Birthday #4!

We've basically been celebrating Claire's birthday all month, y'all. Her party was on February 11 (her actual birthday is the 26th) and was a princess/dress-up party. She decided on that theme several months ago, so we pulled something together for her! I have a personal goal of spending very little but producing something very Claire-ish on her birthdays, so I worked out a plan...and I think Claire was pretty happy with it!

My parents- and sister!- came into town for the big event (my parents haven't missed a single birthday). They took Claire to the museum (and she got to ride the train!) and Chick-Fil-A, and Daddy even went with her to swimming lessons. Everybody watched Planes: Fire and Rescue (the current favorite), and a great time was had by all!

When I picked everyone up from the airport, we stopped for dinner at a favorite little middle eastern restaurant, and Lily refused to keep her socks on, even though it was quite cold. So, we stuck her legs down inside the arms of her coat. It totally worked for our purposes.

Riding the train at the museum. Such a treat!

It was pretty chilly.

Amiee and Lily always take great pictures together.

Mom, Dad, and Amiee were suuuuper helpful in the party process. We decorated (because Claire LOVES a decorated party), prepped breakfast-y/brunch-y food and cupcakes, got costumes together, and made a faux castle. We did nails, put on sparkly princess tattoos, played in the "castle," played with balloons, danced, and did a small "craft." I think everyone had a pretty good time! I had a sinus infection, so I was feeling pretty lousy and relied heavily on Amiee to entertain the princesses. Which she did. And they loved it! One of Claire's friend's mom told me she was certain that her daughter would be talking about "the princess at the party" for the rest of the day.

Amiee and Claire getting the party started (not pictured: my friend, Rachel, who jumped in and helped, as well. She doesn't have kids but is great with them!)

The princesses

Amiee looking all Duchess Kate

I love this one.

Birthday cupcakes! Mom even brought Publix icing (the BEST, and we can't get it here) on the plane with her from Alabama.

Waiting until she got the go-ahead to dig in.

Go time.

Our "castle." We have a myriad of pop-up play items, so we put them all together.

And, on the invitations, I said "no gifts, please"...to which everyone responded by bringing gifts. Claire has really kind friends. Mom and Dad gave Claire a super fun doctor kit that she (and Lily) have had a blast playing with! I hope it has been positive preparation for her upcoming 4-year-old check-up...

She decided to use/wear most of it at the same time. Seems efficient.

Claire and Nana

Poppy and the girls

Everyone looking at the camera!

For Claire's actual birthday, Bill and Barbara were able to come for a couple of days. Claire was so excited to get to see them! (so was Lily) We had Chick-Fil-A, ice cream, Mexican food, played outside, did puzzles, and watched a movie (Planes again, guys. It's realllly a favorite around here.) 

Post-church birthday pictures

Not our best family photo, but you work with what ya got, right?

My mom got this headband for Claire for her first birthday, and she's worn it every year since (her head was HUGE as a baby. Not even kidding.).

So many generous friends and family!

Brad's Aunt Sue sent this Sofia the First birthday card that had a punch-out crown. Perfect.

Lily was hungry. Thus her serious face.

Still hungry. She doesn't play games when it comes to getting her food.

Claire's puzzling interest and skill has grown a lot recently, so as part of her birthday gift, Bill and Barbara got her four 24-piece puzzles (2 are Planes themed and 2 are Finding Dory). She has been loving them! 

Thank you so much to everyone who made Claire's birthday month so wonderfully fun. We've all felt so loved, and Claire has felt so very celebrated. We're so grateful for our friends and family!

Letter to my Little Bear: Year 4

Dear Bearsy Bear,

Happy 4th birthday! We have been celebrating all month long, and it has been buckets of fun. You LOVE celebrating- especially if it's for you! One of your very favorite things is to "make a party," and you are very good at it. Maybe you have a future career in party planning? You'd be awesome at it.

Bear in a Bag!

And again. Apparently, this is a favorite past time...

That foot pop...

