Bree's 4th BIrthday

Bree had been looking forward to her birthday for months.  She had all kinds of ideas of what she would do once she was finally 4.  And then the night before her birthday finally arrived.  After months of excitement and anticipation it was here!  And she started to cry.  She realized that turning 4 meant she was becoming a big girl, and she had no desire to be a big girl, just mommy's baby peanut.  I have to admit, that one got me.  Clearly, I'm sad that my baby is no longer really a "baby".  And I hate to be one of "those parents" but she will always be my baby.  It doesn't mean she will get spoiled but she is my baby and my peanut and always will be.  It's hard to believe that in just 15 short months she will be headed off to Kindergarten and I will be home--alone.  For that reason, and several others (money, need, etc.) she will not be doing preschool or Pre-K this fall.  Instead she will stay with me and do other activities and we will work on school work together.  I hope to have her reading well before she starts school.  She's bright and picks up quickly.  She's fun and yet often overdramatic.  She has learned some endearing qualities from her brothers and some that are less than desirable.  She adores her big brothers and wants to be just like them.  She wants to take swim lessons, tennis lessons, piano lessons, and everything else the boys have done.  And she wants her own bedroom in the basement so she can be closer to them.  The promise of a future "sleepover" in one of their rooms is enough to hold her for now, but she has proposed the idea of turning the toy room or tv room into her bedroom.  She loves singing time in Primary and was at the front of the pack singing all of the words in her new Easter hat on Easter Sunday.  Her best friends are Xander and Kate (who claims her as a sister and who she calls a cousin).  She is still very much a mommy's girl and follows me around all day and insists on going everywhere I go, even just boring church meetings.  On the occasional Wednesday night that I leave her at home with Reid to go to bed, she will make up in the middle of the night and call for me, just to make sure I've come back.  She's my mini-me and my favorite 4 year-old girl ever!

She insisted on opening presents in the middle of the afternoon.  She was not going to wait until after dinner and cake.  She was just way too excited.

For her presents, we kept it fairly simple.  She got a new battery for the Hot Wheels red mustang that our neighbors gave us a few years ago, so now she can drive it this summer.  She also got a Doc McStuffins doll, a Doc writing pad, and a Cinderella styling head.

Moana is her favorite movie and she is the first of my kids to really get obsessed with a movie.  She could watch Moana every day, and she does sing the song nearly constantly.  She also has many of the lines memorized.  She has mentioned she would love to go to Hawaii.

While I was getting pictures of her birthday to post, Google Photos posted this wonderful video of 2013.  I thought it was so cute to see her so little and to see just how far she has come.  I miss that little baby.  But I'm so happy with the girl she is growing into (well, if only we could get rid of that dramatic flair!).