Happy 4th Birthday, Annika!

Papi came to visit the weekend before her birthday. So, We had a pre-birthday party. She wanted waffles for breakfast. Papi got her a preschool workbook, which she loves, and a dot-to-dot sea creatures book, which she is a little young for still. 

The kids were so happy to go wake up papi the morning after he arrived. His flight came in late Friday night.

Our sweet girl at her first "friend birthday party." Annika started talking about her birthday and wanting to have a party a month or two before her bday. I think this was inspired by a friend bday party that she went to in July. Her first idea was to have Abby paint their nails. Since Abby was leaving for BYU the day before her bday, we did the party early. We planned to have it on the 27th, but Annika was really quiet and lethargic all that morning. I kept asking her if she felt sick and she said no. But, at lunch time, she finally admitted she wasn't feeling well and wanted to reschedule her party. So I texted the three moms and they were all able to do it the next morning. I wasn't sure if Annika would feel better. But, we really wanted Abby to be there so we went for it.
Friday morning, I cleaned and made frosting. I was so grateful Abby was home to take care of Benson that morning. Her friends were coming at 10 am. I finally woke her up at 9:40 (this girl SLEEPS when she is sick). I gave her a quick bath and she was eating breakfast when her friends arrived. She had a low fever and I hope we didn't infect all of them. She ended up having a great time and you could hardly tell she was sick. 

Benson with Kinsley and Drew Roylance. We tried to do as much outside as possible to prevent the spread of germs.

Abby painting Kinsley's nails

Annika and her sweet friend Kinsley. These two get along really well and have a blast playing together.

Drew, Adele Walker, Benson, Kinsley, Annika, Chaim Vonbracht, Amayah Vonbracht

present from Kinsley

My babies on her birthday morning

I tried piping on the frosting for my first time. It turned out pretty cute!

Pasco cousins and Grandma and Grandpa Beusy came for dinner (chicken tacos) and cake on the 31st. I love having family nearby to come for things like this. It was great to actually have the space to have this many people indoors at my dad's house.

Annika has some great ideas and we love her imagination. A month or so ago, she was watching me nurse Esther when she said, "Mom, you have big milk packs." She has also referred to them as spouts since then. :) She walked in my room with her shirt off (she was in the middle of getting dressed) and said, "Mom, my milk spouts are getting bigger." I love the terms she comes up with. 

A few weeks ago at church, she was on her pretend cell phone during the sacrament. She was having a normal voice level conversation about inviting someone to church. I quietly told her she needed to put it away during the sacrament. She rolled her eyes at me and then said into her phone,"(exhale) I'm going to have to call you back." This has to be one of my favorite things she's ever said.

Another funny thing she has said a few times when I'm not doing what she wants or I say "no," she says "Mom, I am not very happy with you" or "that is not a good choice." She also pronounces the "-ed" at the end of past tense verbs. For example: "I look-ed out the window." "I watch-ed that movie." We're not sure where she got that but maybe it will help her with spelling in the future. :)

Annika is a wonderful big sister. She asks me multiple times a day if I will put Esther down so she can talk to her. She loves to make her smile and "talk." I often find or hear her trying to involve Benson in whatever she is playing. This sometimes backfires, but she keeps trying. She can be extremely bossy, but she is often the sweetest little girl. 

The other day, Benson went outside to play but Annika stayed inside. I asked her to clean up the crayons. She reported that Benson dumped them out. But, since she was the one that got them out (after I asked her to only take out two crayons and put the rest back on the counter), I told her she needed to clean them up. She did this reluctantly after she came up with a plan to get Benson to clean up. She was "not going to to his things for him anymore." She decided to make a chart "to help Benson not do naughty things."