Happy Birthday, baby girl :)

I am a week late, but I still wanted to write a little bit about Maddie turning 4.

The first thing I think every year is, "I can't believe my baby is 4!!" It is absolutely amazing to me how fast time flies. I remember people telling me that when she was a baby and I'd think they were crazy! I was covered in spit up and breast milk, having only gotten 4 hours of sleep, and dealing with colic at night and I kind of *wanted* it to end. I wanted her to be older; to do more things; to sleep!! Haha! But I don't lament the baby days like many women do. I enjoy every stage we hit, and I look forward to the next one. I try not to look back as my 'baby days' are all behind me now.

Maddie at 4:

• Maddie talks a mile a minute! If you aren't around her a lot, you can't always understand her. But it's not because she doesn't speak well, it's because you can't keep up!
  
• A few weeks ago I heard my first, "Whatever, mom"...wow.
  
• Maddie STILL loves her sleep. She sleeps 10-11 hours at night and still takes a 2 hour nap every single day. I am SO blessed by this. I need my down time just as much as they do in the afternoon. It keeps mama and the kids sane.
  
• Loves dogs! She likes all animals, but especially dogs. I'm hoping in the next year or so, we'll be able to get one for her. She constantly walks around on "all fours" and barks (in a pretty convincing sound) like a dog. Her name is "Bolt". ;)


• The femine whiles are not lost on this girl. In the past several months she has found that being cute can get her things. She giggles (in this weird fake giggle that only Joe and I can see through) and people and smiles in this sweet way with her chin down. It works every single time! While I don't like the idea of encouraging this behavior...it does have its advantages!


• Is a wonderful big sister! I keep waiting for the negative sibling attributes to set in. I can see it starting to happen a little tiny bit when she's with friends. I think it's more of a girl vs. boy thing, though, not sibling thing. She is SO good with Ben. They certainly have their moments, but honestly, they play so well together. She shares really well with him, too! As I am an only child, this is all foreign to me. But I'm so proud of the relationship they have and I pray it continues.


• Maddie loves preschool! So much! She isn't writing yet (though her drawing is much more specific), but she can recognize almost all the letters, and knows what many words start with! I am of the philosophy that kids have their whole lives to learn and should be allowed to be KIDS while they can. I am more excited than anything by HER excitement to learn. This will get her further in her education than anything else I can give her right now.


• Is becoming more girly. For most of her life she's enjoyed gender neutral or more boyish activities. Cars have been a particular favorite. Dresses were useless. Green was her favorite color. I was a tom boy. I have no problem with this. But it'd be nice to not have a complete meltdown when she has to wear a dress. Because of some influence from some girls at preschool, and her friend Katie, Maddie has decided that maybe being a tad girlie isn't so bad. We are embracing dresses! Yay! She looks so cute in them, it was a shame she wouldn't wear them before. Last Thursday, she went to the doctor's office in a purple plaid dress and purple sparkle nail polish....carrying a rubber snake. No kidding! I love this kid!!


• Maddie says the funniest things!! She is constantly cracking us up with the random stuff she says. Of course, I can't think of anything right now, but believe me, she is hysterical!

There are so many more things we could tell you about Maddie. But what you really need to know is that she turned 4. She's VERY excited about it. We are very excited for her. She is such a blessing to our lives. We are so proud of all that she is and will be. She makes us laugh, makes us cry, and touches our hearts constantly.

We love you, baby girl!!! Happy Birthday, my love :)