Where did the last 4 years go? On Tuesday, our darling little girl turned 4. For the most part, I loved 3 so much. She got much more verbal and independent, and aside from a few little tantrums, 3 was a good year for her and us. She woke up on Tuesday morning and told me that she felt bigger. So sweet! Instead of 1 party this year, we had several birthday celebrations. We started with breakfast last Saturday morning with 2 sets of grandparents, and then we all went to a wheelchair basketball tournament at a local high school. There were teams from all over the Midwest, so lots of wheelchairs! It was pretty neat to see. We were there to watch the little kids (5-10 years) play. This is a team through the Courage Center, a local organization who does adaptive sports, and where we do swim therapy. The team practices there on Saturday mornings, so Leah gets to see them after we swim. Many of the kids on the team have Spina Bifida, so it's also fun to see the families that we know.
The kids were happy to have Leah there cheering them on. She went out on the court with them while they practiced and did some passing and shooting, though I say that loosely. She was more interested in saying hello to everyone and being social. My first inclination is to say that she did not get much athletic ability from Mom and Dad, but maybe she will surprise us in the next few years.
Last Saturday night we cooked a meal at home and baked cupcakes with Grandma and Grandpa, so that was celebration #2. We also opened up more presents. She was more excited about opening the gifts than what was actually inside. As soon as she opened one, she immediately asked to open another.
Finally, on her actual birthday, I went to her school to read a story to the class and stayed for snack time. We brought Happy Birthday Cupcake, which is a really cute book. She chose to bring Skittles and fruit to share with her friends. I liked visting her room and seeing all the kids interact with each other. I also got to see that Leah was the last to finish her snack, while all the other kids had gotten up to find other things to do. For dinner, a third set of grandparents came with us to eat at Leah's favorite restaurant where she ordered her favorite meal, macaroni and cheese. Then we came home to open more presents and eat more cupcakes. It was a great way to celebrate our favorite little girl!
