Yesterday, Anna turned four and we celebrated with setting up her big girl bed in the morning, and having a party in the afternoon.  She had a ballet themed party and invited two neighbor friends plus some family.  The girls wore tutus, colored ballerina pictures, and ate pizza and pink cupcakes.  So fun.  I really can’t believe she’s already four!

Anna has such a fun personality and adds so much to our family.  She and her brother are very different and that’s one of the things that make them so wonderful.  She has a fun loving, carefree attitude about life which is great.  She LOVES clothes and enjoys putting together her outfits every day.  In the beginning I was concerned about her learning how to correctly pair up clothes, color coordinating, etc, but now I’m grateful that she dresses herself and I have come to love her look.  Her clothing often doesn’t match, the more crazy the color combinations the better.  The way she dresses completely fits her personality and it’s wonderful.  I love seeing what she comes up with every day.  Thank you, Lord, for helping me let go of this so I can enjoy this part of Anna.

Anna is very loving and has a sweet relationship (most of the time) with James.  She still misses him terribly while he’s at school and occasionally still has a few tears about that. One of her favorite parts of the day is picking him up.  After getting in the van she has a million questions for him about his day and he’s so tired he just needs some time to himself.  They’re learning how to give and take and be kind in the midst of that.

Anna is such a huge helper for me at home.  Every day at breakfast after the boys leave she asks me, “So, what’s our plan today, Mom?”  She knows we have some work and some play every day.  She loves to race me doing chores and usually finishes her tasks first.  I love this tactic and will be sad when she no longer enjoys it.

I really enjoy the time with Anna one-on-one, and it occurred to me recently that I didn’t get this kind of time with James at this age.  Anna was around when James was 3 & 4, and we were adjusting to life with two kids.  Four is so exciting as she begins to understand the world around her and has a ton of questions every day.

Some funny Anna-isms…While reading a book recently I asked Anna what the boy in the picture was doing and she answered, “Catching a ribbit.”  (Catching a frog).  Another day she was sneezing several times in a row and said, “Boy, I have a lot of ha-choos today!”

We love you, Anna-girl, and are blessed to have you in our family!  Happy 4th Birthday!