My Precious [Precocious] Peyton,
Happy birthday! You are now 4 years old, going on 14! You have
grown up so much in the last year. This year I’ve realized that you are so much
like me. I guess that’s because we spend so much time together. Sometimes
you’ll do something or say something, and I just think, “WOW, she’s so my
daughter.”
This year you became a big sister, and for the most part, you’ve
filled the role perfectly. You are your sister’s very favorite person. You’ve
learned so much from experiences and school, but what I’m most excited about is
how much you’ve learned about Heavenly Father and Jesus. I’ve seen your little
testimony develop so much over these past 12 months. It makes me so happy to
hear you say your sweet prayers and make comments in Primary or at home when
we’re having Family Home Evening or reading the Scriptures.
You spend a lot of time with me, but you also started PRESCHOOL
this year! And you have been taking gymnastics, tap and ballet as well. My
favorite thing to do with you is to sing and dance together. I love when you
help me cook dinner, and I really love when you come into bed with me in the
morning and snuggle while I nurse Piper.
Your favorite things to eat for breakfast are Swedish pancakes
and omelets that you make with your daddy on Sunday mornings. For lunch, you
love grilled cheese sandwiches with a little Parmesan cheese added to the
cheddar, and NO CRUST! For dinner, you like deconstructed salad, without
lettuce or dressing. Basically you just like your veggies cut up and served
side-by-side but not mixed. You don’t like any sauces or creams on things. You
really like chicken and beef, and you love all fruit. You like snack foods-
you’re always asking for a granola bar and a box of chocolate milk. Your
absolute favorite thing is dessert or treats of any kind- especially doughnuts with sprinkles.
You really love to play dolls. You have two favorite dolls; one
is Jennifer and one is Karla. You are so sweet with them. You pack them diaper
bags and feed them and swaddle them and bounce them to sleep. I absolutely love
watching you “mother” them because it reminds me how sweet and nurturing you
are. You also love to play with your makeup and purses. Anywhere we go, you
bring a purse full of makeup.
Every single day you make me laugh. You are so funny, and you
hardly ever stop talking and asking questions. I think that’s why you are so
smart. People can’t believe you’re only 3. You even speak like a grown-up. You
love to laugh and every day when you are going somewhere (like up or down the
stairs), you’ll yell, “Don’t hiney-bugs me!”, “You will?” Then I’ll run after
you and try to pinch your little bottom and say, “hiney bugs, hiney bugs!”
The thing you get in trouble for most is for being sassy. You
have to go to your room and come out talking to me in a more respectful way.
Sometimes it takes a few tries, but you always make the right choice in the
end. You are very quick to ask forgiveness when you do something wrong, and I
admire that about you.
You still don’t really like to watch TV or movies, but when
we’re running errands you will watch things on my phone. You like the show
“Wonder Pets” and you love to watch the church videos. Recently you saw the
Rapunzel movie, “Tangled” with a babysitter, and you really like that one, but
you’re scared of the “old lady” who is the villain in the movie, so you don’t
like to watch the parts with her in them. You even have had a couple bad dreams
with the old lady, Mother Gothel, but
I just keep reminding you that she’s not really scary; she’s just stinky! That
seems to help a lot. You don’t like any of the Villains from the Disney movies,
so you usually don’t want to watch them even though you absolutely love the
Princesses.
One thing I am excited to do with you is go to Disneyland again.
We had such a great time when we went this year. You loved it! It was magical
to you, which made it magical for daddy and I. I just love spending time with
you.
You still love to sleep, and mommy is grateful for that. You go
to bed around 7-7:30 and sleep until about 7. Sometimes you wake up before
that, but you have a special clock in your room that turns color when you’re
allowed to get up, so if you wake up early you can just read quietly in your
room. You even still take naps, though you never want to. But if I let you stay
up without napping, you are super cranky, so I know you still need a little nap
every day. At night we usually take a bath (you always ask to do bath paints),
then braid your hair, brush your teeth, read a book, read one page in the Book
of Mormon, then say a prayer and tuck you in. You finally got rid of your binky
this year, but you still have your little face blankies that you like to sleep
with, as well as your lullaby CD. If you ever get really upset, rocking with mommy
and holding your blankies really helps you calm down.
Your room is pink and green, with white furniture and a rocking
chair that we borrowed from Aunt JaNea since you missed having your old rocking
chair when I had Piper and moved it into the nursery. You keep your room incredibly
tidy.
You don’t really love to color or draw, but you do love to do
crafts with mommy, or as we call them, “projects”. You collect little things
like the punched holes from a hole-punch. You love to read, and I love reading
books with you because you ask great questions. Your recent favorite books are
“The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”, “The Baby’s Storybook” (with classic
fables like Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and The Little Red Hen) and “Illustrated Stories from the Book of
Mormon”.
One of your best characteristics is how diligent you are. You
want to do everything in just the right way, and you can be very patient when
trying to learn something new. You taught yourself to blow a bubble with bubble
gum and also to snap. Those are really big accomplishments for a 3-year old!
You are also very conscientious, and very kind. You want to make sure that
everyone is happy, and you are very thoughtful of others.
You are an absolute joy to be around. You are so charming and
funny and sweet. You have a captivating personality, and it is impossible for
someone to be around you and not fall in love with you. You are so smart, and
most importantly, you have started to develop an amazing testimony of our
Savior. I love hearing your prayers- they are so grown up, and I love hearing
you talk about Jesus. I am so incredibly proud of you, and I am beyond grateful
to be your mommy. I love you. (“All of it!”)
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox mommy
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