Four and Fabulous

Days before her fourth birthday, our little Queen B told us that she wants to receive many gifts on her birthday. We immediately told her she can only have one. For a while, she tried to bargain with us but we stuck to our guns and she accepted that she will only receive one gift for her birthday in addition to the simple celebration we'll be throwing for her. 

She received sixth sets of gifts, way more than her expected number. She also had a terrific time at her party, however simple it was. We read aloud two stories. She played with her cousins and friends.  We sang the happy birthday song. It was followed with dinner with the family and more play time with her cousins. Before we sleep, I showed her the birthday messages she received. She can't believe that a lot of people love her. She slept with a big smile on her face. 

We usually associate the word "fabulous" with something extravagant, extraordinary, or over the top. But as my little Queen B proved to me, in the eyes of a child, a homely celebration with the people close to your heart is as fabulous as a grand party.

And it is not really the party that is fabulous; it is my little Queen B.

She is fabulous in showing care and love to her cousins and friends. The night before the party she prepared these “notes” embellished with her favorite stickers and drawings which she then gave to her friends as thank you gifts. She enjoys sharing her food and toys with them.

She loves drawing and writing to her friends.

One parenting advice we have learned is to not force your child to always share her toys but just encourage and praise them when they do. It had worked because nowadays, she willingly shares her toys to her playmates even to kids she rarely sees like our godchildren.  

She is fabulous in her desire for learning. She continuously confirms to me that we made the best choice of homeschooling her (we have long been decided to homeschool her but every once in a while I admit I question this choice). She is naturally curious and if she is really interested in something, she can easily grasp its concepts. Currently, she is showing interest in learning how to tell time and do ballet.

She is fabulous in her arts. One of the earliest activities we had for our homeschooling is painting then coloring and drawing. But ever since she started seeing my work on my bullet journal, her interest in drawing and painting just grew. Her Sunday school teachers even tell me that for her age, her coloring skills are remarkable. And lately, her paintings – its details and color combination - are just astonishing.

Her recent paintings. 

She is fabulous in her obedience to us. Okay, our daughter is not perfect. Obedience is still a problem and I guess it will always be but I must applaud her desire and effort to be obedient. With constant guidance, encouragement, and some techniques we have learned from fellow parents, she most of the time obeys us and if she did disobey, she will say sorry.

The throwing of our scraps to the compost bin is one chore I often ask her to do and she does it without complaints, well most of the time. 

She is fabulous in her love for Jesus and her aspiration to serve the Lord. I know that she still doesn’t fully understand the Gospel and it will still be a long while before she will truly accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. But as early as now, we are seeing her potential as our Lord’s disciple. She had already mentioned her intentions of becoming a Sunday school teacher and even a member of the Exalting Team.

She is fabulous because she is created and loved by a fabulous Heavenly Father. As we always tell her, God loves her more than Mommy and Daddy could ever do and she truly is. Her compassion, her generosity, her thirst for knowledge, her talents, her obedience, her life itself – they all came from Him and we are just entrusted to guide her towards Him.    

Thank you to all who celebrated with us and send their heartfelt birthday greetings. 

Thank you for making our little Queen B feels very special and loved.

And to my little Queen B,

Happy 4^th birthday! I’m eternally grateful to the Father for entrusting you to me and your Daddy. You give us joy, you challenge us, and you inspire us to be better every day. As always, it is my prayer that you grow up to be the person God wants you to be and we will be here to support, encourage, and correct you.

I love you forever. I love you for always. As long as I’m living, my baby you will be.

Love,

Mommy

Let me end this post with some photos of our little Queen B's 4th birthday celebration.

Our simple feast for our little guests. 

We made use of last year's banner and that single balloon was from our New Year's Eve celebration. I recently made a promise to no longer have balloons for our parties as part of our going zero waste lifestyle. 

Our little Queen B's lovely cake which she chose by herself.
This was bought from a local bakery, Marcayda's. 

We read two books. First is Chocolatina, one of our little Queen B's favorite book, which is a story about a girl who turned into her favorite food, chocolate. And next is The Two Commandments which tells the two commandments Jesus told his disciples to follow. After each story, we had a short discussion about the lessons we can learn from the stories and their applications. 

Of course, a party won't be complete without a few games like this calamansi relay. 

Our little Queen B with her beloved cousins and friends. 

Pleasantly surprised with the gifts she received. She likes them all. 

The afterparty. The kids played with the toys our little Queen B received.
It was such joy to see all these kids playing happily with one another. 

Our celebration won't be complete without time with our family. We miss J's side of the family. 

The icebox cake my sister and her husband made for the birthday girl. 

Yours, 

 Lady