Arabella Jun turns 4

Our sweet Bella Bean turned four yesterday.  She has requested that her favorite color, green, be showcased for her birthday this year.  So I made mint chocolate chip ice cream with homemade hot fudge.  Amazing! The house is decked out in green buntings!

Bella is our little dreamer.  She's our fighter too.  From the moment she was born she has been our spicy girl.  She's stubborn and contrary just to be contrary.  A good way to get Arabella to do what you want her to do is act like you don't want her to do it, or comment that you don't think she could handle it.  We struggle with her on basic things like getting herself dressed or sitting at the dinner table to eat a meal.  She comes up with completely imaginary reasons she can't do these things.  Usually, her legs hurt or she can't walk. A good example of a typical Arabella challenge is after her bath we lay out her pajamas and encourage her to focus on putting them on herself (OK, I might "encourage her the first 19 times I ask, after that I shout).  We usually hear some tears, whining and most likely a few "my legs are tired!"comments.  The minute I mention that I don't think she's big enough to put on her own pajamas or that surely those pajamas are just too hard for her to manage; she snaps to it and starts putting them on with a smug little smile on her face.

It's impossible not to completely adore this girl.  We find ourselves talking about her and her antics after the kids are asleep.  Bella's the one who generally says something hilarious and I have to call Justin at work to relay it to him before I forget.  She's a character and we love her. Especially her quirks.

Green Crocs for Bean

Arabella has a fantastic imagination.  She's typically singing and dancing.  All her imaginary play requires her to sing everything her toys are saying.  Often things get so dramatic that I end up asking her if she's OK, only to hear "I'm just playing Mom!".

She's pretty klutzy, at least once every other week she has a major fall and I'm certain that THIS is the time that I will have to call the embassy and figure out how to race her to one of the horrific hospitals in Addis for her bones to be set for a cast.  Luckily, we haven't had any broken bones but her legs are in a constant state of watercolor shades of purple, blue and yellow.  One of her front teeth was bruised from a fall and is now permanently discolored.  She already has two small scars on her face.  She's a mess and I do worry about her more.  She's just going to require a bit more worrying than the other two throughout life.

It's wonderful to watch Bella grow.  She's extremely independent and lovable.  She brings us so much joy every day of our lives.  Our family would not be the same without our Bella Bean.  Happy Birthday precious girl!  We love you.