Turning 4

My sweet baby girl.

You have gone and done it again.

Another surprise sneak attack by you, only this time, in the form of a birthday!

Four.

My teeny tiny little one is growing up so big!

In this last year, you have left behind your love of Dora the Explorer and moved onto Team UmiZoomi, to Doc McStuffins, to Mike the Knight, to Animaniacs and currently, Scooby Doo. You adore Scooby Doo right now. So much so, Grandpa Runge got you a plethora of  Scooby gifts on your special day!

Your favorite movie was Bolt! the superdog, but I think you have seen it so many times over the last year... it's beginning to lose it's appeal.. which is ironic because in the beginning it was like pulling Mommy's teeth out to watch it and now... {sigh} I would give anything to snuggle and watch it with you again but.. Scooby reigns supreme right now and he doesn't inspire much snuggling!

You hide.. all the time.. in the best way possible- at home! Thankfully you have not done so in the stores- I  think  freaked out on you bad enough the few times you tried it that it's no longer a fun idea.. the best is when I come home from work or someone comes to visit you... you take off for the desk Papa Reggie built for you... there are absolutely no tell tell clues to your whereabouts... beyond the shaking and rattling desk and chairs as you make a headfirst dive under them.. or the little size 9 shoes sticking out from underneath them.. none whatsoever.

Your love of grapes has not diminished but you seem to be moving away from the chicken nuggets.. incredibly so, you like baked chicken, bar-be-qued even! Good thing Daddy's a fantastic chef and is able to get you to try just a bit of about everything!

Your love of turkey sandwiches is still going strong... that may have something to do with the fact that Mommy ate them nearly everyday of her pregnancy...

You still avoid breads if you can and are beginning to refine your cheese selections. It used to be I could give you just about any cheese and you'd gobble it up.. not so much these days though. String cheese still reigns supreme out of all the choices!

We've been to specialists for skin irritations, Mommy has thrown her arms up in the air in desperation and Daddy has held us both so close when it seemed nothing would work. Then, simple little changes were set up thanks to the suggestions of a co-worker and the major irritations seem to be kept at bay for a while now... cross our fingers, so far we are going two months strong without any outbreaks.

You have adapted your routine so well to the chaos of Mommy and Daddy's work that I am amazed at your resiliency. When we do face a melt down, we ride it out the only way we can- with the best tears and snuggles life has to give.

The imagination that has taken flight inside that fantastically wonderful mind of yours! There is nothing I love to do more than to quietly sit around a corner, out of sight from you, and just listen to the adventures you have set forth for the day.

We've created stories with characters such as Riley the Wonder Cat, Mommy's nose and JJ the explorer(who often is accompanied with Mommy's nose). The latter two started our nighttime storytelling but once Daddy got involved, Riley the Wonder Cat has taken over completely and gone on such amazing adventures to outer space, searches for grumpy fire breathing dragons with thorns stuck in their paws to simple explorations through forests.

In the last year you have loved your babies wholeheartedly, along with your puppies too. In the last few months, Barbie has made an appearance and is in hot competition with the babies for attention.

Now that Spring has arrived, the sandbox is an almost daily adventure (as it was during the warmer winter days as well!) and your love of water has not diminished one iota. In fact, you just finished your 2nd round of swim lessons and have been asking for more!

Jumping. How could I not mention jumping before now? Oh. My. Goodness. Do you love to jump! Your favorites are Mommy and Daddy's bed.. I think the mirror has something to do with that though because the best jumping happens when you can see yourself! So high you go and so fast my child! You have absolutely no fear when jumping... not even after jumping your way off the bed a time or two followed with a healthy sized bruise to boot. Nope. No fear. You jump off the bed, off the chair, off the walls, off of anything you can think of to jump from and you do it!

Your favorite color you ask? It has held strong and true ever since you could decide what color captured your imagination the most and shouted it out then and now: BLUE, BLUE, BLUE!

Everything would be blue if you had your way!

I love you baby girl. You began life as my peanut, grew into my baby, began exploring as a toddler and are now my curious and vivacious child. I ache the times we are away from each other and celebrate every laugh, tear, smile and tantrum you throw my way. Without any of them, I would not have had the chance to be your Mother and that is something I would not give up for anything.

I love you sweetheart.
Mommy