My Dear Elsa,
Wow! I can not believe that you are 4 years old! It just seemed like yesterday and Daddy and I were praying over you. You are truly a miracle baby and came into our lives when we did not think we would be parents. Every day I thank God you made me a mommy!
You have been the most laid back child (more so apparent with your wild brother, but that is a whole other post)! You have the most amazing heart and are so caring about other people. I love how you great us every morning and every day when we pick you up from school. You love "squeezes" and always tell me to "squeeze harder". You are so affectionate and I hope that NEVER ends. Every time I pick you up or drop you off at school, you always want to hold my hands during the walk. And, you always have the biggest, most infectious smile on your face! You bring so much joy to those you meet. Even complete strangers will comment how friendly you are! You love to say Hello to everyone we pass.
Favorite songs: Shake your booty; Call me maybe; Momma's broken heart (Miranda Lambert)--which you LOVE to sing the chorus! Really, any song that comes on the radio, you say "Turn it up, this is my favorite song"
Favorite games: Hide and Seek (you are getting better at this but you still like to hide in the same exact spot) and Memory (you are one smart little cookie and always beat your dad and I)
Favorite books: Anything related to Princesses; Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see; your Bible for little girls.
Favorite foods: You are at that stage where you are a very picky eater, but at least you will try 1-2 bites "You gotta try new foods because they might taste Gooo-oood"; You constantly are asking for a snack or chocolate even after you tell us you are full at dinner. One of your favorite treats is Smart Cow Frozen Yogurt Bar and you love to add gummies and marshmallows to your Chocolate yogurt.
You LOVE to color and play with stickers! Looking at your art projects from the year, it is amazing to see the progression from coloring with scribbles to drawing things we can actually understand.
Your artistic ability was certainly not inherited by me as your artwork already surpasses anything I can produce. We created a wall with your artwork in the kitchen where it is proudly on display.
I love to watch you read to Chet and get him to understand things. I know you get frustrated when he takes your toys, but you are so good and usually let him continue to play with it. You are a very patient big sister!
You are also such a big helper with Chet and always let us know what he needs or what he is doing. I can tell you are going to be a great mommy some day!
You have had some difficult adjustments with moving to the new house. I know it was hard to leave your friends. You still like to come down into our bedroom every night since you aren't quite comfortable sleeping upstairs all by yourself.
You love to dress in short sleeved shirts and tank tops...even in the middle of winter. I know when you are at the age to flee the coop, you will venture to a warmer climate!
This past year you were enrolled in Ballet and Tap and you were such a good dancer. I didn't know how you would do on stage in front of all of those people, but you LOVED it! You even made dad into a dancer! You both did a disco routine for the dance recital.
You continue to love school and enjoy learning. Your dad and I are very proud of how you pay attention to your teachers and how much you have learned. Your teacher, Miss Thornton, says you are a natural leader and are always willing to help out in class. This year, you learned zoo phonics and are even able to start reading some words! I love how you sing Mandarin songs and are learning another language! The other day, you told me "i really like to try hard at school, mom". If I tell you how to spell something you can write out the word all by yourself.
I am so proud to be your mom and, although I love watching you grow, I will always yearn for you to stay this age. The age where you still need me. The age where you LOVE to be around me. I hope that this will never change. I am so excited to see what this next year brings! Happy Birthday, my precious darling! Love, Mom
We had several celebrations for her birthday. I think that may have been too many because she woke up the morning after the party with her friends and asked "When is it my birthday again?"
When our families were in town, we celebrated her birthday with her Grandparents, Cousins, and Aunts and Uncles. She saw a picture of a Strawberry Mousse Cake on a recipe I cut out from Southern Living and wanted me to make that for her birthday. It was not a straight forward cake and it had very ambiguous directions...let's just say I am glad I bought enough ingredients because I had the opportunity to make the cake twice.
You can see her covering her eyes...at all three parties, whenever we would sing "Happy Birthday", she would get so bashful!
Then, we took her to "The cat in the hat place" for dinner on her actual birthday. Chet stayed home with our babysitter, so Elsa got some undivided mom and dad time.
And, her final party was for friends at the NEW Zoo. 11 kids + 6 adults = pure chaos! We joked that even with the 6 adults it was difficult to "control" the kids! Even though it was a blast, I joked about just having cake at a park with a playground next time since that seemed to be the favorite part of the day!
This goat LOVED Miss Kate!
Chet LOVED feeding the Barnyard animals!
All the girls of the party
That evening, we went for a walk around our neighborhood and Elsa insisted on riding her scooter in her princess dress...priceless.
