Olivia Graceland turns 4!

Olivia has had another birthday, sadly... :)  She is growing into the cutest little girl.  She is really into her play kitchen right now.  She likes to bring it into my kitchen and cook with me.  She loves to be active - still doesn't sit still through movies or anything else.  She is HILARIOUS.  Some of her dance moves have Dave and I laughing so hard!  She is in preschool and dance class right now.  She is soo smart and the best little dancer in her class.  She can write her name, she can count to 20 (skipping 13, why do kids do that?), she can identify numbers and letters by looking at them, and she learned the Pledge of Allegiance.  She doesn't need help going potty anymore and she sleeps in her own bed, mostly.  She is so helpful.  She loves to help clean, shop or do anything grown up.  I really feel like she's just a third person in our house now instead of a child.

She loves her friends and cousins.  She loves to play dress up and likes all things girly.  She loves to watch volleyball and says that she wants to play when she gets big.  I hope she sticks to that! She loves Elsa, Ariel, Rapunzel, Anna, Cinderella - really all of the princesses.  She remembers everything!  Sometimes she'll bring things up that I had totally forgotten about.  She still loves broccoli, squash, apples, bananas, grapes, watermelon and carrots.  That is good, because those 9 cavities were not cheap to fill!  I hope we see some improvement, but she does still love sugar as well.

She has a strong personality.  She is kind of quiet at first, but she always makes sure she gets what she wants.  She loves Primary and does so well now.  She has given the prayer and given a talk so far and she loves getting up in front of everyone.  She still loves Doc McStuffins, Minnie Mouse, and Sofia the First.  She loves movies like Bug's Life, Incredibles, Care Bears and Monster's Inc.  She LOVES to play games.  My mom has gotten her in to cards and puzzles, so she loves to play with those a lot.  She loves riding her bike and playing with chalk.  She asks me daily about going to the park, even if it's raining.  She loves to be outside and active.  She likes to tease her daddy.  She says that he is the best at keeping her warm, so she wants to cuddle with him more than me.  He loves that. :)  She also told me the other day that I was her best friend and she wanted to be best friends forever.  I will always make sure she remembers she said that!

She is the boss of our house, whether she realizes that or not.  We love her and can't get enough of her every day.  She is SO spoiled, so we are trying to make sure she knows how to listen, too.  I hope to one day give her a brother or sister, because right now, Boston is her brother and she plays with him like a brother.  She would be the best big sister, but if not, we are so grateful that we've gotten to experience life as parents to her.  I can't believe we have a 4 year old, but what do you do!  She will be starting Kindergarten next year, in 2017... I can't wait for all the fun we will have with that.

Here are some recent pictures - Happy Birthday Olivia!  Muah!