Look Who's FOUR!

Holy moly! She's growing up faaaaaast! But I have to say, so far I LOVE four! She's been such a sweetheart and so helpful! And man can this kid talk! She's so expressive and it's fun not just to sit and listen to her talk, but to sit and WATCH her talk! hehe. Love this girl!

Jaedyn requested a BUBBLE party this year. And was very specific on the decor... purple frosting and pink bubbles. What the ?!? Luckily a girl from work saved me with a ball pan and I was able to sorta make a "bubble cake" Good thing I added the wand, otherwise you would have been clueless :)

 The cake was supposed to be a surprise but Chad forgot and let Jaedyn get into the fridge before the party.  She overheard my exclamations in the next room when I realized what was happening. So her Daddy explained why Mommy was yelling. hehe. She asked me later if she should act surprised for her cake and covered her eyes with her hands when I took it out for the party. Cute.

 I really can't believe all the things this girl can do now! She loves to sit and have books read to her, ride her trike (she'll ride to the park about a mile away, honk if you think she should be on a bike! - I keep trying to convince Chad). This kid is a maniac in the water and loooooves going to the park, her favorite would be a toss up b/w the tall twisty slide and the baby swings. Ha! yup, she still prefers the baby swings. She's starting to look ginormous in them! 

Jaedyn is an awesome helper around the house with garbages and putting dishes away, has started helping with meals and setting the table, helps a little with folding laundry (she loses interest in this activity pretty quickly- I won't push it), she makes her bed every morning without being asked, and loves to grab things her sister needs (especially the binkie, dang it- I'm really trying to keep it away except for bedtime/naptime). She's really good at cleaning messes up too whether it be toys or spilled food.

Jaedyn has a lot of energy and loves to use it! We're learning healthy ways to get the energy out like clapping, jumping, clasping hands and pushing together really hard til her arms are tired (currently her favorite) especially when she's around Lilia. It helps decrease some of her left over 3 year old aggression :) Having this birthday has provided us some new teaching tools as well. We often tell her, "Jaedyn 4 year olds dont..." or "4 year olds do..." and she listens! It's awesome!

I'm also currently reading Love and Logic for Toddlers on my... wait for it, wait for it... Kindle! That Chad got me for Mother's day (love you Chad!). It is an awesome program that I'm really kicking myself for not familiarizing myself with sooner! I've started implementing a lot of the techniques and it has been a really positive experience! For myself and for Jaedyn... even a bit for Lilia. 

 Uh... so back to the party! We essentially just had a yard party. Jaedyn invited her friends from the babysitters; Milo, Lucas, and Quinny. We also invited her friends Kaden, Luke, and Evan. But the best part was that her cousin Jane got to come  all the way from Colorado! Yay! Aunt Natalie, Aunt Valerie, and Uncle Luis came as well as Grandma and Grandpa Boyd. It was a full yard! We had pizza, trampoline fun, Blew bubbles, had a ball toss (you know, giant bubbles? alright it was a stretch but I wanted decor that could go home with the kids and be used, not streamers or balloons that get trashed), cake and ice-cream and opened presents. 

 These were such a cool gift, little hand painted princesses and princes from Disney movies that fit into the little box shown. She loves them! Thank you Grandma Tina! She got quite the load of gifts this year. I told her we were going to have to pull out some old toys and take them to other kids cuz there's so much now. She was a little confused :)

This is the toy that has currently been out of the toy box the most. This is a little porcelain tea set from her cousin Jane. She literally pulls it out at least 3 times a day and we all take turns playing "tea" with her. She always tells me we're drinking apple juice. Check out the pinky!

All of the gifts really were a perfect fit for her. She also got a magnet wooden doll from Milo (modern day equivalence to paper dolls- where you get to change the outfit), a bucket of popsicles and bubbles from Lucas and Quinny, a big jar of bubbles and wands from Luke and Kaden, Eugene from Mom and Dad, a slushy make from Lilia, various cards from Grandmas/grandpas/aunts/uncles, Princess dominoes and a swimming suit from Uncle Luis and Aunt Valerie, and a beautiful baby picture from Grandma Tina, and a lego girl on a 4 wheeler (also a favorite) from Evan. What fun!