4 Years Later

9 days ago my big kid got even bigger. She is officially 4 now and is blazing into this new age with ferocity I did not expect. She is loud and proud about being 4. Every day she asks daddy "Do you have any more 4 things for me?" By this she means things she had to wait to do until she was 4. We're gettting creative. Buckling her own seat belt, showering on her own, and unbeknownst to her..chewing gum. We're saving that gem for a moment that counts.

In a moment of poor planning I committed to a camping trip with friends on the weekend of Kate's birthday. For a bit I stressed about her not having a party and being hurt that we weren't celebrating the way she wanted. Turns out, she's more mature than I gave her credit for. And turns out, camping was pretty much all about her hanging out with friends and expanding her independence (a gift for all of us!). We did manage to throw in a little birthday fun. Kate loves the Rainbow Fairy chapter books. I bought her the Pet Fairy set and scavenged our Playmobil bin to find the pet featured in each book. Using bento boxes I hid the pets with clues around the campsite for a magic filled treasure hunt. It went off better than expected and Kate was pleased with the "treasure" of books at the end. She had a couple of pretty great clue helpers (nice work Claire and Abby). With cake pops for dessert around the fire and an outdoor theater setup to end the day it turned into a birthday to remember.

A few pics from the happy day:

And Now She is 2.

We have spent the last few days celebrating the fact that Leia is no longer a baby but officially a toddler (who thinks she is a big kid). Leia turned 2 on Friday and she woke up to balloons, flowers, and sprinkle doughnuts. Later in the day her good buddy Rylee showed up for a sleepover (Rylee's parents had a conveniently timed vacation so we got her for an overnight). Oma, Opa, Aunt Kristi, and Cousin Aidan came by for dinner with plenty of birthday presents to spoil the girl. The day ended with cupcakes and 3 girls sleeping in one room.
On Sunday we had dinner with the Cook's and brought them leftover cupcakes to share in the celebration. Today we hit the park with Leia's good buddies and doled out more cupcakes, to some freezing little fingers!
While the festivities did not all go quite as I hoped we still had a great time and got to celebrate for 3 days. Next year I will plan her party better and try to remember it will always be on a holiday weekend.
I'm super proud of this kid. I feel like she is starting to rein in her bullying behavior. She shows clear signs of being empathetic even at 2. The lightbulb went on in her brain about a month ago and she has mastered potty training (at least the pee part). We have traded carrying diapers for carting around a little potty. Her language is making leaps and bounds. Four syllable words are her new goal. Watermelon and Pepperoni are my favorites. She is surrounded my a most amazing village of people and I couldn't ask for better friends and role models for her. Thanks to everyone who is helping me raise my children!

Finally got her own sunnies!

Is is a flashlight or a whistle? Both, woohoo!

It's as big as her head.

Mexico Xmas

We spent a week in Puerto Vallarta Mexico celebrating Christmas with our family from Florida. It was a wonderful week of sun, sand, and zip lining. We had a great time and made sure to hit our favorite beachside bar as well as discovering two new restaurants worth going back to. By the end of the week Kate had decided we should move to Mexico. If it didn't sound like a good idea at the time it sure did when we hit the cold weather back home!

And That's a Wrap

Well I made it 157 days of posting a photo each day. Somewhere along the line 2 weeks ago I dropped the ball and couldn't regain momentum. I am disappointed not to complete this mission but it was flawed.
Not so far into the project I realized I missed blogging just to blog. It felt like overkill to post a picture and then post about our adventures and happenings. I was also a bit disappointed that 99% of the photos were of the girls (though not surprised). It was hard to see so little of Scott and I being us in the photos.
The last few weeks have been non stop and I am grateful for the nap I took today instead of trying to catch up on photos. I am releasing myself from "guilt for not posting" by abandoning the project.
Here is a quick photo recap of the last few weeks: