Emma Turns Four!

We are loving so many things about Emma at 4 years old!  She has turned into such a big girl and we love watching her grow and develop. She is so bright, creative, and funny.  She surprises us almost daily with the things she knows and the things she can do now.

Our neighbor across the street handed down this scooter that his daughter outgrew. Emma took off on it right away!

She has so much fun being Hallie's "toy manager". She tests out all the toys and makes sure that Hallie only gets safe ones to play with.

She has a great imagination, and can turn the simplest things into a fun game.

Emma loves role-playing and acting out scenes from her favorite cartoons. She's pretending to be Rainbow Dash here, a brave, fast-flying My Little Pony.

One of her favorite new games is pretending to be a circus performer. She choreographs a series of stunts and then performs the sequence over and over for her appreciative audience.

This time, she is Marshall, the fire fighter pup from Paw Patrol.  The marks on her face are temporary tattoos that she somehow convinced me to put on her.

She was thrilled the next morning when her tattoos were still there. 

She got into Nana's curlers and makeup one day. A preview of her teenage years.

Our little chef

She's wearing her safety goggles and designing a house on her piece of paper. Emma has become a good artist and loves to draw and paint.

She loves running around outside, and always wants to run the fastest!

She's gotten so brave about climbing everything at the playground.

She also loves to be silly. All. the. time.

Emma's birthday was April 14th. She got a donut with sprinkles for breakfast.

We went to Dan's parents' house to celebrate with our families.

Emma loved playing with her cousins, having a My Little Pony them for her party, and opening her presents.

She's been refusing to eat cake or cupcakes recently, so I made a brownie cake for her.

She got so many fun gifts, including this awesome My Little Pony suitcase from Uncle Steve, Aunt Sheila, and Meera, who weren't able to be at her party.

The weekend after her birthday, we took the girls to a Princess Tea Party. Some of the high school girls from Dan's school dressed as Disney princesses. It was so much fun, but Emma was absolutely terrified of speaking to the princesses. 

One of her friends from school, Remy was there, also.

She was such a little princess drinking out of her first real teacup and saucer.

Dan with his sweet princesses. This was Emma's reaction when any of the Disney princesses spoke to her. Ha!

Right after the tea party, we rushed to a local park where Emma had a joint birthday party with two of her classmates who also had April birthdays. Elisha is on the left and Quint is on the right. Having a second birthday party really confused Emma, who thought it meant she turned 5 years old.

The decorations and party favors. We had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme.

Pizza and sides for everyone to enjoy.

Emma modeling some of the dress-up party favors.

She led the way climbing up to the top of the playground

Having fun with her classmates, Remy and Diana.

We brought the roller coaster that Grandpa and Grandma gave her to share with her friends. 

Hallie had a great time at Emma's party and didn't want to nap because it was so exciting!

Dan praying before lunch was served.

Emma's teacher, Mrs. Bennett joined us at the party!

There was a fun Mickey Mouse piñata filled with candy. 

Emma, Quint, and Elisha were supposed to wait to open their presents at home, but they just couldn't resist taking a peek. :)

Emma said it was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

We pray that our beautiful 4 year old will grow to be a kind and courageous girl who loves God. We know that He is using the difficult experiences in her life to shape her, and we hope that it will make her compassionate and helpful to others who are going through difficult times, as well. We love you, Emma, and are looking forward to experiencing this year with you!