Bike riding

Goodness, this year has been full. Full of so much learning and fun and challenges and WORDS. The words have been a hallmark of year 3. You are so articulate and so willing to share your articulation at any time with anyone. It's delightful...and a little exhausting to keep up with. Your voice is still so little and sweet, and I video it as often as possible so that I won't forget what it sounds like. Sometimes, though, for my mental well-being, I set a timer and declare it to be "quiet time" (for about 2 whole minutes), and around 7 seconds in, you usually ask if you can talk yet. This is not your favorite game. But, we do love to hear your thoughts and get a glimpse of that window into your mind and heart. From these glimpses, we see more and more how intelligent you are, what a critical thinker you're becoming, and how tender and sensitive your heart is. You have such compassion for others and always want to be a helper. It's admirable and convicting to me.

Smirk

Fun with Daddy

Just a normal day

We love getting glimpses of the way your mind works. You're pretty shrewd for a little gal. For example, if Daddy and I are talking at the dinner table and you're not quite sure what we're discussing, you listen for for a minute and then ask, "Are you talking about ____?" and insert your best guess. Sometimes you're spot on! We've been working for the last few months on your problem-solving skills (to counteract a tendency to frustration), and you are becoming so adept at putting those skills to use! If you can't quite figure something out, you tell us that you're a problem solver and that you will problem solve it! I absolutely love watching you become an independent and careful thinker. We still have to offer guidance to you in your problem-solving endeavors (but you are still a little girl- this is not unexpected), but you are growing so much in your thinking and processing. Your problem-solving parents are so proud.

We attempted to grow a flower. It didn't really work out...

Helping Daddy fix up under the dishwasher

You suffer from a slight case of Hypermelodramosis (Poppy's diagnosis)

Another way that we've caught glimpses into your mind this year has been watching your creativity and imagination emerge. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. Being a dreamer/imagine-er/Anne Shirley-type myself, I cannot possibly overstate how exciting this has been to watch. During this year 3 of your life, I started leaving you up to your own (supervised) devices more and more. You didn't always love being left to entertain yourself, but over time, you developed a glorious imagination, creating worlds, friends, and imaginary social situations and complications to navigate and resolve. Your resourcefulness and abstract thinking has grown and stretched in fantastic ways. We have loved watching you gain more independence and learn some levels of self-sufficiency. While it makes me sad that you're not a baby anymore, I'm so excited to see you becoming a capable little person. That is, after all, a huge element of this parenting gig we have going on. Oh, and your favorite imaginary friend is "Joy." Here's a short list of items that have been "Joy" in your imaginary games this year: shampoo bottles, ginger ale cans, chap stick, malt vinegar packs. Yeah. It's been interesting.

She wanted to make floating flowers like on Tangled.

Playing Mary (mother of Jesus)

Still a favorite game

You energy levels are unsurpassed these days. Daddy calls you a Perpetual Motion Machine, and that could not be more spot-on. You exude energy at all times while, seemingly, attracting it, as well (i.e. sucking it out of your parents for your own purposes). I wish I had 1/100th of the energy you have. But no. I'm tired by 2:00 pm. I will say, though, you still run on your tippy toes, and I LOVE IT. 

These sleeping moments are very important.

War Eagle!

Goofy.

This past year also brought some developmental milestones that have been very helpful: fully potty trained (including naps and nighttime) and eating what we put in front of you (this one is still an ongoing process but it is so much further along than it was). I don't even want to remember the process that was completing potty training. It was agonizing for your parents, child. Let's just say that you are very persistent when you set your mind to (or, in this case, against something). I'll refrain from writing too much about it, but I'll tell you about it one day. Eating has been a mixed bag: you LOVE to eat, but you do not love to eat what we serve you at family dinners. We've been working on this, and you're doing a wonderful job of overcoming your prejudices and fears. We're so proud of you, and you're discovering that there are actually a lot of foods that you like. A whole new world, Claire, a whole new world.

You visited the dentist for the first time and handled it like a champ! I'm going to go out on a limb and say you enjoyed it. I was so proud of you for being so brave.

You love to play winter and snow. It's your Boston roots showing.

You took on the role of Big Sister just a month and a half after you turned 3. We had NO IDEA how that would go, but you proved to be a champion at adapting to your new job. It has been so fun to watch you and Lily together. You love her so much, and she ADORES you. I was so worried that you would resent her and having to share attention, but you've made room for her with such grace and enthusiasm. When we decided to move Lily into your room, I was very concerned that things would take a negative turn, but you surprised me again; you love having her in there, and you even get upset if she isn't for some reason. What's not so precious is how the two of you get each other all excited and riled up about life...at 6:00 am. That can stop any time. But know that we are so proud of you and how you take care of Lily.

Memorial Day matching

Mother's Day 2016

You were Kevin McAllister for the Boswell Christmas Eve Home Alone party. You chose the character and got VERY into it.

Happy girls!

Sister picture success!

Sometimes pictures work out and sometimes they...don't.

Worked out!

Not so much...

You've also made several new friends this year! We've had such a good time getting to know them! There's Toby and Lydia, Emma and Edmund, Violet, and Aurelia (plus older friends like Richie and Kari Beth, Amelia and Estelle, Amelie and Adeline). You're getting such a good group of friends (and thankfully, Mommy and Daddy really like all of their parents, too). This is such an answer to prayer for us.

This was one of the happiest moments of your year. I'm not even exaggerating. You think of him as a friend, too.

Kitchen helper

Ta-da!

You have developed a wonderful sensitivity to spiritual matters over this past year. You've learned so many Bible stories and have memorized quite a few scriptures, and you've become very aware of the complexities of the story of Jesus. We've spent many an hour discussing "Jesus on the Cross with the blood on Him," which has been both encouraging and challenging for me. There's so much that you want (and need) to know, but there are so many elements of the story that you can't quite grasp yet. We'll continue talking about it, and one day- probably soon- it will make sense to you. 

Here are a few things you've fallen in love (or continued to love) with this last year: Curious George and Cars (you still love them), Madeline (and the Eiffel Tower- you spot it in pictures all the time), Tangled and Frozen, Superbook, Planes and Planes: Fire and Rescue, puzzles, story books (no more board books for you!), coloring (you're starting to stay in the lines!), dancing, "playing" our piano, dressing up, playing with your cars and trains and princess dolls, movies on the big screen (you saw Finding Dory as your first movie, and it was magical), roller coasters (actual roller coasters! You made your 3rd trip to Universal, and you had the BEST time riding rides), playing at parks and the museum, Christmas, and cooking with us in the kitchen.

Dressed as Rapunzel

You decided that this tutu was just a "short Rapunzel dress."

Playing the piano

Organizing the princesses

Seeing George at Universal

All the love for the Christmas tree

Advent readings with Daddy

Some of our favorite of your character and personal qualities that have been so evident this year are: compassion, careful thinking, kindness, sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others, a deep interest in Jesus and His love for us, courage to do new things, eagerness to befriend and include others, HUGE creativity and imagination, ability to concentrate and focus, discernment of character qualities in others, impressive memory (you remembered things from when you were 2 that stunned us), insight into everyday situations, gratitude, enthusiasm, and your wonderful sense of humor.

Silly girl! Dressed as a pirate for free donuts at Krispy Kreme

Year 3 was challenging in many ways (your burgeoning opinions and independence were often at odds with your parents; sometimes, we called you our "threenager." Yeah. It could get a little intense.) and kept us on our toes (physically and mentally), but we thoroughly enjoyed watching you grow and learn and become more you. We're so thankful for you, Claire, and cannot begin to measure how much we love you.

XOXO,
Mommy and Daddy

If you haven't been keeping up with the incredibly funny and insightful things Claire has been saying and doing this year, click on the tags Around here lately and Snippets and Stories at the end of this post to bring up those links.