Happy Birthday Annabelle!

My cute sister-in-law, Nikki, brought all of her fun face paints! I'm sure you can imagine how excited the girls were  :) My other cute sister-in-law, Kristy, snapped these cute close-ups of the girls; they turned out so cute! This picture of Daisy is so sweet.

How gorgeous are Liv's eyes and bright smile!

Paige looks so beautiful with her huge brown eyes and perfect skin!

Annabelle looks so little and adorable. She loves getting her face painted, and Nikki painted a special butterfly for her--different from all the rest  :)

The girls enjoyed paiting with their new paints Annabelle chose for them!

Annabelle LOVED her new Minnie Mouse scooter! It plays songs, lights up, and is so very cute! She was so excited when she 1st saw it!

The Birthday Cake!

Happy Birthday Annabelle! I can't believe it--4?! It seems impossible. I absolutely adore Annabelle; she is a wonderful little girl full of energy, excitement, love and warmth. Here is a little list of things about our little princess:

*She is very tender, loving, and caring.
*She is very active, and almost always perfers playing to watching TV. She loves riding her princess bike, her Minnie Mouse scooter, as well as playing Rapunzel with her friends Brayden and Will @ the playground.
*She's funny! Each and every day she makes me laugh with the funny and clever things she says.
*She is perceptive and is constantly observing others' behaviors and actions, and forming her own opinions about it/them. I'll often hear these opinions during random conversations at home and in the car, and it always takes me by surprise how insightful and perceptive she is!
*She's a little fashionista! She loves clothes, jewelry, shoes and dress-ups. She even loves to accessorize. Whenever she asks for a dress-up from the closet, it's always followed up with the question, "Can you please get out the stuff that goes with this dress? The shoes, the crown, a necklace..."   :)
*She loves books and stories about princesses.
*She loves studying about the Book of Mormon and often asks follow-up questions throughout the day about what we read in the morning. She's still waiting for Laban to wake up with True Love's Kiss, for Laman and Lemuel to turn good. She loves talking about the "Jews", because she thinks we're talking about "Jewels". She keeps wanting me to expand on the idea of "Sadan," and asks, "But what about that mist of darkness? Let's talk more about that!" Hmmmmm...we've streered clear of the subject for now  :)  Haha
*She can't pronounce her L's quite yet, which makes words like "Pool", "School", and "Jewel" sound hilarious!
*She loves getting her nails painted, and always wants to know if the colors are "fashionable."
*She loves rainbows and mermaids.
*She loves to shop! When we stopped at a Kmart in St. George, I said "Annabelle it's time to go." She responded "But wait! Look at this (holding out a glittery shirt). LOVE it!" My mom and I laughed and laughed in disbelief.
*She's cautious and gets scared to try new things.
*She hates getting water in her eyes, yet loves bathing and swimming...as long as she doesn't have to wash her hair, get splashed, or go down any waterslides. She has a ball and is quite content hanging out with Stockton in the toddler area at the swimming pools.
*She hates the farm! She doesn't like the animals, the smells, the dirt...I don't know whay I keep trying to take her to the farm expecting a new result!  :)
*She is very smart! She is enrolled in an online preschool curriculum and is doing very well. We timed her doing alphabet flash cards before starting the preschool, and after 1 month of doing her lessons, she had improved her time by 16 seconds! She also started doing her puzzles at a level 3, and is now doing them at a level 7.
*She LOVES Stockton so much and constantly tries to hold his hand, and give him kisses and hugs. She always introduces him to friends. Stocky will rarely stop for a kiss and hug from her, so most of the time she's hugging and kissing while he's on the run  :) Who am I kidding? That's pretty much what we all have to do with him! Haha
*She loves her dad. This morning in her prayers, she said, "Bless my family, of course my dad." :)
*She loves her Grandma! Grandma has always been her favorite person in the world. If she had her way, I'd be taking her to grandma's house every day to play. Annabelle constantly asks to call her on the phone too!
