Lily turns 4!

So I'm totally late posting this...like two weeks late. But I guess it's better late than never, right?

On January 19th, Lily turned 4. I know, right? Can you believe she's 4 already? I know I can't. Since she's older and the kids who would be coming to her party are now older, too, we decided not to have the party at our house. There's really just not enough space for everyone who would be coming and the kids wouldn't really have anywhere to run around since we live in the arctic and have to stay inside. So Erik suggested we have the party at the Cache Valley Fun Park and let the kids do the soft play (a HUGE McDonald's-like playground).

Lily and all the kids had a great time, and the Fun Park provided the food and cake. Oh yeah...and the clean up. That was worth the cost right there! :) There was one minor break down for the birthday girl when she wanted the cake and not the pizza while we were eating dinner. But it didn't last long and we moved right along to cake and presents as soon as the pizza dwindled.

We may have made a bit of a mistake, though. She's already talking about wanting to have her birthday there next year. We have set the precedent, I suppose, so we'll see what happens.

So yeah...the fact that I have a 4 year old just blows my mind. I was watching her do something the other day and I realized she's not a little girl any more - and she's sure to tell you so because she's a big girl. And she really is. It always amazes me how much she develops each year. I always think that nothing will compare to the changes we saw that year and then the next year always makes me take it back. You'd think I'd learn, but apparently not because I'm going to say the same thing this year: There's no way she'll change next year as much as she did this year.

She's so articulate and methodical. Even her pediatrician commented on it at her check up. I mean, you always like to think your kid is ahead of the rest, but then don't all parents think that? It was kind of nice to receive some validation there. She's obviously very interested in reading and writing. She can write her own name by herself and can write the rest of the family's if we tell her the letters. She memorizes entire books and then reads them back to us or her babies. Word. For. Word. She sings all the time, which makes our life very much like an opera since she just sings about what we're doing at the time. Her imagination is great and so detailed. I love it!!

We still have the normal toddler mis-behaviors, of course. And honestly, they should call it the Terrible Threes because this last year was a million times worse than those so-called Terrible Twos. It seems like the breakdowns were less frequent, but their intensity was much worse. That seems to be subsiding now (thank goodness), and we almost don't dread going out in public any more. But we still have our days... I'm actually reading a book right now that would label Lily as "spirited," and in just reading the first 3 or so pages, it described Lily and our life perfectly. Apparently, there is hope that she'll end up a normal, functioning adult, so I feel better now. :) And the big thing: her spirited-ness wasn't our fault! Seeing other kids who just comply with their parents and don't go from elated to devastated 10 times a day made me wonder what we'd done wrong. But it turns out she just came that way. The trick is to learn to deal with it and help her do the same. Wish us luck!

So even though I can't believe the changes and growth we've seen this year, I do know that we'll see even more in the next year. And while I'm excited to see who she'll become, I do admit it's a little bittersweet. She'll always be my little girl, but I'm a little sad that it's going so fast.