I Am 4, Hear Me Roar!

Sarah's birthday was Wednesday, and it was the first year that we haven't been on the road after our China Family reunion (we're getting together in October this year).  Because we wouldn't be celebrating with friends or family, I wanted to make sure it was a special day for her.  I think I succeeded -- in fact, I might have gone a little overboard, but you only turn 4 once.

Sarah awoke to a table full of presents from Grammy and balloons.  Grammy is always generous, and Sarah probably would have been satisfied if she hadn't received any more gifts.  She loved the big-kid L*gos that Grammy gave her.  She's never been super excited about the D*plos she has, but her cousins are big L*go fans, and she thinks the little ones are very cool. 

After lunch, we had cake and ice cream.  Sarah had asked for a chocolate cake with "two horses and one cow."  I scoured the Int*rnet looking for farm animal figurines and finally found some on Eb*y. 

During quiet time, she set to work on her L*gos.

When she emerged from quiet time, the table was miraculously full of presents again.  She got a dollhouse, L*ncoln Logs, a floor puzzle, and some fun accessories for her new M*lissa & D*ug easel (which was supposed to be a birthday present, but happened to be 40% off at a store a few weeks ago when she was with me).

We headed to the children's museum a short while later, and she raced boats with Daddy at the river table, moved bridge pieces with the crane with Mom, played an active game, and sold things to Daddy at a mini-convenience store.

Then it was off to dinner at O*tback Steakhouse.  Her only request was to have orange juice in a cup with a straw.  She seemed to hit the wall at this point and wasn't too interested in her meal.  It occurred to me that maybe taking a four-year-old out to eat for her birthday isn't actually necessary, but, what the heck, Don and I enjoyed our dinners, then we all went home for more cake.

Yesterday, she got to work writing her thank you notes, which she enjoyed much more now than she will in the future, I suspect.  She relishes being 4 and seems to have a newfound confidence that is evident in everything from the way she walks and talks, to swimming lessons (details to follow in another post), to interacting with people at church (she spoke up during children's time with the pastor for the first time today).  She is strong and invincible!

Cousins and Aunt and Uncle, Oh, My!

My sister and her family visited the first week of July, and we all had a wonderful time, despite temperatures that broke 100.  Although the photos make it look like we were in constant motion, we actually spent quite a bit of time relaxing at home.  It was a nice "staycation" for Don and me, since we put our to-do lists aside when family visits and just enjoy our home and the local area.

Sarah revelled in having a full house and soaked up every minute of attention from her relatives.  The first couple of days were a challenge, as she went into control mode and was quite defiant (most requests from Mom and Dad were met with "I'm not going to!").  Once she got used to all the hub-bub, though, she relaxed and was pretty easy to get along with, although rather bossy (after dinner one night, she went around the table pushing all the chairs in and asked Auntie Heather to get up so that she could push hers in).  We avoided bedtime brawls, for the most part, and she slept a solid 11 hours every night.

Here's the week in photos....

Our friend Ken took us fishing in his pontoon boat on the M*ssissippi :

We visited L*RK Toys again, where Sarah enjoyed the carousel as much as ever and played miniature golf for the first time:



Forrest, Don, Sarah, and I braved the heat for the 4th of J*ly parade in G*lesville (no horses, no bands, lots of candy and even free toilet paper from a sewer services company):

We celebrated my birthday:

We canoed the Bl*ck River near our house, and Sarah joined the boys for a swim:

And we played and relaxed in the backyard, enjoying kickball games and watermelon:

There were also early-morning fishing trips on the river for the angling enthusiasts among us (resulting in a yummy fish-fry for all) and the requisite visit to Fl**t Farm ("the man's mall").  These visits are precious to all of us, and we will treasure the memories made.  There's never a dull moment when the house is full of H*ntleys!

My Little Swinger

About a month ago, Don made Sarah a new big-girl swing to replace the enclosed toddler one we had.  After one small tumble, she remembered to hold on and has been working diligently to learn to keep herself going.  On Tuesday, she succeeded for the first time:

By yesterday, she was a pro.  She is some pleased with herself.