Monday, June 20, 2011

Another Birthday Blog!


Today the Little Princess turns 4.
She is confused about this because we had a birthday party last Wednesday for all of the June birthdays and Father's Days, since Daddy wouldn't be here today or yesterday.  So, she is not sure if she is already four or has yet so achieve this milestone.   She may think there's going to be a party today, but the "friend party" is not taking place until Sunday and will be shared with the Mayor, who is approaching 8 (Yes, another birthday blog next week!).
A little look back over 4 fun years.

We don't actually call this child "Princess" around  home- that's for kittens.  But with a doting older brother and two sisters, she has her fair share of princess moments.  When she was two, she insisted all footwear was "Gah!"  If she held up her foot and said this, someone, certainly, would bring the princess a shoe eventually.

The Princess was the smallest of our new arrivals, weighing in at 9 lbs 5 oz.  Yes, that's the smallest!  She spent some time under a space helmet in the Special Care nursery, but she came home on time.  That Home was only Home for 6 weeks, and we've been on the move for the most part ever since.

It's exhausting!









The Princess also answers to the name "Bear."  The Giant gave her that name one night in the camper, just talking to her and saying it because it rhymed.  She glanced at me, realizing she had just given her baby sister her nickname, and the name stuck.




She is a happy girl.
While I could say that in many ways she is just like one of her siblings (she looks a lot like the Giant), she is also one-of-a-kind!
She wouldn't talk, so much so that I had a speech evaluation team come and talk to her.  Their finding:  completely normal!  (Her older sibs were so chatty, my idea of "normal" was wayyy off!)  her method of learning to walk?  Also, all her own. 










When it came to teeth, she was the only one to get any before a year of age (they surprised me at 9 months!)  When it comes to cuddling, she pats me on the back even when she's the one who's hurt.

It's not hard to blog about this kid, because she was born in the digital age when pictures are many and don't have to be scanned in to be shared! 
The difficulty is only in choosing which ones to share!

Do any of my readers own the book about the Big, Hungry Bear who can smell a Red, Ripe, Strawberry a mile away?  We do!  This picture was taken a year ago in a strawberry patch, and I can't wait to go again this week.  Our bear loves them!


It's hard to believe my littlest bear is going to be 4 years old.  I've never had my youngest be this old without another one on the way.  I'm certainly not rushing her towards her milestones as I may have done with the older kids.  I want to enjoy four.  Things are so different now than when the others were this age, and I get to enjoy her without looking ahead to kindergarten because she'll be home and I get to be the one to teach her to read.

She's the one who talked the most about our accident little by little in the months after it happened.  A week or so after, I was feeling emotional and cuddly about it and I told her, "I'm so glad I have you."  She looked at me solemnly and said, "I didn't die in that truck."  When I think about the accident my mind often goes to the image of her dangling from the top of the truck still in her car seat, as I helped the other kids get out so that I could get to her.  She dropped into my arms and I handed her out the sunroof to a stranger.  What a memory to have.  She has occasionally made comments when I am driving that tell me she doesn't quite trust me behind the wheel yet.  If we are alone she tells me not to go so fast (35mph) or get too close or I will crash this car like I did the black truck.  Not my proudest parent moments!
 
I'm glad we have lots of years left to replace those memories with some better ones.  Someday I will take her to Istanbul and Greece and Rome, or maybe to China.  I'll show her the Great Wall and the shockingly blue Aegean Sea.  People will reach out and touch her superfine blonde hair and ask to have their picture taken with her because she's beautiful. 
Happy Birthday beautiful girl!

No comments:

Post a Comment