Ruthie's 4th Birthday

This year Ruthie had an all-girls Princess Tea Party at our house. (This was back in January, but of course I am just now posting this.) It was so much fun to have our friends and cousins over- the girls played "Pretty, Pretty Princess" and had "tea" (pink lemonade actually) from tiny little polka-dot tea cups. Even baby Victoria was a princess (see second picture with my mom holding her). I love the picture of Paige sipping her tea, and wearing her princess hat (third pic). The bottom picture shows Becca, Paige, Bailey, Ruthie, and Annabelle decked out in their princess dresses.

I have to say " I can't believe Ruthie is four," because it is really true. She is so grown-up, independent, smart and beautiful. She loves reading, has books memorized and "reads" them to Mac. She is now really in to role-playing, like playing Hospital, or Nutcracker, or Library, and we dress up and imagine every day. Her favorite foods are chips and salsa, tacos, and she still loves good old plain avocado. Ruthie is really a girly-girl, and wants to wear a dress every day. Some of my favorite recent quotes,

"Mac, I think you're so cute I want to marry you. But I can't and that makes me so sad."

"Daddy I see hairs up in your nose. They look like rat whiskers."

She tells us stories too, and a recent one involved two princesses named Joshua and Syrup and they got married (to two princes) and had babies and lived happily ever after.

Ruthie is a joy, and I love watching her grow and learn and love and live life so freely. Our greatest prayer is for her heart, that she would love Jesus above all else and follow him. She has a compassionate heart, and I can see the Lord at work in her.