Julia is 4

Cinderella doll

Hello Kitty glittery, frilly dress

Sick on her birthday, but still having fun

Princess crown cake

Four years old?!  We celebrated Julia's birthday this weekend.  On Thursday she brought a birthday treat to school.  She chose chocolate chip cookies and helped me make them.  On Friday she got sick.  She's had a cold all week, but on Friday she had a fever, was really congested and throwing up a little.  Saturday was more of the same.  She chose chicken nuggets and fries for her birthday supper and Captain Sundae's for ice cream.  She managed to eat some.  She still declared she had a good birthday!  Today she is still sick, but we celebrated with Grandpa/Grandma J. and Tim/Jenny.  Julia is all about Cinderella so I made a princess crown cake. We gave her a Cinderella doll and the grandparents gave her Cinderella's carriage.  She loves them, but Isaac also enjoys playing with the carriage.  We also gave her a completely impractical dress.  It drops glitter all over the house, but she loves it which I knew she would.  Aunt Jenny gave her some Hello Kitty stuff and lip gloss/nail polish.  I've already told her that stuff has to stay in the kitchen drawer, no bringing it to her bedroom!  I remember my brother getting my nail polish when we were little and dumping it all over the dog.  She can't wait to go shopping with the money Grandma D. sent her, she likes to remind us it is HER money.

So how to describe our 4 year old Julia?  Like I said she loves Cinderella right now.  She likes to wear her Cinderella dress, she even wore it to the grocery store.  Julia role plays the Cinderella movie, but she acts out the step-sisters parts.  Not sure why.  I keep telling her she is beautiful and kind like Cinderella, not mean like the step-sisters!  Julia loves wearing dresses in general.  She is also obsessed with short sleeves and would love it if I let her wear them all the time.  She can't wait to go to Mexico in April and keeps telling everyone we are leaving "tomorrow." 

Julia is very strong willed and wants as much control over herself as possible.  Which leads to some interesting moments in our home!  Julia enjoys school and is a good friend to her classmates.  She also loves our church programs and participates with gusto.  It's fun to listen to Julia sing songs and watch her kiss Stephen on the head multiple times a day.  Isaac and Julia are becoming better playmates.  They fight often, but can also play together nicely.  She is quick to tell people she was born in Korea and we talk at home about how she was in a different Mom's tummy.  I'm glad we can lay the groundwork now so hopefully she will always feel comfortable talking about her adoption with us.  Julia is very curious and has questions about everything.  She loves talking to adults and we have to remind her to go play with the kids. She is 37 lbs and 40 1/2 inches tall which puts her in the 66th percentile for both height and weight. 

Julia is such a blessing and we can't wait to see how she'll grow and change this next year!