Olivia turns 4

Our sweet little Olivia turned 4 on August 4th - her golden birthday!  In the morning she had pink pancakes in flower shapes, and strawberry lemonade.  As is tradition in our family, she opened presents right after breakfast.  She had gifts from mom and dad, her brothers and grandparents.  She's at such a fun age, so excited about each item she received.  Her eyes really lit up when she opened the princess dolls she had seen at the Disney Store in Salt Lake.

She is really into princesses, and she got some great dress ups for her birthday as well:  

Since she had a big friend party last year, we decided to just do a family party.  But since her birthday landed on Saturday, we wanted to have some of our local "family" come help us celebrate, so we had a BBQ in the evening with 5 other families. It was tons of fun, but I have no photos of the occasion.  Between taking care of Levi, making sure everyone had what they needed for dinner, and that all the kids were getting along, we forgot to sing happy birthday to Olivia.  She still had a grand time playing with several of her good friends, and enjoying cake, but no one can have a birthday without getting happy birthday sung to them.  So, right before bed, we stuck some candles in a cupcake and did the honors:

Olivia is a spunky, fun, creative and loving little girl.  She loves to give her little brother Levi several hugs a day, and "moos" him with kisses.  She loves to dance around, and whenever there is music playing, she will start spinning around to the music.  She doesn't just talk through the day (although the talking is usually non-stop), she also sings her requests and conversations.  I think I finally figured out why she cried so much as a baby - she just had a lot to say, and she still does!  She's very particular about how her hair is done each day, and when I ask her how we should do it on a given day, the request is always very specific.  "One side pony with a braid only in the front," was the request I received yesterday.  She's starting preschool this year, and will be a big kindergartner next year.  We love having this fun-loving little girl in our family.