Four ... and a HALF

I cannot believe how my little baby Gabriela got to be four and a HALF. But yesterday was her half birthday. I thought it would be fun to point it out to her and make a big deal out of it.

So we have been counting down and on her actual half birthday, Gabriela and I went on a special date to see a theater performance of Peter Pan. It was super cute.  Gabriela was really excited by the fact that all the actors were kids and that they had moms and dads just like her. 

We were planning to have a special half birthday dinner that night, but ended up having dinner at Uncle Nate's house.  So tonight we had the requested dinner: strawberry lemonade and pesto. We also had salmon and green salad, which were not requested, but are also some of her favorites. It was a good thing our dinner was postponed by one night because Grandma and Grandpa were driving through on their way home to Gilroy and they were able to join us. We lit some candles and sang Happy (half) Birthday, which she excitedly blew out and then announced that it was time for dessert.

It was super fun to celebrate and I hope we remember to do it every year! And now, a little more about my four-and-a-half year old.

She is always going through phases - first it was the blocks, and then the baby dolls and changing their diapers and giving them timeouts, then she was super into letter writing, and mostly these days it is pretend play and arts and crafts.

Gabriela spends just as much time, if not more, talking about what she is going to pretend, who will say what and then what will be said in response, as the actual pretend play itself. Right now we have a pet hippo named Marina, a cat named Riska, two dogs: Hoover and Alabama (who used to be called Libby), a duck named Daffodil, a ladybug named Rainbow Sparkle. I am sure I am forgetting some too.

These days my dining table and floor are nearly always covered in scraps, markers, scissors, paper, and glue. Gabriela constructs three dimensional houses for her little paper dolls that she draws and cuts out. The other day she made one completely on her own. The dolls had a house with a door that opened, a couch they could sit on, their big screen tv, a remote control, a stove (complete with burners and dials), and some pots and pans to go on the stove. 

I have a giant stack of notes she has written me completely independently. They sometimes come with little envelopes she also constructs.  They all say the same thing, "Dear Mom, I love you. Gabriela"  How sweet is that?

Gabriela writes all her letters and can sound out written words. She can spell words if we help her break down the sounds individually. 

She is a pro at bike riding and ringing her bike bell if anyone at all is on the sidewalk in front of her, and she is starting to get better at hula hooping.  She is also working hard on the monkey bars.

We have been reading up a storm lately. Since Christmas, in addition to the regular picture books, we have read one chapter book about Tiptoes Lightly (so cute!), Stuart Little, most of the first Magic Treehouse book, Ramona and Her Father, and we are half way through Ramona and her Mother. 

Gabriela never ceases to amaze me with insights she has or questions she asks. The other day she asked me who the first person born in the world was. Her guess was George Washington.  Then she said it must have been a really long time ago, because those people lived, then died, and more people were born and died, and more and more and more until us.

Gabriela is usually a super sweet big sister. I just caught her and Easton walking hand in hand at farmer's market and I could feel my heart melting. It was so precious.

My baby girl is thrilled to be half way done being four.  I am having a bit of a hard time with it and may or may not have gotten teary eyed at some of the kindergarten orientations we have attended recently.