She's 4!

My Penny is 4. In the past four years, I've learned so much from this amazing little lady.

 She loves everything about her birthday. For weeks leading up to the big event, she counts down the days and makes her plans.  This year, Mother Nature threw us for a loop with all the snow and power outages. The day before her party, which she'd been planning for months, we found out we'd have to postpone. Luckily some of her girlfriends saved the day! Instead of a party, we'd have a play date. Oh- my friends are coming over, that's so cool! I was so afraid she'd be upset or disappointed, but she was actually super excited!

I was amazed at how sweet the girls were with one another. After chatting with their parents, I could completely understand why! We are so lucky to have these families in our lives :) Penny had an amazing day and is still talking about all the fun they had together! 

On her birthday, she took treats to school and wore her "Birthday Girl" shirt from Godmother Kellie.We celebrated with cupcakes!

 She loves cupcakes!

A week later than we originally planned, her party day finally arrived. Nana and Papa came by to help us get ready.  Nana surprised Penny with an American Girl doll- Saige (that lucky Nana- she won the doll in a raffle). Penny was thrilled! We've started reading the book- our first big chapter book. She can't wait to learn more about Saige and New Mexico. 

As we got ready, snow started to fall AGAIN! But luckily, it didn't ruin our plans. Her party at the zoo was a hit! We had so much fun learning about the animals the zookeepers brought to teach us about- a komodo dragon, a snake and a chinchilla.

 The kids were able to ask questions and Penny raised her hand to ask if the snake like to eat bumblebees. It was cute!
After learning about the animals, the kids enjoyed pizza and cake, before heading into the animal barn to feed the sheep and goats.  

And, everyone's favorite part of the party was the pinata! This frog was tough!

 We had an awesome day with our not-so-little four year old!

 Happy Birthday Penny Jeanne!

 In keeping with tradition, she answered her birthday questions:

 Some answers were identical to years past. Some were different. And some amazed even me (she doesn't really like live animals, so the fact that she wants to be a vet is comical, but heavily influenced by an amazing cousin of hers and an amazing friends' mom and dad who are vets).

Penny- you are my wish come true. At 4 you write all your letters and numbers, you are learning to read, you want to learn to tie your brother's shoes. You help us set the table and put your clothes in the hamper every night. You sweep the kitchen floor and pretend to cook with us. You're the best baking helper in the kitchen! You've fallen in love with the princesses, but you still refer to the princes as "Beasts"- Mom, who is Sleeping Beauty's Beast? You are incredibly observant and your memory continues to amaze me. When we're in the car, you never fail to let me know "this is the way to...". You love dance class, where you are free! At times you're fearful and I wonder if I taught you that- spread your wings little bird and fly- try new things, make new friends. Keep being you, because I love you! Happy 4th Birthday big girl! I can't wait to see what amazing things the next year holds for you :) 

And then I turned on the TV

I've read many an article recently about how horrible this winter has been. Our house has not escaped from the misery. Colds, RSV and the stomach bug. Recent snow days have been filled with me attempting to work from home while also attempting to care for sick kiddos and sanitize everything. I've tried so hard to manage everything. But in the midst of some rough deadlines at work, Mother Nature  dumped over a foot of snow on us this week and along with it came Penny's turn with the stomach bug. Poor kiddo! I reached my breaking point and turned on the tv. She watched Cinderella, Doc McStuffins, Sophia the First, Thomas, Barney, Sid the Science Kid, Sesame Street and Peg and Cat. She thoroughly enjoyed all the shows her friends talk about that her weird mom never lets her watch.  It kept her in one spot, which meant I had less places to thoroughly sanitize (let's be honest- I use Method cleaners, but Clorox made a reappearance for the past two weeks to help get rid of all the germs).

And she's totally fine. Slept well through the second half of the night and woke up asking to eat and drink. And, for more ice pops! 

We tried to keep her away from Porter on Friday too, which meant she got to watch a few more shows. 

While I'm certainly happy to get back to tv-free play time and to stop fighting germ warfare around here, I'm realizing that it's not terrible for her to watch a bit here and there. Everything in moderation, right. I'm usually an all or nothing kind of girl. But just as my "no fruit snacks" mentality means she mooches a few from friends at school every now and again, I've got to start realizing that she doesn't live in a bubble. Giving her choices and setting her up to make the best choices is my aim. It's a work in process. I'm a work in process. 

Goodnight 3

Sweet dreams 3!

Tomorrow you'll be 4. Sweet dreams little one, sweet dreams.

Sweetness

Bubba had a rough night last night. Something really upset his tummy. He's happy, drinking and eating small amounts this morning.

I am sanatizing everything, attempting to keep the kids away from one another, and trying to work. I'm falling behind and not doing any one thing well. Unless you count this snuggle moment. Making sure he's safe before letting him nap in his crib. 

Praying no one else catches whatever he had (I am not sure it was norovirus). Miss P has a big date this weekend with her school friends. We'll have to ward off germs and impending snow to make it happen. Party or no party, I'll have a 4 year old on my hands next week. Craziness! 

Time to get back to it! Focus. I think I can, I think I can! 

The Story of Emma Bear

One of the first birthday parties she went to was at Build-a-Bear. She was terrified of the fluff machine and cried hysterically. I had to take her for a walk in the mall to calm down. But she loves Emma Bear with all her heart. And, Emma Bear does not have a heart inside her- Penny was terribly upset when the store employee tried to put the heart inside the bear. It stayed in Penny's hand and is still in her basket of hair barrettes. Without further ado, I present the story of Emma Bear.

"Mom, can you tell me the story of Emma  Bear?" Penny asks all the time. So we made her a story :) 

Emma Bear used to be white with a pink nose. She was happy enough, but always wished for something to make her happier. One dark and gloomy day, Emma was watching the rain fall outside her window when suddenly the sun peeked through the clouds and the most beautiful rainbow appeared. Emma ran outside and tried to catch the rainbow. She found a trampoline and she jumped so high, she found herself inside the rainbow. When she came back down, she was covered in beautiful colors. She loved her colorful fur- it reminded her to be happy every day!

Fun in the snow

Yesterday, it was on the warmer side. I asked Penny what she wanted to do while Porter napped and my outdoor girl asked to play in the snow. The snow had started to melt and was perfect for snow castle and snow man building. We had a blast!

She named him Frosty and would run over to hug him in between snow castles.  I loved to hear her imagination come alive in the snow. She built a castle for every princess. I almost hope it snows again so we can do it again soon...as long as we don't have to drive in it!