THE EVANS FAMILY: February 2018

Ember is now 5 years old! Halfway to 10 years old! AHH! How is this happening! It is amazing to see how much children grow and learn each year! God has made them amazingly and I am so thankful to be a steward of such a precious gift that just so happened to make me a Mom.

Ember is now about 35 pounds and 40 inches tall. Ember now sleeps in a big girl full size bed in her room. She still has a quiet time every day in which she enjoys reading, listening to music or book cds, playing with her new doll house, making necklaces, and doing other crafts. She really only takes a nap these days if she is sick or has been awake too late or early.

Ember is still the same girl that God made her to be - no surprise there! She is independent, particular, and a strong leader. She can be such a sweetheart in what she says or does for our family or others. She also of course has her selfish moments too. She loves to sing and dance and make jokes. She loves being silly and laughing. On the other side of things, she can be emotional about things that do not go her way. She continues to be a wonderful blend of sweet and spice and she sure keeps life interesting!

Ember has a lot of things that she loves. Here are just a few of her five year old favorites. Ember loves lazy days in pajamas and she also loves going places and doing things with friends. She loves having planned crafts/activities at home and loves doing Tot School with Reece. Some of her favorite places to go are The Summit, "little church," preschool, swimming at the Aquaplex, any park, Chick Fil-A, HAPT to play, Mima and Pappy's, Grandma and Grandpa's, Sedona, Mexico, and our current trip we are looking forward to - Disneyland. Ember still loves singing and her current favorite songs are "How Far I'll Go" and "Your Welcome" from Moana, "Tis Christmas," "Thy Will be Done," and the scripture lullabies that she listens to in her room. This girl still LOVES to eat and these are some of her favorite foods: waffles, chia pudding, sausage and gravy over potatoes, apple, grapes, fig bars, mac and cheese, cheese crisp, almond butter and honey sandwiches, carrots, yogurt, pizza, sausages, Hawaiian Haystack, and candy as a little treat. Ember loves helping me clean with the Norwex rags and mop. She also loves writing, drawing, and coloring. And her newest thing is to make Dad or Mom a picture and sneak it down and hide it under our pillow or in our slippers for us to find later.

Some of Ember's favorite things are games! She loves to play Go Fish, Zingo, Twister, and Jenga. She still enjoys puzzles as well. Her and Reece have created some games/activities that they love to play. Ember and Reece love to take turns driving each other around on the Plasma car. They also love to take turns leading themselves around using the stretch strap as a leash. They will color and draw together and read books together. They will pull each other around on blankets and sit in boxes together. They absolutely LOVE popping bubble wrap and will create dances together on their stage (the cat walk). Ember also really loves made up games that her and Daddy play. Tickle Bridge now has many variations such as "Hug Bridge" and "Wrestle Bridge." Ember still loves Hide and Seek and loves running around us in a circle having us try to catch her and tickle her. It is so fun to watch her imagination as she calls herself a "protector" and helps people and things. She also loves playing in the backyard with a plastic bowl, a little water, and leaves to make soup. She is constantly busy doing something with Reece, us, or her own imagination.

Ember has learned and tried quite a few new things this past year. She has learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels and has been thoroughly enjoying that. She knows all her letters and their sounds and has been able to start sounding out and reading simple books like BOB books or books with few words and lots of repetition. She also loves to try and read things when we are driving around. Ember will try and spell things on pictures or in cards for people and sometimes is spot on with the spelling. Ember can count to 120 by herself and also enjoys counting by 5's and 10's to 100. We are thankful that she really enjoys learning and wants to try new things.

Ember was able to play AYSO soccer this past summer for the first time and really enjoyed it. She was pretty clueless as to how to play the game at first but once she figured it out she did very well and scored multiple goals. Ember also started a ballet/dance class through NAU this past August and has really been loving that as well. They learn different ballet and dance movements through story and always have a chance to do a freestyle dance. It is so fun to watch her grow and flourish in new learning new things and genuinely enjoying them.

There is so much more depth and complexity to who God has made Ember to be. She has given us extreme joy as well as many challenges in parenting her. We are thankful for both and wouldn't trade anything for the 5 years we have got to spend with our Ember Renee so far!

Ember's Birthday Fun:

Ember wanted her usual chia pudding breakfast