Happy 4th Birthday Callie!

After playing outside in the beautiful sunshine for a little while, we all came inside to enjoy a yummy birthday dinner - oven-fried chicken drumsticks, homemade mac & cheese, green beans, and crescent rolls. Callie likes pretty much everything, and has a new "favorite" every day....so I decided to pick her birthday meal myself...in case she announced she wanted cereal for her birthday dinner or something like that :)

After we finished dinner, Callie got to open her presents from the family.

One of my favorite things about Callie is that she is SOOOO expressive! I LOVE it! :) (She's opening 2 new Pinkalicious books - the girl LOVES books!)

She also got some more little princess dolls - Cinderella, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle

And then, she got to open her new dollhouse! (out of order - that wasn't supposed to be the next present opened, but that's how it happened...drove me nuts though!) :) Her "new" dollhouse had been strategically hidden in the attic for the last 3 years. Some dear friends in VA had given it to us after their daughter had outgrown it, so we'd been waiting for the right time to give it to Callie. She'd even seen it in the attic a few times, but thankfully, little girls don't have good memories! :) She was SO excited!

Opening a rolling backpack from Tutu

with her name on it! The boys have one and it's what they use to pack their stuff in when we travel. She was so excited to have her "own" suitcase now! :) She's ready for a trip to Tutu's house!

Dad got her the "Tangled" book for her TAG system (and her brothers got her the movie!!!)

See her face? :) I love it! Dad got her 2 rooms of furniture for her dollhouse - super excited little girl here!

Kelli got her the living room furniture for the dollhouse - she said she knew she had to when it included a flat screen TV with a picture of a princess show on it! :) That's Callie!

Matching jammies of course! :) (Addison gave Callie these jammies for Christmas last year and they are her favorite! Why? Because it's a dress of course!)

The kids all sat down to watch Tangled - my kids had never seen it before but I had heard great things about it!

Even Caleb hopped up on the couch - he didn't want to be left out. He's NEVER watched TV or a movie before - I think he just wanted to sit up there with the kids!!!

It was a sweet ending to a wonderful day. Callie Elizabeth - my sweet little girl. I had no idea how our lives would change when God gave you to Daddy and me. I remember when the doctor told us that the baby inside me was going to be a girl - we were shocked! We only knew what to do with boys - not a little girl!! We jokingly said that we now knew that God was going to come back within the next 13 years - because surely he'd never make me go through puberty with a girl!! You had had daddy's heart from the beginning - you love to cuddle and be held...even now as a big 4 year old. You still love your blanket and love to be all wrapped up in it. You love to do anything one on one with anybody - you will talk their ear off too! I used to worry that having two older brothers would make you all boy. You are a tough one for sure - but you are ALL girl inside that tough exterior. You love to wear dresses and pretty shoes and jewelry of any kind. We had a rough spell this year while we tried to determine which battles to fight. You dropped your nap earlier than either of the boys - you seem to need less sleep I guess! :) I let you wear mismatched clothes and shoes on the wrong feet because I've decided it just doesn't matter! I know that you are stuck in the middle - the 3rd child - just like I was. So I try to be aware and take special time out just for you and me. That's why we decided to do this "girly" party for you. To take some special time out just for you and enjoy the fact that we are the only girls! I am so thankful that God put you in our family Callie girl. You are such a precious, sweet girl. I love how you are teaching Caleb to love. He's our only son that has ever loved on a baby doll and I know it's because he loves to play with you! You are a good teacher Callie - always remember to be a good example and show Jesus' love. I love you SO much Callie and am thankful that I get to be your mom! Happy Birthday sweet girl!