Happy 4th Birthday Leah!!

"Leah Becca" she has called herself since she could talk. Now she's 4!!! However, as cliche as it might sound, I can remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. Shocked and excstatic when the doctor announced she was a girl. It was such a special day. As with the birth of every child, life's never the same afterwards. Leah keeps us hopping. She's most often having a good time and talking, laughing or singing. In fact, if I don't hear her, I wonder if something is wrong. Daughters are so different than sons, or at least Leah. I don't have any other daughters to compare her to, but I'm constantly asking myself if I'm treating her right, spending enough time talking with her, if I'm too hard on her, if I'm not hard enough on her, why she does or says the things she says, etc, etc. With the boys, you know what you're getting. For some reason, I've got my hand on the pulse as far as how things are going with them. With Leah, sometimes I'm left wondering, just hoping we're doing a good job.

Back to her birthday, which was Monday the 15th....she had school that day and was "Star of the Week" in Miss Ellen's class. They rotate who's the star each week and try to make it coincide with their birthday week. They get to do things like be line leader, mom or dad can come in and read their favorite book to the class, etc. Miss Ellen also encourages you to put together a poster collage about them, something they can hang in the classroom. We filled it with pics from her birth until now and I took Kristy's interview idea and asked her several questions about herself, filling in the answers on the poster. The poster's still at school or I would list the answers. I'll have to post on that later. We brought in My Little Pony fruit snacks as the snack that day and on Thursday of her star week, I read "Horton Hears a Who", one of the favorites in the house. A great book, but a little on the long side for a class full of 3 year olds. It doesn't seem that long when reading it at home. The class did a great job listening though.

That night, we had the family over for pizza and cake. One thing she kept asking for was a pony cake, so we attempted a pony cake. I ended up buying some My Little Pony toys and putting them on the cake with pink sprinkles, not very creative, but she liked it. Leah and Carter helped with the decorating.

Here's all the cousins playing in the sun room with Trenton front and center.

Check out that masterpiece!

She ate off the special red plate. I need a new ceramic marker for the record on the back. The old one is worn out. Any ideas on where to get one? Maybe Michaels. I couldn't find it on-line.
Here's Leah, during the olympics. She and Carter kept gearing up for the bobsled.

This shirt has been around since Jeremy was a kid. His mom made it and both Leah and Carter have worn it. Leah now wears it as a night shirt and it's so comfy, having been washed a thousand times.

I just thought this pic was funny. A long time ago, I blogged about checking on her one night and finding her with her doll stroller across her back while she was sleeping. Well, her funny sleep stories continue. On this particular night, Jer and I went in to check on them before bed and found Leah sprawled out in her bathing suit. She had changed after we put her to bed and then brought a bunch of books into bed with her. I can remember calling up to see what the noise was and Carter yelled back that she's just getting books, covering for the fact that she was changing into her bathing suit! Anything for a little bit of summer.
And here they are today, snacking on some giant lollipops....hopefully all their teeth won't fall out!Happy 4th Birthday Leah!! We love you to pieces! When I tell her that, she corrects me and says, "No Mom, Grandpa loves me to pieces!"