Tempe is six!

Six.

There's no denying or pretending any more. Six is big.

Kids that are six are big.

Today is Tempe's sixth birthday!

SIX.

Can you tell that I am in denial??

I am so grateful every day for Tempe. She is such a good example of compassion, love, forgiveness, and true charity. She loves to make other people happy and she is so thoughtful of her sisters. She is a truly selfless little girl who willingly gives up toys, treats, and her turn picking the movie so that Helena won't be sad (and I'm sorry to say that Helena realizes this and shamelessly takes advantage).

Tempe is so funny and smart. She loves to ask questions about how things work and why things are the way they are. Some of her favorite words are exquisite and fascinating. She loves school so far and can't wait to learn to read!

Her favorite animal is still a moose and her favorite color is now blue because there are so many different shades of blue. She loves the outdoors and collecting insects to be her pets. She is such a joy to be around and we love her so much!

Tempe was only a week early, but she weighed just 5 lb 7 oz due to a deteriorating placenta. She was skin and bones! She had hollow cheeks, bony arms, and we could count her ribs. She ended up being delivered with forceps because she was having such a hard time recovering from each contraction, so she had some bruising on her tiny little head for the first few days. 

She never had any trouble eating, though, so she added some fat quickly, although she was below the curve (negative fifth percentile) until she was about two years old. She was the easiest baby in the world. She almost never cried. Sometimes at night she would still be wide awake but perfectly content when Jason and I were ready for bed, so we would just put her in her bouncy seat in the living room and say "Goodnight!"

The Friday before school started, I decided to surprise Tempe by taking her to get her ears pierced. (This wasn't for her birthday--I decided starting kindergarten was a good time for the girls in our family to do this big milestone event). She was really excited when I told her what we were doing and just a bit nervous while she waited. She didn't even cry when they actually pierced them! So far we haven't had any problems with infection and we are counting down the weeks until she can change her earrings.