Four

A little girl I know turned four on Tuesday. This little girl is charming, funny, bright, inquisitive, joyful, enthusiastic, and has the best snuggles in the house. She is curious about frogs and plants and animals and babies, and really, really wants to learn how to write. She tags along with her brother and picks up some of his Lego skills (such as building spaceships with exploding metal pieces on them, with pink and purple parts included). She is delightful, a comfort to my heart from the beginning.

Four seems like such a milestone birthday this time around. She's not a baby or toddler any more; she even seems like she's moving through the preschool age and some days I think she could be in Kindergarten next year. Yet she still sucks her thumb and needs her Mommy more than any other figure. I am so thankful I get to be home with her every day and help her grow and learn and watch her blossom and discover the world.

On her birthday we went to the preschool room at school while Gabriel had his martial arts class, then we went to Gymnastics for her. We had lunch, then went down to the waterfront and visited a unique little shop called Just Frogs (and Toads Too).

Part rescue center, part gift shop, part educational facility, Just Frogs is run by one passionate and dedicated lady. We got to see and learn about several different kinds of frogs and turtles she had there, and bought some little gifts for our friends. Then we went and bought cake and dinner ingredients, came home and started cooking and decorating. Annika wanted a frog theme for her birthday, but she wanted a strawberry cake, which she helped me make.

We decorated for the close friends who were to join us for dinner, and the kids had a blast playing with all the little plastic frogs we had gotten. A nice dinner (salmon, her choice), a few presents, a yummy cake with to-die-for coconut milk ice cream, and our little four-year-old was satisfied.

Now she's four, and it's hard for it to sink in. I guess I'll get used to it soon enough!