Alina's 4!

Today we celebrated Alina's 4th birthday with balloons, cake, and presents. She has been telling me for weeks that she wanted a chocolate birthday cake with green frosting, shaped like a four. With such explicit instructions, there was nothing left for me to do but to get to work. Of course, she changed her mind at the last minute, said she didn't want it to be shaped like a 4, then that she wouldn't eat any anyway, then that she would stay in her room while we were eating it. There were some tears involved. All this is pretty typical Alina behavior right now. She changes her mind every 5 minutes, then gets upset if you can't keep up with her desires. She did manage to blow all the candles out in one go: I included this one because it's also a decent belly shot, in case anyone is wondering:

Tassia also enjoyed the balloons!

and Alina gots lots of presents. Actually, you can score one for Mama, because when the party had died down and she was playing outside, she told me, "Guess what my favorite present it? My fly trap!" I honestly don't remember where she heard about plants that eat flies, but ever since, she's been daydreaming about owning one. So, that was my present to her. In the time it's been hiding, waiting to be given as a gift, it caught two flies. It's kind of gross, actually, but she is delighted! She put it on the buffet and sat and watched it for awhile to see if she could see it actually catch something!

Her interest in fly traps is part of a larger interest in science. She is fascinated by anything having to do with anatomy, can tell you where her patella and humerus are located, and easily show point out your lungs and heart on an anatomy picture. She drew a picture of me the other day. When I had to ask, "Alina, what is that?" she responded, "Your bladder." OK... She is also getting better at writing in all capitals, starting to understand the link between letters and the sounds they make, and occasionally adds and subtracts numbers.

One of her favorite activities is cutting paper into small pieces, rolling and gluing them into even smaller bundles, and then presenting them as gifts. She shares many adventures with Chessy, her stuffed cat and Snuggle lots of Snuggles, her stuffed dog. She loves to sit in my lap and get kisses, especially when I'm trying to change her sister's diaper. She loves to give the baby kisses, too, and raspberries, and gets pretty excited when she can actually feel it move. She decided on the way home from church that she wants it to be a sister, after all (see, changing her mind) so it's probably just as well we don't know what it is.

All in all, she's fun, affectionate, and incredibly smart (I know, I know, I'm her mom... but I swear it's true!) and we can't wait to experience more of the 4-year-old Alina!