Brooke at 4

It doesn't seem possible, but Brooke turned four on Sunday. We've had a good time celebrating her birthday the last couple of weekends (post on that to follow) and it's been so fun to see her start to "get" it about birthdays. She's still a little confused about the difference between birthdays and birthday parties, however. She also doesn't quite get that she'll never catch up in age to her friends and cousins who are older than her.

She's become more independent and relatively more adventurous over the past year, although I would by no means call her a daredevil. She enjoys being outside and playing at the playground. Her version of a bad day is us not leaving the house all day.

She can be incredibly loving and affectionate to us. She loves to call herself "Daddy's Girl". Basically, if she's not being super-dramatic and/or throwing a temper tantrum, she's being funny or sweet.

She really loves playing on her Leap Pad. She also likes to help me with laundry, cooking and cleaning. She'll do dress-up and dolls, but her attention span with those is pretty limited. She loves reading and being read to and doing art work. She can write her name, with a little help for the diagonals on the "K" (OT note: totally age-appropriate). She loves Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First and she's recently gotten back into "Bubble Guppies" (I think because Miles has become obsessed).

She loves school and I think her teachers like having her there (our first conference is next week, so we'll see how that goes...). She also has her four year doctor's appointment next week, so I'm not sure about her percentiles, but to me, she really seems to have sprouted up the last couple months or so. She's also going to be starting speech therapy through our school district once a week for a few problem sounds that she has. Nothing major, the early childhood educator in me is just looking to nip any potential problems in the bud.

She's very social and looks to make friends anywhere we go. So far, I've seen her been pretty inclusive of others and I pray that that continues. I pray that she's a leader who sets a good example for those around her. She's very inquisitive and I've found myself having to answer questions I hadn't even pondered before. I keep putting off the "How do babies come out of Mommy's bellies?" question.

I had her answer a few questions for a little thing I'd like to start doing each year:

Best Friends: Kali, Kate and Lexi
Favorite Color: Pink and Purple
What do you want to be when you grow up: A Mommy
What's your favorite thing to do: Go on dates with mommy
What's your favorite food: Big strips of chicken nuggets (she'd just had these for the first time at Chick-fil-a the day before)
Where's your favorite place to go: Chick-fil-a (see?)
Teachers: Mrs. Gagnon and Mrs. Burns at First Pres Preschool

We continue to thank God every day for being allowed to take care of this beautiful, fun, smart little lady and we look forward to see what He has in store for her. We love you so much, Brookie!.