Sophie Turns Four

On January 2nd, 2009 Sophie had a very big day - she turned 4!!! She is so proud to be 4. She tells everyone she meets. On her birthday she woke up, burst out of her room and said "I'm four!" and jumped up and down, super happy at this prospect of being that much more of a big girl. All day long she was very grown up, answering phone calls from her family and understanding that they were calling to wish her a happy birthday. It was cool for Matthew and I too because she understood so much more this year.
They always tell you that time goes by fast with kids....and it is of course true. We try to take it all in on a daily basis and savor all these precious moments with our children. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't get butterflies in my stomach thinking about how blessed we are to have our two amazing angels. That said, even with stopping to smell the flowers every day, so much happens each day that it all moves on so fast. I am happy to have started this blog because it definitely gives me the chance to at least put some of it down in writing!
Sophie grows so much every day. One day in this past year I looked at her and realized she is no longer a toddler, but a little girl. And she is a busy little girl. There is always something going on when Sophie is around. The highlight of her last year would have to be her trip to New Zealand. She developed a close relationship with her Nana and Poppa and that right there is priceless. She also learned how to swim underwater, ride a bike with training wheels, started preschool, and found that life without her 'nani' is actually alright.
So on her actual birthday Matthew took the day off to celebrate with us - we went to Currents where we swam and played in the water. Sophie had a blast ducking under the water and jumping in off the side a hundred times. On our way home we made a special stop at McDonalds for lunch- Sophie thought it was the best day ever. The day after her birthday was her party. This year she went to Mismo gymnastics which was a great place for the kids. They ran around and played and then had the usual birthday fare of cake, ice cream and presents. She felt very happy and loved.

Sophie continues to love art - drawing, painting, cutting, and any craft thing she can think of. She is always busy with one project or another. She knows her alphabet and how to read and write most of the letters as well as knows what sound some of them make. She loves to have stories read to her and is interested in reading but not completely willing to take the job on just yet. She also loves music and singing and can learn the words to a song after hearing it only a couple of times. A few of her favorites to sing are: Ring of Fire and other Johnny Cash songs, Three Little Birds, Puff the Magic Dragon, Keith Urban songs, Christmas carols, Silent Night.

Upon turning 4 she has also started really caring a lot about her friends and family. She makes things for them, wants to call them and looks forward to seeing them.
Another 4 year old development is a new fear of the dark. This came on slowly but has developed into needing a flashlight in her room, lights on in the bathroom and a new 'twilight turtle' night light that projects all the stars onto her ceiling. This is apparently completely normal at this age, just strange to see it happen before your eyes.
As with pretty much any age, we are delighted to watch our little baby girl learn and grow, but always sad to see a little more of the baby days pass. Like I said, we are trying to take it all in on a daily basis.....but a lot happens!!!
This little photo show is something I have wanted to do for Sophie since her 1st birthday. I composed it only of photos from this past year to try and keep it short(ish) and sweet.