happy fourth birthday duckie!

it’s amazing that another year has sailed by, seemingly with a blink of an eye. you hit so many milestones this year sweet girl - and every day, you are doing something more clever, more funny while always maintaining the highest ‘cuteness factor’ possible. 

some of your most notable achievements this year were:

potty training

going to bed by yourself in your big girl bed

drawing faces and bodies 

learning to write your name

starting dance class

trying new foods

developing a unique sense of humor

learning to read

reciting bible verses

some of your favorite things:

affection

dancing

dressing up like a princess

watching yourself in videos

reading

your ability to remember things is remarkable. you will talk about things that happened as far back as a year ago - but refer to everything in the past as ‘yesterday’ :). your attention to detail is teetering near ocd - you always put the same clothes back on your polly pocket dolls and you can remember where you put things when you hide them from mommy. haha.

one of the greatest things about your birthday this year is that this was the first time we were able to ask you the birthday questions with you being able to answer each one and comprehend what we were asking! it seems so simple - but these things blow my mind. i am in awe of God’s glorious creation when i see your mind at work - developing the ability to draw a face, arms, legs and hair, then pair them together and differentiate yourself from me or daddy. and writing your name, hearing you read and sound out words ... nothing short of miraculous. and proof of God’s handiwork. 

here are our fun birthday questions and your responses this year!

 (responses are verbatim)

what is your favorite color ... pink

what is your favorite toy ... abacus

what is your favorite fruit ... applesauce

what is your favorite tv show ... bubble guppies

what is your favorite thing to eat for lunch ... pasta

what is your favorite outfit ... the pink dress with polka dots and sparkles

what is your favorite game ... princess game

what is your favorite snack ... cookies, cheetos and sticks

what is your favorite animal ... kitties with sparkles

what is your favorite song ... princess song

what is your favorite book ... roly poly

who is your best friend ... you and you, mommy and daddy

what is your favorite cereal ... chocolate

what is your favorite thing to do outside ... play and draw chalks on the porch

what is your favorite drink ... milk

what is your favorite holiday ... halloween and valentine’s day

what is your favorite thing to take to bed at night ... white blankie

what do you want for dinner on your birthday ... sandwiches

what is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast ... pancake

what do you want to be when you grow up ... tall

the last one is the best response i think! haha!!

duckie, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and daddy. this is not the first or the last time you will hear this. and i hope you always remember. we love you. jesus loves you. and your life is the greatest blessing we have ever known. 

happy birthday precious angel!

three and a half

oh my sweet girl ... i feel surprised that the last time i updated this site was six months ago! ... so much has changed with you!! ... you have officially transitioned (in my mind) to the most precious version of a true "little girl" in every sense! over the past few weeks, i have noticed a difference - and in the very best way, of course!

each day is like a new adventure for us! your imagination is running wild and love the anticipation of what you will say next ... just yesterday, while we were in the car, you dropped something you were playing with and politely asked me, "Mommy, can you please buckle your seat belt off right now and get that for me?" ... WOW! ... how cool is it that you are speaking to me in complete sentences with multiple requests?? i love it!

lately, you have been playing with your toys much more. your rocking horse has shot straight up the favorite list over the past few days and this past saturday you told me how "horsey is sleepy. he needs a nap" then you covered him up with "giant blankie" and precisely spread out each corner around him.

your stuffed animals and babies are getting extra special care from you now. your bitty baby had a "sticky poopie diaper" that was "yucky" and had to be changed quickly! each movement you make is so intentional. you carefully held up your baby's bottom from the bed, while removing the dirty diaper to place the new clean diaper underneath. again, that attention to detail is remarkable.

daddy has been in san antonio since the end of may for navy corpsman school. it's been a tough adjustment not having him around to play with, talk to and spend time with - however, i have treasured this very special time together, just you and me!

since i figured we could use something to fill our time, you started your first official dance class this month! you are taking a pre-ballet/tap combo class and i have to say that watching you practice your first position, jumps, pliés and tapping is enough cuteness to last a lifetime! just getting you dressed in your "dance clothes" has me "ooooo-ing and awwwww-ing" all morning!

