Happy Birthday Big Girl

On Saturday Annika turned 4. Kevin's parents came into town and we went with them, my parents and my friend, her husband and kids to Kaleidescope. We went here last year but Anna wanted to go again. Then back to my parents' house for cake and ice cream and gifts. I forgot candles so we used tea lights my mom had.

I forgot my camera so the pics are on my parents camera and there's no telling when I may get to see those. When I was younger we would find film four or five years later before it was developed. With digital they just seem to disappear to me.


Crazy to think that four years ago I worked until noon then went home to meet Kevin got my bag and headed to the hospital for a c-section. She was breach and the version didn't work.

She had a full head of black hair and I remember thinking "that's not my baby." She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz.




At four you

...love

-princesses
-dress up
-lipstick
-gum
-coloring, painting, gluing, anything crafty
-snacks, especially yogurt and fruit snacks
-band-aids for all kinds of boo-boos, especially bruises which makes no sense to me
-all the pigeon books by Mo Williams, but especially when daddy reads them

-the Dragon book that mommy gets to read which is a story about a kid who wishes his little brother was a dragon

-pretending - especially to be Carter's mommy and I'm the sister. Sometimes you pretend Carter is a girl, like the other night when you told me his name was Halley and I was in trouble when I referred to "him" instead of "her"

-playing with Carter. "Can I go play with Carter?" Luckily he also likes playing with you. In fact he wants to do everything you are doing.

-sidewalk chalk and playing outside
-Sluggerrr... from a distance
-hide and seek


...lie. but I can still see right through it. Like tonight when you told me you got bit at school this morning and that someone hit you. All because I was concerned about Carter's bite.

...write "mommy" and "anna" from memory. You can write anything else when you ask how to spell it including Carter and Grandma.

...know your days of the week and seasons and can count to 20


And More. You

...still sweat when you sleep
...almost never take a nap for me on the weekends
...have the most hysterical adorable laugh when you really think something is funny
...have the longest eyelashes EVER and random girls comment on them all the time on how you will never have to wear mascara
...are still not a morning person at all

...sing
Avril Lavigne's "hey hey i could be your girlfriend" in your own words
Kelly Clarkson's "never again" and "since you been gone" at the top of your lungs

...order a cheese danish and chocolate milk as your standard order at Starbucks. You then only eat the cream cheese, with your finger. and always push the straw too far down into the boxed chocolate milk.

...say
"whatever. whatever mom." as if you are 13.
"what the hey." honestly have no idea where this came from. we do not say this at home. which leaves daycare. hmmm.


I love it when

...you hug me for no reason
...you take naps with me
...you say things that I say like "be patient mommy"
...you are pretending and you talk to yourself or your baby dolls
...you say the cutest things like "It turned out to be a beautiful day"
...you make the funniest faces when you are thinking about something or not really sure about your answer


It drives me crazy when you

...whine
...move soooooo sloooooowwwww
...tell me you are full when you only took two bites
...won't stay in bed when you are trying to go to sleep
...make me ask you to do something at least 10 times
...dress yourself in completely mismatched clothes. but i try not to say anything.

as one teacher wrote on a recent review "sometimes Anna is in her own world."

I feel like I should
...be more patient with you. but i'm just so tired of answering the one millionth question.
...take you shopping less. i might be creating a monster.





I love you dearly. You are my "big girl" my Anna Cabana, my Annika Cabanika. I can't believe in another year you will go to kindergarten.

Her checkup is next month so I'll post stats then.