My miracle baby is 4!

She was so excited about the princess dress she got. 

Our little miracle celebrated her 4th birthday on Sunday. I can't believe how quickly the last 4 years have flown by. All day yesterday (leap day) I kept thinking about how close she was to being a leap year baby. I imagine I'll think about that every four years!

She insisted on wearing her "birthday hat" headband. It's really a St. Patrick's day headband that we got for an upcoming pep rally at school, but who's going to argue with the birthday girl? I thought it was a great idea! It fit perfectly with her newest fashion must have: a bun with a headband (it's how Cinderella wears her hair). 

As we sang "Happy Birthday" she waited patiently to blow out her candle.

To celebrate on her birthday we went to visit family in Mississippi (mainly grandparents). We ate lunch at one of her favorite places - a cute little soda fountain restaurant in the heart of Jackson. If you've ever seen the movie "The Help" you've probably seen it. She enjoyed a lunch of pancakes, birthday cake, and a milkshake. We were definitely sugared up, but hey, it was her birthday!

Anyway, we had a great time and I (as I always do) got teary when we started singing "Happy Birthday" to her. It never fails! I can't help but remember how much we all prayed for this baby girl and how much she is loved by so many.

Yesterday, she got to celebrate at school for the first time. As a teacher, I have celebrated many a child's birthday in my classroom, so it was fun being the mommy for a change. The picture to the left is a picture of her getting ready to say the blessing - I love that she goes to an Episcopal school where this type of behavior is encouraged. I love her heart for God! She was so excited to have mommy AND daddy at school with her (she gets to see me there every day, so daddy was an extra special treat). They had cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday" to her and she got her special birthday crown.

This weekend she'll have yet another celebration with her friends. We have invited 6 of her little friends from school for her official birthday party. We're having it at the children's museum here in town. She cannot wait! This is really the first time that we have had a real birthday party with kids her age. In the past it has just been family and close friends (mommy and daddy's close friends, not necessarily her's). It should be a good time. I'm a believer in celebrating your birthday week, so I supposed I'm just passing that along. ha!

I can't believe how quickly this month has flown by! It really kind of makes me sad in a way. I am definitely ready to be sleeping through the night and not feeding every 2.5 hours, but my little girl is growing so fast and I feel like I can't capture it quickly enough. Every day she does something different!

She is starting to focus on things a lot lately. When I put her on her activity mat or in her bouncer or swing, she actually looks at the toys dangling above her head. A few times I've seen her start to reach out for one, but she forgets what she's doing before she accomplishes the task. She is starting to smile some. I know they say at this age it's usually just gas, but I swear to you she reacts to certain words or faces that I make and she smiles at me. It is truly addicting and I can't wait until she has more control over it and smiles all the time.

Sleeping is going pretty well. We are using Babywise and it is working really well for us. I have always known I would use this method after seeing friends of mine who use it compared to friends who don't. I am a planner. I like my routines and my schedules, so I knew that the attachment parenting, demand feeding, baby wearing style of parenting was not for me. Not that I think there is anything wrong with that style of parenting...it's just not for us.

Anyway, she usually wakes up twice during the night to eat, which is right on track for her age. I'll feed her around 10:00 before I go to bed, then she'll wake up around 2:00- I feed her- and then she goes right back to sleep. Then she wakes up again around 4:30, and this tends to be the roughest part of our night. She eats, and then is ready to start her day...it kills me! I put her in her crib and listen to her cry for about thirty minutes before she finally goes back to sleep. Then I wake her up at 7:00 because that is when I want her to wake up for when I go back to work. We are slowly making progress though and I figure in the next several weeks she'll start dropping that feeding all together. When that day comes I will be one happy mamma!

The daytime is going well and she generally sticks to a good routine. Keeping her awake during feedings is still difficult at times, but she's getting better!

I am so in love with this baby girl! She seems to be pretty happy and boy is she growing! I can't wait to take her to the doctor in a few weeks to see how much she's gained. She definitely getting little fat rolls on her legs and arms. I have a feeling she will be a chunky baby!

So for your viewing pleasure....Anadine at 1 month!




With my mom...


With my mother in law...




Getting bigger every day



My sweet girl getting sleepy


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Location:One month old!