Eden Joy at 4

Still processing that my middle is now a whopping four years old!  It's always hard to see the growth and changes when you are with them everyday, but I can definitely look back over this last year and see a TON of growth and development in Eden.  For one thing, she's grown about 6 inches in a year according to our growth chart we keep in our closet!  Her hair has also taken off and it surprises me to see pictures of her a year ago and see just how much it has grown.  She gets so many comments on how beautiful her hair is!  I guess some things are worth waiting for :)

At 4 years old, she is 33.6 lbs (38th%) and 40.8 inches (73rd%).  In comparison, Macy at 4 was 39.5 inches (34th%) and 32 lbs (20th%).

She is definitely long and lean and also gets a lot of comments on how tall she has gotten.  She is our junk food eater, however, and will eat chips and fries over fruit any day.  Macy's our fruit girl.

I continue to see so much of myself in her personality!  She is very tender-hearted and will cry if she sees someone hurt or upset.  We watched a video one day of some boys pretending to be homeless in New York just to document the response they got.  So many people walked by them.  Even when they explained at the end that they were fine and just doing an experiment, I looked down at Eden and she had tears streaming down her face.  She was concerned for them.  And just yesterday at Great-Nana's home, we witnessed a patient fall in the dining room.  It was pretty scary and my heart hurt for this lady.  Before I knew it, Eden was crawling in my lap, crying and asking to be held because she had also witnessed this sweet lady fall.  She is very much our sensitive one and still cries if she gets embarrassed or in trouble.  We arrived at the girls dance recital back in April and I had intended to take the girls to the girls' restroom to change them into their costumes.  All of a sudden, a lady a few rows back started pointing to us and laughing.  Apparently Eden had started to undress in the auditorium to get her costume on.  When she saw the response of the lady behind us, her face immediately started turning red and her eyes filled with tears.  She looked at me and said, "I'm not sad, Mommy" like she was trying to talk herself out of crying and it broke my heart!  Tenderness is just sewn through her and it's an emotion that comes to the surface very easily with her.  I know the Lord will use that tenderness and sensitivity in big ways!  Her verse we've prayed for her talks about having a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in His sight.

She also does not want any attention on her.  Back at the parents night of VBS, her name was called to win a door prize.  All she had to do was walk to the front to receive it.  She immediately started crying and reaching out for me.  I walked her to the front, got her prize, and we sat down and talked.  I told her she really needed to go say thank you or we would have to give the prize back.  I understand that she doesn't want attention drawn to her, but we talked about how she still needs to be respectful of people.  I know that's going to be a battle for her especially in these toddler years.  Just looking into someone's eyes and saying "thank you" is a feat for her.

But at home, she is bubbly, LOUD, and the life of the party!  She loves to sing and dance and perform solo concerts :)

She is also still very much our fashionista.  She loves clothes and wakes up so excited to pick out what she's going to wear that day.  And for the most part, she does a great job matching things.  She still doesn't mind that most of her clothes and shoes were Macy's.  They are like new to her.  She will notice if I wear a new pair of shoes or jewelry, or if I've painted my nails a different color.  She's just in tune to all things girly!  And she LOVES lip gloss.  Both girls have enjoyed carrying little purses around (even some that were mine that my mom kept).  It's fun to see them accessorize :)

Everything about Eden is dainty.  The way she sits, walks, runs… You name it.  We just crack up watching her mannerisms and how she naturally will sit with her legs crossed.

Eden has been going to big church now for a while and for the most part, does great.  Every now and then, sleep or hunger gets the best of her and she just starts whining.  I've taken her out a few times.  But she's precious during the music part.  This girl does not have to know all the words to sing along :)

Some of my favorite words she says are "Pury-well" for Purell.  "Coke" instead of "coat". "Not anything" instead of "nothing".  "Boo me" instead of "scare me".  

She's taken on some household chores, really without having to be asked.  She just started noticing one day when the trash bag in the kitchen was full and would take it out and replace it with a new one.  She's also hanging clothes up and folding blankets now really well.  It may take her longer but she's learning.

She's had true second child syndrome when it comes to learning numbers and letters and this has also taken her longer than Macy.  We've started working through some preschool books and she's making progress :)  She can write a capital E now and somewhat gets down the rest of her name.  Her coloring has also improved by leaps and bounds.  We very quickly went from scribbling to coloring in the lines. Her ability to sit and work on a puzzle has also really improved and it's been one of her favorite things to do lately.

She's making strides with swimming, but is definitely more cautious around the water than Macy is.

She still likes taking care of her babies and tending to Kate.  Her personality is more compliant than Macy's and they play together well typically because she does what Macy says.  Every now and then though she puts her foot down :)

And she is still our lovey one!  She is so affectionate!

EJ, you are the sweetest thing.  I love how you ask me to rock you and sing sometimes.  And how you run and jump in my arms!  I love seeing your heart for other people and your sensitive soul.  I love your position in the family; how you follow after Macy yet still take care of Kate.  You are a precious piece to our puzzle!!  We love you like crazy.

Some of these pictures go back to last fall.  I've been needing to do girl updates for a while!

Macy went to play golf with Daddy one afternoon.  Eden was very understanding that this was not her turn to go, but she still went and laid out her golf clothes to wear when we met them for dinner!