It's amazing how fast a month can fly by. And it's amazing how much can happen in a month. May was a particularly busy month for Katherine, so let's look back at all of her excitement.

She's been busy working on her monkey bar skills. She's been advised by her older, wiser sister that this is a very important skill for a Kindergartener to have. So she has been practicing. Note that she was wearing a sweatshirt in this picture. Before we were able to leave the park that day, we were pelted with a mini hail storm. Crazy weather has been a theme this month.

4 days later, we went to KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION! It's crazy to me that she is ready for Kindergarten, but oh, is she ready! She is practically counting the days until she can get on the bus with Maggie, she is quickly improving her reading skills, and she is busy mastering skills like monkey bars and shoe tying! For this event we spent the morning at school, visiting the classrooms, meeting friends, and taking a short bus ride.

(Crazy weather note, when we went in to orientation it was warm enough for sandals and sundresses, when we came out 2 hours later we needed jackets!)

A week later, we travelled to Evanston to celebrate Katherine's birthday. It was the beginning of a week of celebrations.
What could be better for a birthday than Stair-Ball and Cupcakes? It was a great day!

2 days later, for the first time in her life, Katherine walked into a room full of people to the music of "Pomp and Circumstance." (I'm hopeful it won't be the last time.) And yes, there might have been a tear in my eye. It was an adorable ceremony full of songs and fidgeting and little diplomas. Here's a video. I repeat, I can't believe she's big enough for Kindergarten!

Then, on Wednesday the 25th, it was HER BIRTHDAY! She'd been waiting and waiting, counting the days. Of course we did presents in pajamas, but she decided she just wanted a regular breakfast. So toast all around!
She was adamant that she needed to create a birthday crown for herself, so we spent part of the morning doing that.
We had planned to spend the rest of the day at a local park celebrating the end of school with the rest of her preschool. however, crazy weather alert, we had heavy rain and crazy winds, so the picnic was moved indoors to JumpZone. I've never been happier to be rained out of a picnic. Katherine has been BEGGING for a Jump Zone party, but I'm a mean mom and said no big party this year. So she ended up getting a party with all of her friends and I didn't have to do any of the work! Also, traditionally, this picnic is hot and very crowded, and it's hard to relax when you're worried about losing a child at the park. No worries at Jumpzone! It was perfect for her!
For her birthday dinner, Katherine announced that she wanted to eat at Texas Roadhouse. This took me by surprise until she told me that she had seen a girl riding a horse and getting ice cream for her birthday. So, we went and Katherine was indeed given the chance to sit in the birthday saddle, have the restaurant clap for her, and then eat a large bowl of ice cream. Who could ask for anything more?
Yes, it did seem anti-climatic to come home to birthday cake. But Katherine didn't mind a bit. She was thrilled to eat her birthday cake in her nightgown after a very busy 5th birthday!

Phew, I'm exhausted just re-capping all of this excitement! And there's still more! Last week, Katherine had her Gymnastics Expo! We were invited to come and see all of the amazing tricks she's been learning all year.
(Note the new-from-her-birthday leotard.Purple. Polka-dots. Perfect!)

It was actually impressive to see everything she was able to do. Oh, I have a video of this too! She really enjoys gymnastics, so we'll see, maybe she'll be back improving her skills next year!

Finally, last week, on the first perfect weather day in a LONG time, we ignored all the things we should have done, like errands and laundry, and went to the Zoo instead. We met my friend Amy and her son Callahan and spent the morning enjoying the zoo. It was absolutely worth it!
So, now you know what's been happening with Katherine all month. Stay tuned for updates from the rest of the family!