Papillon turns 4

Papillon officially turned 4 this past Thursday. On the one hand it's like "wow, she's 4 already!?", but on the other hand, I've thought of her has 4 for a while now so it seems perfectly natural. Papillon was very excited to have it be official though. She reports that she decidedly feels taller and older.

We were at Nana and Grandpa's house for the first part of her birthday, so we enjoyed some Birthday Donuts!

Nana took her shopping at an accessories store (now officially referred to as "nana's store) to buy some fun accessories for her birthday. She picked out some sparkly headbands and some rings. 

When we got home she had a few more presents to open. 

Curlers were one of those presents. She loved the idea of them and sat very patiently while I put them in. But sleeping on 13 little curler "pillows" wasn't as fun in actuality. So no curls for now.

Papillon is a sweet, sensitive, cautious an curious little girl.  

She loves to play with her little sister, loves to read books, loves to dance around while singing her own dance music, loves to color and is incredibly meticulous about details.

She hates trying new things. Hates watching full-length movies (most specifically Disney movies) because they scare her (though she will sing all the music). 

She is very sensitive. She tends to take word and even harsh tones very personally, weeping when Hibou even pretends to be grumpy with her (which Hibou has figured out and will often do for her own amusement).  Scrapes and other such boo boos (or even the thought of booboos) can send her into hysterics. 

She is also very sensitive to others feelings. When I groan for some pregnancy related complaint or another, she is quick to check on me and careful to make sure I am truly ok. One time while she was coloring in the living room I fell asleep on the sofa; without making a sound he moved her coloring to the other room so he wouldn't bother me.

Her sensitivity, I believe will be one of her greatest character assets...and also one of her biggest struggles as she continues to grow.

 She is a rule follower. For example: we celebrated cow appreciation day at chick il a which I explained meant you had to wear a cow costume in order to get some free chicken. When she saw some folks get out of their cars at CFA not costume she was very concerned that they wouldn't even be let in!

She is eager to learn everything about everything. She is toying around with adding and gets excited when she figures something out ("do you know what 2 and 2 is, mom? It's 4!!!") She has asked me to show her "how the letters in a book tell you what to read" so we are going to start teaching her to read very soon. In the mean time she keeps memorizing the books we own and "reading" them to me.

She cares for her Little sister so well. Sometimes the mothering goes a little overboard but for the most part she means well and Hibou responds well to her advice, cautions and instructions. At this point, the two are inseparable, and I love it!

Happy 4th birthday, papillon!