Taelyn's 4th Birthday

The birthday extravaganza began on Thursday this past week as Taelyn celebrated the big 4 years at school. Her and I made cupcakes together the night before, covered in pink frosting, sprinkles, and hearts.  At school, Taelyn's teacher put together a big birthday celebration with her classmates.  Her teacher even invited two kids over from another class (Luna and Rafi) because they are Taelyn's closest friends at school, and she plays with them every day on the playground.  Justin and I actually got to pick Taelyn up from school that day and found her sitting at lunch in a great big birthday hat with her two classmate buddies, Michael and Kale.

Friday was Taelyn's actual birthday, so she opened her presents from family members that night.  Some of  the presents that she got are arts and crafts supplies, a Fancy Nancy book, Birthday Barbie, an Ariel Barbie, and an Ariel slip-n-slide.

Taelyn's birthday party was then on Saturday.  Her two best friends, Arianna and Rafi, came over to enjoy the festivities as well.  We rented a bouncy castle with a slide that led to a pit of balls, and we set up Taelyn's new slip-n-slide.  Between those two activities, the playroom, and the pool, the kids were pretty excited and busy for several hours.  Taelyn was a perfect little hostess and had a wonderful time with her friends and family.  At one point during the party, she told me, "That was so nice of my friends to give me birthday presents!"

After the party was over, it was too late to take a nap, so the girls huddled on to the coach to watch The Little Mermaid.  But in no time at all, Taelyn passed out from too much fun and too much birthday.  What a perfect end to the day!

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Taelyn - 4 Years Old

It is amazing how fast time flies by and how Taelyn is not a baby or a toddler any more.  She is officially a big kid and reminds us of her big girl accomplishments every day.  She is no longer interested in wooden puzzles and absolutely loves to complete jigsaw puzzles.  She will even skip recess at school if she is working on a puzzle and is not yet done.  So far, she has worked up to 56 pieces and is eager to take on a larger puzzle now.  Taelyn has also started to write her own name and learn the phonetic sounds of the letters of the alphabet.  She struggles with this a bit, but is coming along.  Sewing and threading is another task that she loves to do at school.

At home, some of Taelyn's favorite activities include painting with her watercolor paint set, reading Fancy Nancy books, singing and dancing, swimming, and watching movies.  She his following a behavior reward chart right now, and whenever she earns 15 stars in a week, she gets a popcorn and movie night.  She absolutely loves this special treat - almost as much as she likes going to the movie theater.  She is also still quite the entertainer, constantly putting on new dresses and showing off a dance or song.  Just recently she started doing a booty-shaking dance that is hysterical to watch.  Some of Taelyn's favorite TV shows and movies are currently The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, Dora, Doc McStuffins, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  With all of these shows, Taelyn frequently acts the storylines out with her sister.

Taelyn has also developed some closer friendships.  Her best buddies in her class at school are Michael and Kale, and she talks about them every day.  They often play in the sand pit, play "school" where Taelyn is, of course, the teacher, and they play "Duck Duck Goose."  Outside of school, Taelyn's best friends are Arianna and Rafi.  They both are expats that we work with and live close by.  Just the other day, Taelyn told me that she and Rafi are going to get married.  When I asked her why she was going to marry Rafi, she told me, "Because he's my best friend!"  It is so very sweet to see her interact with her friends and enter an imaginary world with them as they play together.  During this play time, Taelyn still likes to be in control but is learning that she's not always the boss and that she must share not only her toys, but decisions too.

Taelyn is a very loving little girl as well.  When she is not fighting with her sister, she will give Kaelia hugs and kisses and will show her how to do "big girl" things.  Just the other day, she was very sweet in showing Kaelia how to sew, and Kaelia adores the attention from her big sister.  One of our favorite times of day is when we are saying good-bye to the girls as we leave for school, and Taelyn showers us with affection.  We give hugs and kisses over and over, and when we head for the door, she runs over to us and says, "Just one more hug and kiss."  It is priceless.

I think it goes without saying that Taelyn is also obsessed with Ariel and loves anything that is related to The Little Mermaid.  It is with that in mind that her slideshow below is to the tune, "Under the Sea."

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The Little Mermaid Has Taken Over Our Children!

Within the past few months, the girls have been enamoured with watching The Little Mermaid.  I would even go as far to say that Taelyn is rather obsessed, and of course, chose that as her theme for her birthday party this weekend.  Each week, however, the girls constantly want to watch the movie and the TV show on Disney Junior and then re-enact what they saw afterwards.   Sometimes this drama production takes place in the living room or bedroom, while at other times they "play" the Little Mermaid in the pool or bathtub.   We recorded a few of their Ariel moments to share below.

Taelyn sings "Part of Your World."  Both girls actually know this entire song by heart, although Kaelia refuses to sing any time we get the camera out.

Taelyn and Kaelia act out parts of the movie: first Eric (Taelyn) meets Ariel (Kaelia) on the beach and finds out she can't talk; then they are on the boat and Eric tries to guess Ariel's name; finally, they are about to kiss on the boat when the eels tip the boat over.

Taelyn dances to "Under the Sea."