birthdays and butterflies

So this happened:

Happy Birthday!

Sophia turned five years old last week.  She had a fairly quiet day as far as it goes, as we were only back from her checkup in Saskatoon the night before.  We spent the early part of the day baking her birthday cake: zebra cake with vanilla icing, by request.  Michael came home early from work, we had lunch, and then it was time to open presents  

This is easier to make than it looks

The Spirograph has been fun...I'll use it to make her party invitations

Clothes!

She was excited about all her gifts, but the standouts were a My Little Pony playset from some friends in Calgary, and Dad's special gift: a new bike.  A two-wheeler!  She tried it out right away and has ridden it pretty much every day since.  "I've been practicing!!" she says with a big smile.  

That's better than the outgrown tricycle!

We will have her birthday party on the May long weekend, when her friends are available.  

The other new thing this week is that Sophia started soccer.  She's played in the South Regina Community Soccer League for the past two years, and enjoyed it, but this year she's been particularly excited.  This league is a non-competitive/no-cut league; I was so unhappy in Phys. Ed. classes and team sports in general that my goals are just for her to have fun and not be intimidated by sports like I was.  So far it seems to be working, because despite not always being the team star she seems to have fun.  

The teams are split into all-girl and all-boy at her age level; Sophia was ecstatic to find that her team is called the Butterflies!  She plays twice a week.  So far she has been more successful at kicking the ball on the field (as opposed to just running back and forth chasing the other players), and she told me that tonight she scored a goal--her first!

Ballerina bun and butterfly tshirt

Ready to play!

It's funny how she seems to have suddenly grown up so much...