Millie!! It seems as if she’s been 4 for a while now because she is so tall and her vocabulary so big. I just love her so much.
Conrad and E helped with all the decorations the night before.
It’s funny because last year Millie asked for a Jake and the Neverland Pirates birthday. She almost never watches that show anymore but insisted that’s what kind of party she wanted this year. We couldn’t convince her to do a different theme. However, about a week before Conrad started asking “what about a space party?” And Millie said “how about a Jake and the Neverland Pirates space party!?”. So in the end she technically had a “space, haircut, Scooby Doo, Jake and the Neverland Pirates” party. Lol Luckily we had saved all the decorations from last year. I didn’t think we would ever use them again, but now I’m glad we held onto them! We got a few new things too.
It was a good day. Millie was in an overall good mood. Last year she got a little cranky and overwhelmed I think.
She woke up and saw her decorations and smiled. We let her open her presents right away and she loved that. Then she wanted cake. We waited until E got home from her early morning scripture study group and then went for it. My justification is once again, if we can have cake donuts for breakfast, why not have cake? So around 8am we had cake. Lol.
Millie had been eyeing a chocolate cake with balloons and rainbow sprinkles all year at Costco so we went and picked that up together the day before. I tried to convince her to get a tuxedo cake but her mind was made up.
We also played a “pin the dabloon in the treasure chest” game. Everyone got a turn. On Charlee’s turn we put the blindfold on her and spin her around twice. She ripped the blindfold off and walked up to the poster, hovered her dabloon sticker over the treasure chest, then last second just put it at the top of the poster. It was cute.
In the afternoon she was a good sport and hung out with us in the shop while we worked on our renovation project.
The rest of the day we played board games together and played with her new toys and read her new books.
At the end of the day I asked her “who loves Millie?” And we list all the people she knows who love her. It sure is a lot.
Of course the girls’ birthdays are emotional for me. Millie was the one who changed it all. Conrad and I didn’t feel ready to have a baby winter 2017 but we could escape the feeling that Heavenly Father had a sweet little girl He needed to send to us. Reluctantly, we started trying to conceive, thinking (and hoping) it would take a while. We were surprised when I got pregnant right away. We were so scared but felt like we were doing the right thing. We had no idea she would be such a great blessing. I love thinking about the day she was born. I can still feel her tiny tiny little body resting on my chest. She immediately sneezed on me. Conrad thought that was funny because he would sometimes sneeze on me purposely because he thinks it’s funny.
From the beginning Millie has been so strong willed and difficult to raise. By all accounts she is just how people describe me as a child. She is highly spirited and highly sensitive. I’m so thankful I have the perspective of going through it myself, being highly spirited, it gives me a lot of patience and I look forward to bonding more with her as she gets older.
The things that make Millie a little challenge to raise are also great strengths- I only hope that I can help her recognize them to her full potential. Millie is fierce, determined, focused, and always stands her ground. She is a leader and gets things done. She feels so deeply even though she struggles to communicate that in any other way besides screaming. I know she has such complex feelings and thoughts for her age it’s hard for her to handle. She is acutely aware of the beauty around her. She fights sleep every night because she is so busy. She has so much to do and wants to live every day to it’s fullest. She loves the beach. No matter how cold it is she wants to get in that water and play. Playing outside is her top priority always.
Millie reminds me every day to look for the good, to laugh too loud, to jump for joy, and to use my imagination. Gosh she has such a fantastic imagination. I wouldn’t change a thing about her. I am so lucky to be her mom. Happy birthday Millie.
Our Best Rife 