She received a beautiful video message from her foster family in China. She got birthday songs and an Easter basket, donuts for breakfast, and all the screen time she wanted. She opened her presents before dinner. She was SO happy that she finally got her own sewing box. It’s a Hess family tradition to get a stocked sewing box when you turn five. She’s delighted to have her own. She also got a CD player with the Frozen soundtrack and an Elsa piggy bank.
She requested tacos for dinner. Not a traditional Easter meal, but it was well enjoyed.
She asked for this rainbow cake which I wasn’t thrilled about at first. Thankfully a friend of mine made one for her daughter last week and she gave me lots of helpful tips. It still took me much of the day Saturday to make, but it was worth it. She was very happy with her cake.
So Ruth. What to say about Ruthie?
She is full of love, light, energy, and words. So, so many words. Ruth is a very brave girl. She has had surgeries, an unexpected hospital stay, a blood transfusion, tons of regular doctor appointments, weekly speech therapy and honestly, she rarely complains. Ruth has to work harder than any of our other kids to be understood. Sometimes I get frustrated at having to remind her for the 100th time that day to add in a sound that she knows how to say, or to ask her to repeat herself, or to slow down her speaking so I can get what she’s saying. But how much more frustrating must it be for her? She really does work hard and I’m so proud of her. Just a couple weeks ago she added the /k/ sound to her bank of sounds she can say. She doesn’t always remember to use it in conversation but with reminders can say it.
Ruth is very clever. She has a huge vocabulary, loves everything art, excels at card and board games (I’m not talking Chutes & Ladders, I’m talking Blokus and Dutch Blitz), she’s halfway through Kindergarten math, can read a few words, and knows most of the alphabet (p, b, and q are still tripping her up).
Ruth loves having Heidi has her little sister. Ruth is very good at comforting Heidi when she is sad. She is very compassionate and that is a side of Ruth we didn’t really see much of until she became a big sister. Ruth does like having a sister from China. Even though I don’t think they look alike at all, Ruth likes that they both have black hair and brown eyes.
We are so thankful to have Ruth as a special part of our family. She has changed all of us so much and we cannot imagine our lives without her in it! She is an inspiration to everyone.
She is very sassy. One of her favorite current phrases is to say, “Yeah, but who cares?”. We all get a kick out of hearing her dismissive words.
Ruth and Caroline are still BFFs. Although I’m seeing Caroline be more adventurous this Spring and Ruth still hanging back inside the house with me and Heidi. Today Ruth told Caroline that they were twins but don’t tell anyone because they won’t be able to tell them apart (they were wearing matching outfits). Carrie said they don’t look alike but that’s okay because some real twins don’t look alike.
(16 months apart: Practically identical)
Ruth would like to stop taking a nap, but for everyone’s sanity, she will continue on with a daily nap for as long as possible. She asks how old her sisters were when they stop napping and wonders if now that she is five if she is big enough. She did tell me today that her sisters don’t have a blood condition so maybe that’s why they could stop naps. If she stays awake until 3 pm she is quite unhappy. I try to lay her down between 2 and 2:30. Everyday she asks the same question, “Can I just take a short nap?” And I always tell her, “Yes,”. It doesn’t matter that she always sleeps between 2 and 2.5 hours because she can’t tell if she’s been asleep for minutes or hours. She also asks if Caroline is going to nap and without fail I lie to her and say Carrie will lie down or rest in the other room. I probably shouldn’t lie but I don’t know how to break it to her without ruining her ever-important naps that Carrie hasn’t napped for a year.
Ruth is an amazing little girl. Her small stature (3 feet and 26 pounds) doesn’t hold her back from much of anything. She runs, jumps, roller skates, climbs trees, rides a balance bike and so much more.
(Isn’t she gorgeous in her dress for Chinese New Year back in Jan?)
She is a light in our lives. I can’t imagine not having our little firecracker in our lives! We can’t wait to do all the fun birthday things like date with dad, coffee with mom, weekend with Mema, and your Elsa party!
Happy fifth birthday, Ruthie. We love you! More than you love “moolah”.
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