Evelyn is 4!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Evelyn!  It's hard to believe we have a four-year-old, it doesn't seem like that long ago that we were taking her home from the hospital! I have to take a moment and brag about some of the things that make Evelyn such an amazing girl.

-She has the sweetest sense of humor and she loves life!  There is no small range of emotion with her.  If something is exciting, there is gasping, cheering, singing, and loving it "so so SO MUCH!" Life is very happy with such an optimistic girl around!

-She is SMART!  When she was 18 months old and Lance was taking Anatomy, she memorized at least 20 terms right along with him and could point them out on her own body. Do you know where your foramen spinosum is?
-She is the master of funny faces which just proves she has some Lance in her

-She is helpful.  How many other kids hang up all their own laundry and love to help fill the dishwasher.  Seriously, I don't know where she came from, but she loves cleaning.

-She is the best big sister.  This is an understatement.  Blake idolizes her and whenever she does something with him he will laugh and smile the whole time.   Addi and Evie play all day long. Sometimes it's like they are in their own little world.  I love that they love each other.

-She is thoughtful.  She always thinks of other people and what she can do for them.  She offers to brush my hair anytime, or if someone gets hurt she is the first to the scene to help them feel better. When she was younger she always made sure everyone had enough toys and blankets to stay comfortable.

-Her current favorite toy is a tiny stuffed owl which she calls, "Precious Owl." She has a huge thing for all animals.

-She has a real sense of right and wrong, and always feels true remorse for doing something wrong.   She will say, "I just want to be so good now!   I'm just so sorry, I never want to be mad again!" with a huge smile on her face.
-She loves holidays and birthdays.  I have never seen anyone so excited for other peoples birthdays.  She will count down for Lance and say, "Dad!  Your birthday is just in 10 days! Aren't you SO EXCITED?!?!?!"  Holidays are also something that will get her talking for months in advance.

-She loves babies.  Every time we see a baby in church or at the store she says, "Mom, I just LOVE babies!  They're so cute."  If you've ever seen her with a baby, you know she actually has a real talent with babies and making them happy.

-She is our FUN girl.  She always has an idea in her head about something fun we could be doing for the day.  Usually it involves going hiking, camping, or on a bike ride, playing all day long, and then finishes with hot chocolate, popcorn and a movie.  It always starts with the phrase, "MOM! I have a GREAT idea!"

-She actually loves healthy food.  Brownies, chocolate, cake, candy...she loves them, but she'll take maybe three bites and be done.  Give her salad, spinach, brussel sprouts broccoli, corn, beans, and any fruit...she will eat it all and ask for seconds and thirds.  This is the opposite of a problem we have with certain other little girls in our house.

(brownie on the fork)

-She is creative.  The other day we had watermelon, and this was the conversation:
Me (to Lance):  Where do they grow watermelon here in California?
Evelyn:  Well!  They grow on big trees, and when they get really really heavy, they fall off and roll all the way to the store!
Lance and I laughed later about the prospect of storeowners everywhere showing up to work and letting in watermelons that had rolled there overnight.

I could talk for days about how we love Evelyn, she is just an all-around great girl. 

Lance and I are constantly amazed by how lucky we are!  Happy Birthday Evie girl!