Thursday, August 15, 2013

Four Years

It's Grace's birthday today.  She is four.  FOUR. Wow.

I remember finding out (on March 16th, 2009 to be exact) that I was having a girl. While I was thrilled there was a very big part of me that didn't believe it. For a very long time (almost right up until her birth) I didn't buy any girlie outfits or girlie toys. It just didn't seem possible.

And then came the day of her birth. And from the minute the labor began I knew I was headed for new territory.  She was by far the most painful (which is saying something after births like  this) of my four labors. And she took the longest by half a day. And she kept on surprising us when she was born. Unlike my bald-headed, blond eye-browed, blue-eyed boys, she came out with a full head of dark hair, dark eyebrows, and hazel eyes. My girl. My Grace.
She kept on showing us her originality. She slept like a champ, rarely cried, and was incredibly mild mannered. Everyone in our house was immediately smitten.
As she grew we saw her vivacious side. Her spunky side.
Her silliness and humor.
Her energy and fun.
Her light.
Her intelligence.
Her gentleness and sweetness.
Her outdoorsey, nature loving side. The tomboy.
 Her independence.
 Her bravery.
Her resilience.
 We found out what it is like to live with a princess.
And a little daredevil.
An adventurer.
An animal lover.
A collector (of hearts).
 Grace
You are loved.


In the spirit of the birthday posts I am conducting a little interview to capture where Grace is right now in her FOUR year old self.

Me:  Hi, honey! How are you today?
Grace: Good.

Me: Are you having a good day so far?
Grace: Yes! 

Me: I'm gonna ask you some questions about yourself, okay?
Grace: 'Kay.

Me: How old are you today?
Grace: I'm four! (holding up 4 fingers)

Me: What is your favorite color? 
Grace: Pink!  And red.  Wait!  Just pink.

Me: What do you want to be when you are older?
Grace: I want to be a princess. 

Me: What is your favorite animal?
Grace: A baby giraffe. And puppies. Like Molly!

Me: What is your favorite movie?
Grace: Tangled! And Brave! I like Brave. And Beauty and The Beast! And Cinderella. And Snow White. I like a lot of princesses.

Me: What is your favorite food?
Grace: Carrots, and umm... chicken! And ice cream. And peas. I like peas. They're really yummy.

Me: Where is your favorite place to visit?
Grace: Um... at the zoo.

Me: If you could go anywhere where would you go?
Grace: Chicago. 'Cuz I like Chicago a lot.  We go up to the top. And that was... and my cake is so beautiful mommy!  Thank you so much! I love you!

Me: What is your favorite toy?
Grace: Princesses.  And my puppy.  And Barbie Dolls.

Me: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
Grace: Play outside.

Me: Are you excited for school?
Grace: Yes! (that is news to me)

Me: How much does mommy and daddy love you?
Grace: This much!
Me: And more!



My dearest Grace, I am so honored and so proud to be your mama. I love you more than you will ever know.  No matter how big you get you will always be my baby.  Thank you for being my daughter.

Happy Birthday, Grace!

May all your dreams come true!

17 comments:

Bijoux said...

Happy birthday to Grace! You are spectacular in so many ways!

I feel the same way about my baby, my son, after two daughters. I relished the matchbox cars and superheroes. And tomorrow, I drop off my little boy at college. Waaaaaa

Riahli said...

Beautiful! I can't believe it's been four years already... I still remember when you posted that you were having a girl, I was so excited for you and hoping the same for myself. :) And now Leiella's 4th b'day is right around the corner. Sigh.

I love her choice in movies, those are my favorites as well, in that order. ;)

I think our girls would get along really well, they have a lot in common. :)

Wisconsin Girl said...

So sweet:) And I remember you posting about having a girl too. That was about the time I discovered your blog, I think. Happy Birthday Grace! It is a beautiful day to celebrate!

Kelly said...

Such a beautiful little sweetheart you have! Happy Birthday to Grace!!

dawn klinge said...

Awww...what a little sweetie. Her shirt says it all, "here comes sunshine." I can't believe she's four already! Happy Birthday to your precious Grace.

Mom24 said...

So beautiful! Great recap Kat. Hope she had a wonderful birthday and has a really great year. I miss four.

Cyndy @ Back in the Bush said...

I still remember you finding out Grace was a girl! So exciting!
I love that she is unique - she's the only kid I've ever heard of to say carrots first as a favorite food! And baby giraffes? How adorable!
Happy Birthday to Grace! xoxo

ewe are here said...

She is just lovely. And I remember when you announced you were having a girl, too ... kind of a similar excitement and shock to mine. ;) So different than the boys.

Hilary said...

Amazing how quickly time passes. I remember when you were first pregnant with her... wow. Happy Birthday to your darling, little angel.

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Happy 4th birthday Grace! I can't believe it's been that long already!

And I just love the interview questions and how she gets distracted by the cake.

Anita said...

A very nice bio and honor to Grace here. Have you ever printed your blog posts. I've used Blog to Print to make books from my posts. If you haven't, you should consider it because your blog is a really good journal.

EnJoy being FOUR Grace, and may you be blessed with many, many more birthdays!

yonca said...

Happy late birthday to Grace! Lovely pics! She is a cutie :)

Emily said...

Just precious!! There is nothing like having a little girl! I hope your princess felt like a true princess on her birthday!

Anonymous said...

You know she's made of special stuff with 3 big brothers! Happy birthday to your sweet girl.

CC said...

Geesh! I remember you finding out you were pregnant! How can she be 4 already!!!

Anonymous said...

It's been a while since I've been here! Holy moly how your boys have grown and gosh it seems like just yesterday you found out it was a girl! Time flies! Wishing you and your family nothing but blessings, glad to see you're all well and your girl is gorgeous like her moma! :)

Lindsay Y. said...

Adorable. Has it really been four years?? I think I started following you right around the time of her birth!

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson