june 8th

I told millie she had to hold up a 4 for all her pictures on her 4th birthday. I'm so glad I did, because these pictures are priceless!

(love that scarlett wanted to be in the picture... with her bowl of food...)

 (of course we drove over to the splash pool, one of amelia's favorite activities)

 (prep for amelia's frozen-themed birthday party. the girls helped by laying on my cardboard)

 (favorite part of our day)

 (red robin for dinner, per millie's request. we were a little bummed that they didn't sing to her.)

(amelia with 2 of her great-grandmas)

we tried to fill amelia's birthday with all her favorite things-- and we concluded with a little party at the splash pad with her cousins and grandparents. it made me so happy to see her have so much fun with her cousins. I'm grateful that it was so low-key, that we just had root beer floats and cake and love to share, that I got to enjoy a party that I planned! (one of j's grandmas said to us, "you just do such a great job. you should have another!" and with distractions, I thought she was talking about the party, and I responded something really silly. I swear I'm always having awkward conversations.)

millie girl is kind and sweet, brilliant and silly, thoughtful, mature, quiet at times, a protector and isn't one to be bullied, loves to be the fastest. she reads at a 2nd grade level, writes all her upper and lowercase letters, numbers, family members' names, and takes 1st grade level spelling tests, can count to 200 by herself and adds 1's and 2's fluently, loves to do homework, has my phone number memorized, sings solos in primary, loves making cards for anyone and everyone, always changes into a dress with a belt, tights, and high heels for mommy+millie time, rides a bike without training wheels, always scores multiple goals in her soccer games, got moved up to the 5-7 year old dance and tumbling classes. she loves anything frozen-themed and she tells me her favorite color is pink (like mine), but always picks frozen-blue when she has a choice.

I love this girl more than words can express, I feel so blessed to be her mother. I can't believe it has been four whole years since I fell in love with my homemade best friend.