Eliza turns 4!

I figure this is the last birthday of the early childhood years for us. Five is a big turning point. But let's focus on the here and now.

Who is Eliza at four? Eliza greets guests with a flourish of excitement. She knows how to accept gifts and introduce an immediate activity: Come! Come see the new kitty! She cares about what outfit she is wearing, and it's often her last question to me before she goes to sleep at night: Can I wear the blue dress with the pink flamingo tomorrow? When playing a group game like duck-duck-goose, Eliza wants to be picked over and over, and she runs fast, head up with a serious, determined expression. 

Eliza is into painting but still prefers abstract design to anything recognizable. She wants to do things on her own terms and is not interested in writing anything other than her name (and forget about the letter z). She's into shopping and is always up for an outing with mom. One of her favorite birthday gifts is a pink heart-shaped purse with jeweled handle that is a musical jewelry box complete with the small ballerina that turns around in front of a mirror.

Eliza is fascinated with cutting hair, but doesn't care much about the finished product. She can't quite grasp that if you cut your hair very short, you can't wear pony tails or braids. Eliza knows she shouldn't grab the kitten around the middle and bounce him up and down, pretending he's a bunny, or dress him up in doll clothes, or hold him by his front paws to make him dance...but she can't help herself. She likes Tinkerbell and princesses, but she knows how to fight and play super heroes with the boys. One minute she's pretending to fly (Tinkerbell), the next dancing (ballerina), the next water-bending (Katara of Avatar: The Last Airbender - love it!).

Like her brother, Eliza is unafraid of strangers. Sometimes at a first meeting, she will refuse to be polite. She'll pretend she's shy and cling to her mother's skirt, but that has more to do with her refusal to do what's expected than unfriendliness. Within minutes, she will be climbing up the pants leg of that stranger demanding to be swung around or listened to. In school, she's doing well, but she tends to be talkative (don't know where she got that from!).

Eliza and Emma with their hair cuts.

I actually got tears in my eyes when I saw this cake. Bridget the Baker is an artist.

waiting to cut the cake 

I want the unicorn's head!

Reading the first clue on the treasure hunt.