*She has daily chores. She goes potty, gets herself dressed, brushes her teeth, combs her hair, and sorts the silverware. She also puts her dirty clothes in the hamper, puts away her toys, clears her place, and pushes in her chair after every meal!
*She loves temples, especially "Our temple."
*She's a social butterfly with her friends, and is a magnet for the boys! In primary, she's always talking, laughing, and sitting with the boys. She never sits with the girls!
*She has gorgeous hair!
*She has my eyes, my nose, Josh's metabolism, and Josh's body type.
*She loves to help with the cooking and laundry.
*Her best friends are: Lily, Mercedes, Brayden, Will, Emma, and of course her cousins.
*She loves to dance, and has improved a lot this year! She loves her teacher Mrs. Joni!
*She loves to sing, and to make up her own songs that usually go something like, "I know what's right; I don't know what's wrong, but my spirit loves...I am a child of God...Look at this stuff...my life is a gift...I love primary and secondary colors..." Haha
*She loves painting and coloring
*She hates shots! When Stocky gets a shot, she has to leave the room every time and a nurse takes her down the hall!
*She loves her dolls ("Daughters"): Susan, Sophie, Rosie and Missy!
*She likes taking baths with bubbles and color tablets.
*She loves to "cuddle and be holded".
*She loves to be tickled, and has an adorable laugh.
*Her favorite bedtime song is "Part of your World".
*Her favorite princess is Ariel.
*She is hilarious in timeout! She has imaginary conversations to console herself and talk about what she's done wrong. For example, last week it went like this: "Now I'm on the naughty list and my presents go to someone else. I don't want black rocks! This is the cooking room (the kitchen), and the dining room! In here, I have NOTHIN'!"
*She is a beautiful little girl, inside and out.
*She cares and thinks of others.
*She loves to be chased, but not caught.
*She wants to marry her dad at the red playground and have cupcakes for a treat.
*She has a sweet, perfect, and innocent spirit.
*She wants to please others and succeed at whatever she tries. She's a bit of a perfectionist and takes it hard when she doesn't get it right the 1st time.
She inspires me to be a better mother for her. When I see her potential, I know I have to do better so she can become who God wants her to be. I am so lucky she came into this life as my 1st child; she will be such a great example to her younger siblings, and will love and care for them beautifully. She is so forgiving and quick to find the good in people. I feel that she and I have an amazing bond and love that will be unlike any other. She's seen me at my worst, and she's seen me at my best, but always loves unconditionally and in the end puts a smile on my face regardless of what's happened. I am proud of her, and I understand her. She has her challenging moments, but I am grateful for the learning opportunities (which they all are because I swear I can never get it right the 1st time, and always need the challenge to repeat itself in order to feel like I did the right thing)! I love her so much and can't wait to spend the next year with her, watching her continue to grow and progress. She is most looking forward to going to Disneyland again when she's 5. Happy Birthday Annabelle!

Here are YOUR favorite things!
Favorite Color: Blue, red, pink and purple
Favorite Toy: Susan
Favorite Fruit: Apples
Favorite Cartoon: My Little Pony and Bubble Guppies. Favorite Pony: Twilight Sparkle (Susan likes Rarity, Sophie likes Princess Celestia, and Rosie likes Rainbow Dash). Favorite Bubble Guppie: Molly.
Favorite Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich with ice cream for dessert
Favorite Outfit: All my dresses. Favorite Dress: Play dresses.
Favorite Game: Playing princesses with my castle and "Decoration Mountain." (A Christmas decoration I gave her to play with) Haha
Favorite snack: Bars (Blueberry nutri-grain bars)
Favorite Animals: Zebras and giraffes
Favorite Song: "Part of this World"
Best Friend: "Stocky Bocky"
Favorite Cereal: Cheerios
Favorite thing to do outside: Play at the playground
Favorite Drink: Apple Juice
Favorite Holiday: Christmas
What do you like to take to bed: A book and my dolls
What do you want to be when you grow up? A Princess!