountain for the little ones and as you can tell she absolutely loved it!
May
The weather was lovely in May and I remember this day well. We went for lunch in Cardiff Bay and she begged me to straighten her hair. She looked so different and grown up!
June
We went on a school trip to Brecon. It was a beautiful day and I was so excited to be spending it with her as my husband had the baby for the day. It turned out that she sulked the whole time because I hadn't packed her any sunglasses of her own. This is her before the start of the sulk!
July
This photo was taken on the last day of term before they broke up for the summer. It meant that it was our last afternoon together as in September she would be full time at school. I took her to a local cafe and bought her a giant milkshake to mark the occasion.
August
We took our first proper camping trip! We went with lots of friends from Little Miss J's school class. We only went for one night but we had such a good time we are planning it again this year but braving two nights! She has such a lovely class, we are really lucky.
September
September brought the inevitable - full time school. She was very excited to go, me less so! I definitely missed her!
October
In October I took her into London just the two of us for a blogging conference. She loved the one on one attention and she had a great time there! She was really pleased to go as usually I take her sister as she is older.
November
London again! This time we went to see her sister perform in the theatre. We had a whole day shopping before the performance though and took her around some museums. It was such a lovely day.
December
December brought Christmas and the return of our Elf on a Shelf 'Elfie'. She absolutely loved getting up every morning to see what Elfie had been up to! She was so excited each time! I'm hoping she'll be as into it this year again!
January
We went to a fabulous wedding in Bath and spent the weekend there. She loved dressing up and seeing the bride. She hasn't been to many weddings so it was really special for her.
So that's it, another year over. I am really emotional about my babies growing up at the moment. They stay little for such a short time. I am treasuring every second of it.
Sarah Cantwell says
My goodness, 5!! They grow so quick don't they. I hope she is loving big school. She looks very grown up in her uniform x
Sonia says
One of the reasons for starting my blog was to make a diary. This so beautifully documents your little girl growing up, and, as you said yourself, they grow so fast and change so much in so little time!!
Harriet from Toby & Roo says
That is such a lovely post! I love the black shirt she is wearing in her first picture, what a sweet little outfit. H x
Colette says
They change so quickly don't they. I love to share a year of pictures on their birthdays too - such a lovely way to look back over the year.
Kerry Norris says
Oh what a lovely way to remember her year. I'm not surprised you're feeling emotional. Such lovely photos. She does look very grown up now. That picture of her with her hair straightened when you went for lunch is beautiful. Xx
Harriet @lifewithmrslee says
Ah some lovely photos of her 5th year! I hope she had a wonderful birthday xo
Kellie Kearney says
She has the most adorable smile ever!! Beautiful pictures and a HUGE Happy Birthday!!
Jo Hutchinson says
So sweet Happy belated birthday
Jodie says
Happy birthday! Time really is flying pretty quick.
Life as Mum says
This is such a wonderful post. So lovely and sad at the same time looking back at our childrens year!