I have a big girl in my house now. She’s four. I can’t believe it. I know that SO many moms say this, but I can literally remember the day that she was born. Honestly. We decided to celebrate at the County Line Apple Orchard in Hobart, Indiana, and what a day we had!
I can’t believe that she is now four and soaking up knowledge as fast as I can provide her the chance to do so. She still loves bears, and lions along with all books and toys involving them. She’s still enthralled with her Belle plush doll that we got her earlier this year from the Disney Store, and she loves being around me. While I may not always be the most patient with her, I do think that I am a pretty blessed mom that has a daughter that likes to emulate her in ways that seem a bit weird. Sewing, talking on the phone, or even taking care of all of the kids are ways that she does pretend play. I think that she’s the bee’s knees.
This year, instead of a birthday party, we decided to take her to the County Line Apple Orchard and just enjoy the outdoors.
The time of year for her birthday oftentimes presents less than favorable weather. This year was pretty nice. Low 70s but still cool enough for a jacket. So I made her one. It’s from Shwin & Shwin and is the Desmond Jacket. It can be formatted for either a boy or a girl, so I do think that I will end up making one for each of the Twizzlers.
We enjoyed a tractor ride around the apple orchard where she was able to ask the driver loads of questions. She also let him know that it was her birthday, and the entire day whenever he saw her, he referred to her as Birthday Girl and made sure that all of the other people at the orchard knew that she was celebrating. It was a really neat thing to do.
Here’s a better picture of the front of the jacket. Don’t mind the upended collar on her, she was just picking up a rock and got caught.
This picture embodies so much of what she goes through on a daily basis. She definitely has an “I can do it mommy!” personality about her now. The majority of the time, she works at it until she gets the results that she wants, and Mr. Houseful and I do our best to encourage her independence without turning her into a brat OR worse yet, a child who totally skips childhood and tries to be an adult too soon.
She wanted to pick as many apples as she could, but we had to find a way to reign her in since we still had to pay for whatever pounds we picked!
After walking through the orchard for a bit of time, we were able to walk through the petting farm for a bit. Mr. Houseful and Mor-Mor decided to hang around in the gift shop with the Twizzlers while the ladybug and I braved the land of farm animals. Here she is with some calves of the bovine variety. She was so enthralled with the fact that she could get this close to them and pet them that she wanted to stay all day.
I hope that times like these, she and all of my other children will remember these moments. Because God knows, I definitely will. It is SUCH a blessing to be able to go out with my children and experience the beauty of the earth in this manner. I wish that the cellist (his rename is mostly solidified at the Renaissance Man) would have been able to come with us, but school calls.
Until next time HoNey’s! Make It A Fantastic Day!
Awwww that’s such a sweet way to celebrate her birthday. I love it. We still have to figure out what we’re doing for Mister Man, and his birthday was thursday. oops. But you made that jacket? I’m impressed. My way of “making a jacket” involves my wallet and a trip to the store.
Michelle,
We were stumped with what to do for the ladybug’s birthday until the night before. Usually I do a HUGE party with children her age and lots of themed everything. I didn’t have the time, energy or honestly the cash. I felt bad for a smidgen of a moment and then we just decided to go out and have a great time with LOTS of birthday wishes and focusing on her. She ate up every bit of it! I am sure that your wallet and trip to the store will do just as well as my sewing machine and extra material. 🙂 These are the times that they love especially hard anyway. Thanks for coming through, I’ll be over by you shortly!
Happy birthday! The time sure flies.
Also, I LOVE that jacket! Nice job! =)
Brandie,
It definitely swoops on through with the greatest of ease. It makes me kind of sad to think about it, BUT I’m pausing and enjoying more. It’s weird how we have to train ourselves to enjoy every moment when we’re older. Thanks on the jacket love. Shauna from Shwin & Shwin makes FANTASTIC patterns!