happy birthday, presley!

my baby girl is 4 today. i can't really put my emotions into words, but i am gonna try.

presley is my sweet, sassy, stubborn, strong-willed, smart, funny, silly, loving, and BEAUTIFUL girl.
she makes the best faces, so full of emotion... from fighting mad to smiling and "sparkling". she sings songs, and prances around constantly. she praises Jesus. she throws tantrums, and toys... but she also gives out the biggest puckered up kisses you've ever seen. she is momma's girl, no doubt, but she needs her daddy just as much. she is her brother's keeper...and also his boss. she is actually the boss of this whole house, and i have a feeling it'll be that way until the day she moves out.

these past 4 years have been some of the HARDEST, and most stressful years of my entire life. but man, they sure have been fun. and rewarding. and so.full.of.love. my heart just bursts at the seams for this sweet child of mine.

we had a fun day celebrating sweet presley.
the day started with ballons and cinnamon rolls. we also measured her to see how much she's grown in the last six months (about 2in)!

after church we thought she might take a nap... but she wasn't having it. she was definitely tired, but when i told her to go get in bed she started crying and wailing "but i'm in a good mood!" with tears gushing out. yeahhh... that's not working sister. so instead she flopped around in her bed for an hour. when we asked what she wanted to eat for her special birthday lunch she said, "HOTDOGS!". i asked her if she wanted me to make hotdogs, or if she wanted to go out to eat. she said, "hotdogs at a restaurant! and then they will sing to me." i told her they don't sing at the hotdog restaurant (five guys!), and asked if she would rather go eat pancakes (her favorite) instead. NOPE. she said we could just sing to her when we got home instead.

*side note: how is she my child? when i was a kid, i had a LEGIT PHOBIA of being sang to in public on my birthday. introvert since birth, i guess! but for real, my parents knew not to tell them it was my birthday when we went out to eat. if we heard them start singing in the restaurant, my dad would nudge me and say "here they come!", even though it was for someone else, and i would nearly cry. i also got panicky when having my birthday party at the skating rink and they called out for the birthday kids to come to the center of the rink... nope, not going. sorry.

after lunch we came home and sang happy birthday and let her blow out candles one more time. then she opened a few more presents and spent the rest of the evening playing with her new toys.