Our Big Girl

I always get a little sentimental around our girl's birthdays. maybe that's why i love planning their parties...it keeps me super busy!

Today, our Addie Marie turns 4. There's always something about each birthday: it seems like such a huge jump, like she's growing up before our very eyes...because really, she is.

She's turned into the most wonderful helper. She loves her sisters and has resorted to telling them that she loves them so much, even when they aren't nice to her because God loves us that way. She loves to be the first in their room to greet them in the morning and get them a kashi bar as soon as they're out of bed. Her caring heart has come out in so many precious ways.

She loves gymnastics, and her new nickname is "addie marie flipadoodle wamsted".  There is absolutely no piece of furniture in our house that hasn't been flipped onto or jumped off of! She started ballet this year and loves to twirl and twist and skip. She loves to read, and animals or science continue to be her favorite topics. And she is reading! She's got word families and a few sight words down and has moved onto full fledged sounding out words! We end each day right now with a puzzle. She's not afraid to get dirty and would stay outside for hours at a time. She loves science. In fact, her birthday party was a science party. We erupted her volcano and mixed colors; made snow and exploded things. 

Her imaginary friends: Tutu, Allison, Mickens and Mr Fitts accompany many of our adventures. She reads to them and plays with them, always making sure to instruct them in what they should do. They even run races. Mr. Fitts has yet to win. Her imagination is wilder than I sure every imagined it would be, chasing alligators or giants or jaguars. She looks for clues and solves mysteries and loves to go to the grocery store for us...in her crazy coop that she can hardly fit in anymore!

And let me tell you, this kid loves to talk. Her vocabulary shocks us on a daily basis with words like fascinating and cumulonimbus. She can talk about at least 5 different topics without taking a breath. She notices the birds in the sky and the machines on the side of the road. She tells us about school and her friends. She.loves.life!

But one of my favorite things about our Addie is when she looks up at me and says: I love you so much Mommy!

Addieboo, we love you so much too precious girl. You are an amazing daughter and a sweet big sister! God blessed our family immensely when He gave you to us! 

Happy Birthday Addieboo! 

Click here to see a slideshow of our big girl!