And just like that, my Princess is 4!

You know, I don't know where time begins and ends, just that it passes with a blink of an eye. This year, for her 4th birthday on April 18th, Anna insisted on a lemon flavored cake. She said “Mommy, I would like for my cake to be the flavor of a lemon, but look like a Princess Castle!” Your wish is my command, little Princess.

Looking back, I just can’t believe how much Anna has grown up this year. When she turned 3, she was still my little baby, still dependent on Jeff and me for the everyday tasks like getting her up for the day, going to the potty, getting dressed(inevitably with a lot of dissention), eating her breakfast, and basically keeping her on schedule. At 3 she still had that cute little baby face, and lots of “baby talk” words that just melted my heart.

During the year Anna grew from 3 to 4, we watched the wonderment in her eyes as she discovered that she is a "BIG" girl. She learned to turn the water at the sink on "all by mysefff", learned to brush her teeth, start her bath water, bathe herself and drain the tub "all by myseffff cause I am a big girl now". She discovered a whole new world of picking out her own clothes, learned that the tags go in the back ("but what if there are no tags, Mommy?"), and educated herself on just how to sit so she could get her socks, pants and shirt on without much effort. She learned how to pick up her dirty clothes and put them in the basket and ultimately how to take them to the washer, load them (with Mommy's help) and start the wash cycle.

Anna has also learned so much in school this year! One big milestone included writing her name. Yes, she actually writes her name and it is legible. She is slowly learning to read by recognizing site words and learning all the sounds of the alphabet. She has studied all about many animals, what they eat and where they live. Her coloring has come a long way as well. Instead of scribbling all over the page, she is somewhat trying to keep it “in the lines” Additionally, Anna has become a whiz kid on the computer, and loves the preschool games where she has to create sentences with action verbs and pronouns (all of which she discovered by herself on www.starfall.com) . She has asked for her very own computer for her 4th birthday because she is tired of using Mommy’s and Daddy’s “puter”. Anna also has learned about Jesus and the Bible on a daily basis, which makes my heart so joyful that she is beginning to understand the foundations of a Christian life.

After school, when we get home, I usually give her a little snack before dinner. One day, Anna decided that she was big enough to get her own snack, so she asked me to put her yogurt on the bottom shelf in the fridge so that she could get it by herself, and I put her water bottle there as well. She watched how I filled her bottle from the refrigerator door and followed suit (seeing as that was the only way I could get her to drink water....we used the same bottle about 365 times!).

After Addyson was born in July, Anna became a little mini Mommy herself, not only to her dollies, but also to her baby sister. It is so amazing to me how gentle and caring Anna is toward Addyson. When she is crying Anna tries to console her, when Addyson wants to play, Anna obliges ever so gently, making Addyson giggle until tears roll down her cheeks. When I need help with one thing or another, Anna is quick to pitch in. The other night when Addyson was in the bath, Anna came in and asked if she could help. I said sure. So her little hands grabbed the bottle of baby wash, rubbed it between her palms and ever so softly bathed Addyson’s little head and body, all the while singing to Addyson….”washa washa washa….wash the little baby…”

When Anna turned 4 on April 18th, I started looking back at the pictures from her 3rd birthday and realized what a milestone year this has been. Now when Anna gets up out of bed, by herself, and goes to the bathroom, by herself, it is hard for me to remember that just months ago, we had to help her with everything. Now, we simply say, Anna go and get dressed and let’s get ready for our day (now rest assured that not every day is perfect….especially if we don’t have the right pair of socks availably clean!) Also, to her delight and our own amazement, Anna got her own netbook for her birthday. She is teaching me new things every day, that little whiz! Ultimately, I know Anna will continue to have many more milestones on her journey to becoming a “grown up girl”, but for now, she will still be my “Big” little girl. Happy Birthday, Princess!