Happy Birthday to Payton!!!

Payton at 9:35 pm the exact time she was born 4 years ago.

Payton turned 4 on December 28th!!! We had fun celebrating her. The morning started off with donuts, balloons and a gift. Then Eli came to visit. Eli is Jonathan's cousin who Payton has only seen twice, once her first Christmas and then when she was two. He has made quite the impact on our Payton. She talks about him all the time. He and his family just happened to be coming through Atlanta on her birthday and stopped to have lunch with us. At the end of the night I asked her what the best part of her day was and she said "taking a picture with Eli!" After lunch Kiki made her a princess cake and she supervised. Then we went to Zaxby's for dinner, her choice. It ended up being a great birthday dinner with a few surprises. Pawpaw got the manager to announce her birthday and got everyone to sing to her. Then a group of cheerleaders came in and Pawpaw asked them to do a birthday cheer for her. He will do anything for his family, anything. It was fun and very low maintenance. Tuesday night Mimi and Pawpaw took her to Build a Bear where she adopted a sweet bunny named Emily Heart Gadd. She had a great time picking out her clothes. She was very serious and made some good choices. Wednesday we went to Scoops for an ice cream party with her friends. She had a great time and so did we. It was a fun few days.
It was hard to believe that we have been parents for 4 years, that our baby is 4 years old. She is so much fun and I wouldn't trade this age for anything. I love being able to have good talks with her, have "big girl time" when the other two take naps. I love doing real crafts, watching her learn, reading chapter books with her, taking naps together, spa time, hearing about her day, watching movies that aren't cartoons, watching her perform, and just being her mommy! What a gift!
Happy Birthday to our Payton!!
We love you!