back in april, over the long good friday weekend, you decided you were ready to be potty trained!! it was such a momentous occasion for us (me and daddy) but to you, it was like you had been doing it all along - or at least that you knew what to do but just realized, then you were ready!! it was quite literally, overnight. you wore a pull up for less than a week before we realized, that you didn't even need one at night. i love how everything you do is on your time. it's almost as if you're taking everything in, detail by detail, analyzing the scenario, thinking it through, and then making a conscious choice to do it. then you just go all out and are done!

that same month, you did something else equally, if not even MORE AMAZING ... you started drawing faces, with bodies! and while at first mention, i'm sure me saying that may seem less than "WOW" but ... as you sat in your chair at the worktable, i watched the coolest progression as you started with a simple head with eyes, nose and mouth and then added, arms ... then legs ... then feet ... then hair ... and then pupils!!! it was like watching an short film of hand drawn animation! to be able to sit and witness each drawing, knowing that your mind was carefully remembering a detail and then to see you actually move your hand to draw that next body part was like seeing you walk for the first time!! but maybe even more exciting because this was truly like watching what was going on inside your tiny little head!! absolutely incredible!

in may, you started writing your name!! you have known how to spell it for quite a while and i know you had seen me, your daddy, your cousins, etc write it before but just in time for mother's day, you started doing it all on your own! ... again, something else that floors me. i always constantly reminded of God's great miracle of life when you do almost anything. but i have to say, watching you write your name correctly with your left hand, and then watching you write it backwards (crossing the a's in reverse too) with your right is beyond cool!!

... more interesting little tidbits about you lately ...

your favorite color : whatever color you are wearing that day - you literally look down at what you have on and then respond with that color (but you always remember that mommy's favorite color is purple)

your favorite thing to watch on tv or the ipad : bubble guppies (you're even starting to sing their songs while we watch)

your favorite thing to eat at breakfast : pancakes

your favorite thing to eat at lunch or dinner : pizza or chicken nuggets & french fries (smart girl)

your favorite book : green eggs & ham, there's a wocket in my pocket, the cat in the hat OR the illustrated bible stories book

your favorite outfit : a dress of any kind, preferably long enough to twirl in!

you have started praying at night before bedtime. hearing your sweet voice talk to God is like an angel's whisper (or at least that's what i imagine it to be). 

thank you for being the light of my life. i am overwhelmingly grateful to have been blessed with you as my daughter.

i love you. and daddy loves you just as much!

mommy

happy father's day!

thank you husband, for being the man who you are and for loving God.

thank you for loving our daughter every day and for everything you have done and continue to do for our family.

thank you for the years ahead ... i know the future will be even sweeter than today.

i love you. always.

(and as duckie would say)
HAPPY FADDER’S DAY DADDY!!

what in the word?

so it's twenty twelve and i have no idea who pressed fast forward and made it the end of january already! (not complaining but wow, time is just FLYING BY these days!)

the mister finished his third semester of nursing school (woo hoo!).
we had a third birthday party.
duckie's great granny and ev came to spend christmas eve and morning with her.
we spent time with my family. new year's came and went.
daddy started his last semester of the nursing program (what?! double woo hoo!).
and now it's the end of january.

so sometime within the last few months, duckie officially morphed into a little girl. she is losing her baby-ness.
i'm pretty sure this happened overnight. she speaks in complete sentences, recalls memories, has an awesome sense of humor and is just a joy to be around. of course there are those things, that still remind me of how she is still quite little - even though to us, she is big! for instance, when she says "what in the word?" because she can't say her "rl" words yet. or "mommy, you want to twirrr? (twirl)" or on those special occasions where she stops her constant motion to sit in my lap for 10 minutes. ahh... that is my version of heaven on earth.

a quick snapshot my sister-in-law took of us over the break... this will go down as an all-time fave.

have a great weekend!