Bennett and Ellie Grace: Now that you are F.O.U.R

My dearest Ellie Grace,

Today, you are 4 years old! You have changed and grown the most this past year compared to previous years. You have truly become a big girl now…although, I want you to know you will ALWAYS be my baby girl.

I feel like this year passed the fastest, too. I am pretty sure that is because I spent 6 months of it on bed rest, but in all fairness you spent it in bed with me!!!

Here are some highlights of your third year of life:

*You are a talker!!! You will have a conversation with anyone and everyone. You say funny things like: “This is my most hilarious outfit, mommy” and “That was fantastic!” When you try to convince us to get you something (usually a sugar treat) you say, “I was thinking I was going to have ____” and it always makes me laugh! You have great manners and almost always remember to use them. My heart melts when you say, “I love you in my heart, mommy.” I know I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to get you to understand JUST how much I love you.

*You started gymnastics, ballet, swim lessons and soccer this year. You are now in gym twice a week and right now you are preparing for your Christmas ballet show. I am starting to think you might like dance just as much at gym. Soccer is last on your list for sure, but daddy and I think it is a great aerobic workout for those CF lungs of yours!

*Speaking of CF…you participated in your first drug trial this year. You were a model patient, so I see other trials in your future. You seem to have been on more antibiotics this year when compared to years past. A bout with RSV was the biggest hit.

*You love to play dress up! We went to see Disney on Ice with your BF Emma. I am pretty sure you would have sat still if that show would have been 5 hours long!!!

* We started home school and you LOVE it! We have a fantastic routine and I am so impressed at how much you have learned. Not because I doubted your ability to learn, but I was super nervous about my ability to still teach!

*You still love to play with Little People and your independent play is SO creative. You have started to play with Barbie's. You still love to play with babies every now and then.

*I think you are most compassionate about animals. We have so many stuffed dogs, cats, monkeys, etc that your room is probably a fire hazard! You truly love animals. Real ones and stuffed ones!!! All of your animals have names and most of them have families. In your world every “thing” has a mommy and a daddy. I think you might be a veterinarian some day…

*I’m pretty sure you have been in time out less this year than in years past. You are VERY well behaved. Some people (Mimi) might think we are tough on you, but the simple truth is we have high expectations for you and we know what you are capable of. I would say for your age you are one of the most well behaved little girls I know. (biased…yes!, but believe me you can have an attitude when you want to have one!)

*You still sleep with mommy and daddy which is just fine with us! I asked you the other night if you thought you might be ready to sleep in your big girl bed and you said, “No mommy, I just want to snuggle you right here.” So, there you go!

*You learned to ride your big girl bike with training wheels this year! It scared me to death to watch you on that big bike the first time, but you are a master on it now!

*Eating has been a rollercoaster this year. Some days you eat every meal and you eat a lot. Other times it is an uphill battle to get you to eat anything. You favorite things are: PBJ, macaroni and cheese, mexican beans and rice, cheese, spaghetti with meatballs, any kind of soup, hot dogs, sausage, ham and swiss cheese, croutons with ranch dressing, pizza (especially when you make it), and you LOVE fruit. You don’t really like a lot of sweets and will only lick frosting off of cake, cupcakes and cookies. However, you could probably eat your weight in m.&.m’s!

*You are SO tall now. I can’t wait to get to your 4 year check up to see how much you have grown. You fit in 4T, but you are so tall that I buy some 5t clothes just so they are long enough. You L.O.V.E shoes! You almost have more shoes than me, but you look precious in all of them so how can I resist!

*We usually have to get your hair cut every 6-8 weeks. It is super curly and is growing so fast. You still won’t leave the house without a bow which fine with me.

*The best part about this year was that you became a big sister. You adore your brother. Both of you laugh every time you are around each other. I think you two will be the best of friends and it makes my heart happy to see that.

Ellie, you spent half of this year in bed with me and I loved every minute of it. I am sorry it had to be that way, but at least I didn’t have to miss many of your days. You are the most precious gift I have ever received. I know this year will probably go as quickly as the last, but I truly hope it doesn’t. Happy birthday my little princess!!!