And Now She is Four

This little girl just turned 4!

When she was a baby, I read about a birthday photo tradition in a magazine, and I have loved doing our own photo tradition.  The magazine suggested taking your child’s picture in the same chair every year as a cute way to show how your child is growing.  Since I tend to buy cheap things (slowly learning that quality is more important than price — slowly learning), I’m pretty sure I won’t be keeping our furniture for the next couple decades. So when Lydia turned one, we picked her favorite stuffed animal — Mono the Monkey, made for Lydia by our good friend Jonathan — and decided to take her picture each year with the cute little sock monkey.

When she turned one, she was busier than ever.  We couldn’t get her to hold still long enough for our old camera to get a good picture of her.  This was the best we could do.

By the time she turned two, we had mastered the “cheese” command and accompanying face.

When she turned three, we managed to get our act together long enough to take professional pictures.

And now, at four, she is more than happy to take picture after picture in our “photo shoots” — as long as I promise to read stories to her when we’re done.

Happy birthday to my hilarious, stubborn, sweet and lovable little girl!