Happy 4th Birthday Olivia Ann!

 

This morning, at exactly 8:57, Olivia told me, "Mom, last year I was 3."  Coincidentally, she was only 7 minutes behind being perfectly correct.  It's overwhelming to think about how different our life has become since our sweet little Livy came to be.  Not that long ago, Brian and I were talking about the girls, and I commented that I had no idea what we used to do to fill up all the extra hours.  How bored we must have been!

To be honest, this morning got off to a bit of a rough start with Olivia putting up a stink about her clothes.  She's become a dress-only wearer - a fact that drives me nuts as she has many cute, non-dress outfits sitting in her dresser!  However, determined not to let my feathers get ruffled on her birthday, I called Beth to vent for a minute.  She said, and I agree, Olivia is "The Queen" of stages...  And, that's a good place to start this entry.

My dear Livy,

You are a creature of stages...of habits...  Let's concentrate on the stages - well, when, you were first born, you went through a stage where you got up every night at 11 and 2:35 on the dot.  Then, you went through the stage of being allergic to milk and not eating bread...or cookies...or cupcakes...or anything else other kids can't get enough of.  Hmmm...then came the stage of freaking out in the car seat because the buckles were so tight, and this, of course, was soon to be followed by the stage of nearly all types of clothing being too tight and the stage of getting up 15 times at night.  You've had stages of being obsessed with the Elmo's Potty Time DVD, Dora, the game Memory, and soon to be the games Candyland and Shoots & Ladders - birthday presents from Mom and Dad.  You've obviously in the stage of loving "looking pretty" in dresses, and you've been so interested in brushing your hair nice, putting barrettes in yourself, and taking care of your teeth (so you don't get, what you call, "witch teeth").

And, these stages, while often trying, make you, you - and I love you.  You're shy, sweet, wild, and sassy all at the same time - how do you manage that?  You've got an amazing vocabulary and speak so well...when you speak up that is.  You still love your silky, your thumb, and cuddling.  I love when you wake up first in the morning because that guarantees me an extra 1/2 hour of sleep with you right by my side.  Sometimes, when you're sleepy or sad and I'm holding you, you'll still pat my back as I pat yours, just like when you were a baby.  At times, you truly have a mischievous glint in your eye, and I have a million pictures of you with your head tilted to the right with a sweet, shy smile on your face - your classic pose.

You are one of the most caring sisters I know.  Tonight, as we were reading books, Grace laid down, not with her head in my lap, but with it in yours.  You sat there quietly, patting her back, playing with her hair, and bending down a couple of times to give her little kisses.  The sight made my heart happy.  The bond between the two of you is incredibly strong and special - and maybe someday when you guys are fighting, you'll read this and stop arguing over whatever...probably who stained whose shirt, or something like that.  You guys like to sleep together when allowed, and being told "no" to this has caused your sister to have a few tantrums.  At Camp DuNord, you two slept together every night, and usually when I'd go to bed, I'd find you two cuddled up together.  You and your sis love playing babies, house, and kitchen along with coloring, jumping on the trampoline, swimming (You've now passed the Preschool lessons twice!), and running around outside.  We've spend so much time at the pool lately, that you haven't been that interested in biking, but I hope that's something we'll get back into soon.

Otherwise, you've turned into quite a Mommy's little helper.  You like to help vacuum and do other house chores...please can that continue as you get older? You fold clothes and blankets, and when you asked me to put your shoes in your shoe organizer in your closet, your Daddy laughed and said you were just like me.  He quickly followed that up by saying that that was a good thing of course!  It's true though...a little shy, a little emotional, a tendency to get car sick...the list could continue.

What else can I say...you've gotten taller this year and have thinned out a little.  You still cry about the most small injuries - today you actually limped around because you got a 1/4 inch cut on your knee, and a while back you took a bath with your arm raised above your head the entire time because you had skinned your elbow.  You're doing great with letters, numbers, and staying in the lines while coloring.  You love drawing with chalk, watering the plants, and explaining to Grace what she can and cannot do.  Actually, you're a bit of a tattletale right now, but we're working on it, and I think you're starting to get it.  You've grasped sharing (well most of the time), and you doing pretty solid with manners in general.  You've started exploring the world of bread - we've always told you it was tasty! - and tonight, at the pool, you learned how to float - all by yourself, and proceeded to do so numerous times with the longest float being about 30 seconds. 

Overall, you've made your Mommy and Daddy very proud, and we can't wait to see how much more you grow in this next year.

Hugs and Kisses,
Mommy

PS - Here's some party pictures...