Happy 4th Birthday Myah!

Today our sweet (hmm) little Myah turns 4 years old. I am still thinking she should only be turning 3. Time has flown since she entered our family almost 3 years ago (this coming weekend!), it is truly hard to imagine a time without her in it. She has filled a huge void in our family that we never really knew existed. She has grown so much physically and emotionally in the past year. She is now 35 pounds and growing like a weed, she wears a size 9 shoe and wears a 4T in most clothes and some 5's even. She is not the petite little Chinese girl that I had imagined, but so much more. She is still breathtaking beautiful. I am used to people staring at her now, but I still see people taking a second glance at her or pointing at her saying " oh look at her!". Thankfully she doesn't "get it" yet or she would have even more reason to want attention. She loves attention, all of it, she does not like to share it at all, especially with Dayton. It is all or nothing for this spicy little girl. Lately she is getting so bossy! The other night my friend Pam and I took Myah on a walk to see the horses in the neighborhood, we stopped to talk to another neighbor and Myah piped up and said "you ladies are wasting my time". Oh boy. Mark and I are pretty stern parents so we are constantly redirecting her actions and words. She seems to be in trouble alot and it really doesn't seem to bother her. I am praying that this is just a phase, she is very independent and headstrong. She loves to talk, like nonstop. A true girl that is for sure! Sometimes I am amazed that the same little girl can be the most caring, compassionate and loving child that she is. She loves to give kisses and hugs and says the most tender prayers at night, mostly about people or things that I would never think of. I love that about her, she notices what is going on around her. She has always been one to seek out the "forgotten ones" and knows how to charm them and make them feel important. I think that is just in her soul. She can be funny too, some things that she says leave Mark and I in stitches. Of course the fact that she has a 14 year old brother could have something to do with that! She loves to play "office", loves envelopes, paper, tape etc. Just yesterday she sat and filled out index cards, put them in envelopes, stuffed them in a baggie with fruitsnacks and sunflower seed and left them on the front porch for our "people". Not sure who that is but she did hand deliver some of them to special neighbors. She loves to write and draw, she is very artistic in her own right. We went to an art fair yesterday and she went into the booths and noticed many details that I would have overlooked, we had to drag her out of the booths. She loves to use pens, to a fault, I will find her with pen on her legs, hands, paper, in her books etc. I have learned to keep them out of sight until I can supervise her. She also will tell you herself "I am obsessed with gum" and she is. Can't get enough of it, begs for it, smells it when you have it, etc. Luckily the dentist told us it is good for her to use with her crowns on her teeth. She is becoming more and more social, she loves to talk to people who warm up to her. If Myah is your friend you will know it, she won't leave you alone, when she is comfortable she will run into your arms when she sees you. She is a fan favorite at baseball games everybody knows her, is a chick magnet as Dayton has happily learned, loves sports...I found her the other day playing pitcher/catcher with a little boy and she was wearing a catchers mask, loves nature..birds, plants, flowers, animals etc... also loves Dora, Diego, backpacks, purses, lipgloss, clothes, shoes and hats, so I still have a girly girl on my hands for now! I want to keep all of these memories because I know that soon she will be outgrowing all of these little life moments that are so important to a young child, I want her to enjoy being "little" even though she doesn't like to be called that. She is my little sidekick and her and I are good buddies, she loves to go garage sailing with me and gets so excited to look for treasures, she is so cute she even scores free things! Oh brother! She also is a Daddy's girl, he lights up when he sees her and she does the same. I know they told us her birthday was approximated, it is said to be June 1st but I have to believe in my heart that there is a huge possibility that she was born on Mark's birthday, the day before hers, because they have such a bond and closeness. We will never know for sure.

We are so thankful that God placed this little girl in our lives at just the right time and place. I am amazed at myself sometimes when I forget that we adopted her, she is just ours and we are hers and that whole trip to China becomes something in our past. I guess that is how it is supposed to be afterall isn't it? Happy 4th Birthday to our precious daughter!