Nora's 4th Birthday

 Nora celebrated with a progressive birthday party this year starting a week early at the KROC center.  We had a beautiful day and lots of our friends and their families came out to spend the afternoon at the pool with us.  The splash bucket was a huge hit and the water slides were great fun too.  We delivered two big bags of food to our local food bank- everyone was so generous!

 Mike and Elizabeth couldn't be at the pool party so next we celebrated at the Spring.  

Fun swimming, great dinner and presents!

We celebrated her real birthday on our trip.  She had a cupcake in our dorm room at Great Lakes and all 500 people at the Bible School sang Happy Birthday to her.  

Then we celebrated with Dave and Shelly at the hotel in Sioux Falls, SD and week later.  

More fun and more presents!

She is thrilled to be 4 and eagerly shares the news with anyone who looks remotely interested.  I am writing this post almost  two months after her birthday and the changes from then are already staggering.  Most of all she will actually brush her hair with out screaming.  (That is the best if you ask me.)  The strategy there is for her to pretend she is sleeping and I sing a lullaby while I brush - we call it the "Sleeping Beauty Shop."  

She is getting into "princess" stuff which is hard to avoid these days as everything her age has a princess option to it - including tool belts and cap guns???  She is constantly growing - I think with the minimum goal of 4' 9" so she can rid herself of her nemesis - the evil carseat - asap.  She sings these big long story ballads that have melody and usually a weird resolution like - "then the puppy put on his shoes and ate his popsicle"  Applause is compulsory and a dancing version is usually performed as an encore.  Her dancing has taken on a ballet look with outstretched arms, more spinning then sudden stops.

She still loves to snuggle and singing 'You are my sunshine' and 'Seek ye First' were bedtime requirements in July but has already passed.  We moved on to made up stories about Princesses that don't brush their hair for about a month.  I think that helped my hair brushing cause a bit too.

She is beautiful, fun, lively and sweet - even when she tells me she "wishes I wasn't there so she can make her own choices."  

That is the goal my sweet four year old girl, that is the goal.