I can hardly believe you are four now! I just stare at you sometimes and I am amazed at how incredible you are. Beautiful, smart, and so loving -- You must get that from your father. ;) I just wanted to be sentimental sense we only have a few more months of being the Reed family of three.
Your first birthday will never be forgotten because the night before there was a tornado in Clovis. We were having your party at the youth building and hoping it would still be standing so that we could celebrate your first year of life. Sometime soon after your first birthday we were inside while your dad was mowing. He had found a tiny little turtle and brought it in for you to see and placed it in a box. I don't remember if I knew this information before I walked in a saw you with a turtle in your mouth but none the less I let out a shrill that had your father thinking you were dying or something. Praise the Lord it was just the turtle but I was extremely freaked out that you had put it in your mouth.
Your second year (07) was so fun because you were learning to communicate back to us. You also learned to sing songs which is still one of my favorite things to hear from you. We moved that year and you were such a flexible, happy girl no matter what we were doing. On the road for hours, making lots of short overnight visits, living with friends for a while, and finally settling into a new home. I praise God for how well you handled all that transition because kids love routine, but what a blessing you were to your stressed out mom who didn't handle all the change near as well as you did.
Year three (08) was extremely funny and extremely challenging. You were such a good talker and would say the greatest things that always made us smile. You were also potty trained during the third year which made this time of my life a huge "chance for growth" and "character development". I am looking forward to having you around to help me with this task for the next baby girl! :)
Finally, this past year (09) has been so great because I feel like you will begin to remember things we've done now for the rest of your life. Because you've grown up and matured we get to do lots of fun things with you. You also play pretend a lot now, which is such a sweet thing to see your creative mind at work. You have become very efficient at doing things for yourself. I'm just so proud that you can dress and undress yourself shoes and all, brush your teeth all by yourself, and you've even started learning to read.
You are such a blessing and I thank God for you everyday. I love you Ansley Grace! (born March 24, 2006)
