The Tolbert Family: October 2015

Dear Sweet Caroline,

Happy Fourth Birthday, baby girl! We've just finished a wonderful weekend celebrating four precious years of life with you and we could not be more thankful to have you as our daughter. You bring so much joy and life and love and laughter into our family.

~ You are a wonderful big sister to Eleanor. You have assumed that role with great joy, especially now that Eleanor is big enough to play with you more. The two of you play pretend really sweetly together and it makes her so happy when you get down on her level. You also interpret for her to mommy and daddy if she ever says a word we don't understand!

~ You are a loving and adoring little sister to Anna Kate. You love to do big girl things with her - like your S.O.A.C (Secret Outdoor Adventure Club), or painting with watercolors, or playing imaginative games.

~ You have a kind and generous heart. Just today, for example, you offered to give your stuffed animal to Eleanor in the car because she didn't have one, and you offered to share your birthday money (just a few dollars) with Anna Kate because she didn't have any with her at the pumpkin patch. No one asked you to do those things, but you just saw the need and wanted to do something about it.

~ You pray the sweetest prayers each night before bed. We pray using the ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication) and you always want to "call it out." That means, you always want to ask us, "Who wants to do adoration? Who wants to do confession? etc. You usually want to do adoration and your praises to God are some of the most worshipful and heartfelt I've ever heard.

~ You are a wonderful little snuggler. You tend to wake up a bit slowly (both in the morning and after naps) and need a few minutes of just good snuggle time with Mommy or Daddy on the couch.

~ You are learning so much in our homeschool K3 year! Even though it's not "official" school yet, you've been doing quite a bit! You're doing great with learning to read. You are working through all the consonant-vowel-consonant words in Alpha Phonics and have them just about mastered. Just the other day you counted to 100 for us all on your own (with only a couple of prompts). You can write your own name beautifully and love practicing your letters. You really enjoy our Five in a Row time (read aloud classic picture books with various activities). You are just starting to become more interested in violin and are working on mastering your posture, as well as starting your open string rhythms.

~ You've also been participating in some of our homeschool co-op classes and think they're lots of fun. You do a letter of the week each week in "ABC class" on Thursday while your sister is in Swimming Creatures. Afterwards, you get to participate in US Geography songs and know almost all of your states and capitals! You have also been joining in on Lego club (where you build something based on a prompt and then have to tell about it to the group), as well as PE club. You often ask me throughout the week when you can go to PE club because you need some exercise (as if daily life as rambunctious as you are isn't exercise enough!).

~ You have really started to enjoy jigsaw puzzles over the past few months. 24 piece puzzles are now too easy for you, but you love working on the 48 piece ones. You even received two for your birthday! You also love your new magnet blocks from Mimi and Papa and love to create different designs with them.
~ You like to take pictures. Lots of pictures. On Mommy's iPad. Here's one from a series of 100+ pictures of just about the same angle.

~ You have developed some pretty impressive soccer skills this season, especially for someone too young to officially be on the team! You love getting out there to practice with Anna Kate and dribbling the ball, keeping it close, and shooting in the goal. You love it when Mommy or Daddy find an empty field to practice on with you while Anna Kate has practice!

~ For being so athletic, you still are quite the girly-girl. You insist on wearing "something from the closet" every day, and NOT something from the drawers. In other words, it has to be a dress. And not just any dress, it has to be a "twirly dress or a cupcake dress." I really need a picture of that last one to explain it, but basically if you crouch down low, the dress needs to pouf out like a cupcake over your knees and feet.

~ You love to play princess and dress-up. Every day. All day. So naturally, you chose to have a princess party for your 4th birthday. More on that in a later post, but suffice it to say that you had a fabulous time all dressed up and eating special treats and making tiaras and wands with your friends. Grandma and Grandpa's gift to you was a princess castle tent that was perfect for your party...and I think will have a permanent home in your room!

~ Your gift from Mommy and Daddy this year was a new two-wheel big girl bike with training wheels and you absolutely love it. It's pink and purple and sparkly and just your style! You had definitely outgrown your tricycle and you're so excited about learning to ride a big girl bike.

~ Your last few months have been a little hard on you in some ways, as we started noticing that you were having some airway restriction and sleep apnea at night. At your doctor's recommendation we had your tonsils and adenoids removed three weeks ago and you are doing SO much better! The recovery was NOT easy, but we made it through with lots of popsicles and gatorade. My two favorite quotes of yours throughout the ordeal were, "Mommy, I don't love surgery!" (3 days post op), and "I feel almost back to normal!" (12 days post op).

~ Now that all that is behind us, you are back to your spunky, silly little self. You love to be crazy and silly with your sisters and you really do have the best laugh ever.

Caroline,

We love you and are so grateful to call you our princess. You are an absolute blessing in our lives with your precious spirit. We love your sweet laughter, kind heart, and your snuggles. May God continue to grow you as our new four-year-old! We love you more than you will ever know.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

and Anna Kate and Eleanor too!

Now, how about a trip down memory lane?

Caroline's BIRTH day!