A 4 year Dream!

Life with Adalyn has literally been a dream.  I remember vividly how unbelievably excited we were the day we found out that we were pregnant with her. How devastated we were when we thought we lost her, and then relieved when we found out she was okay.  I remember the instant love we felt the day she was born, and how much that love has grown throughout these last 4 years.  We have laughed with her in her happiest moments, and cried with her in her saddest moments.  We have showered her with praise and laid down the law.  We have taught her what we can and watched her experience her self-learning moments.  We have seen her personality on every inch of the spectrum... angry, happy, sad, sweet, frustrated, loving, etc. And looking back on all of it it feels surreal and dreamlike (some days nightmarish), but most definitely hard to believe that she has been with us for 4 years!  At four years old her stats are Height:37.5 in.(10%) and Weight:33lbs 2 oz (15%).  And some things about her that we want to remember...

 (Addie climbed up on her counter and is watching for Grandma's car, waiting for Grandma to come take her out for her birthday.)

• Addie has become very, very inquisitive.  She always has a question about something or other.  "Why is he a boy?" "Why did they do that?" "How come she is sad?" I can't even count the number of questions I answer each day.  I love how eager she is to understand everything.  
• She is generally very independent and is determined to figure out things by herself.  I love how hard she works sometimes just to be able to say "I did it all by myself!"  Occasionally though, she gets a little needy.  She has days when she wants to be held (which I can't deny that I love), and would rather that I do everything for her (but who doesn't have those days where they want to be waited on hand and foot?).  
• Addie is in the stage where she is trying to understand and control her emotions.  She can go from raging mad to sweetly apologetic in 5 seconds flat.  As frustrating as this can be sometimes, I love that she is beginning to recognize and fix her mistakes.  It is becoming so much easier to reason with her!

                                                           (I love the look she is giving me here!)

• Some of Addie's favorite foods are spaghetti, chicken noodle soup, mac and cheese, bread, strawberries, smoothies, grapes, bananas, ice cream, and apples.
• Addie loves coloring, painting, playing dress-up, going to the "chicken play place"(Chick-Fil-A, and you all know I never say no to that!), riding her bike, giving talks in church, playing pretend with Quincy and Devin, reading, helping mom, jumping on the tramp, telling stories, and playing with her friends.
• Adalyn loves to wear dresses.  It makes her feel like a princess.  On the days that I have refused to let her wear dress (due to the weather) she will exclaim "I am NOT a Princess!"

• She still has such a sweet demeanor. My absolute favorite moments with her are when she just randomly says things like "I love you mom." or "When I get big, I want to be just like you." I love watching her teach Quincy something, or stick up for Quincy when another kid has hit her.  I love watching her with Devin and how excited she gets when he comes home from work, or when she lovingly puts both hands on his cheeks to give him a kiss. She has such a kind and loving nature and I hope she is always able to keep that.    
• Adalyn has a great sense of humor. She loves to make people laugh and it is so fun to watch the silly things she comes up with to get a laugh out of someone.

Our little girl is growing up so fast.  She is so eager to be a "big girl" and it breaks my heart a little every time I realize that there is one less thing that she needs me for.  She fills our life with so much happiness and love and we couldn't ask for a better big sister for Quincy.  We love her so much!