We celebrated Sophia’s 4th birthday a few short weeks after moving into our new house so the celebration was pretty simple (sorry Phil, no bounce house). After a few months apart, we were just happy to have the entire family under one roof again and Dad got to spend the entire day with the birthday girl which was quite the treat for a Monday! We made our first family trip to the National Zoo which is right up there with the San Diego Zoo we loved so much. Per Sophia’s request, we had burritos for dinner and she blew the candles out on an M&M cake. And we can’t forget the presents, presents and more presents. Sophia was one spoiled and happy birthday girl!

Life is busy with two toddlers and nothing quite puts that in perspective like a cross-country move. Sophia was born in California and spent nearly the first four years of her life there. Boy, did those years fly by! While we cherish the time we had in Southern California, we’re excited about all the new adventures ahead of us in Virginia, both as a family and individually. It’s hard to believe that Sophia will start kindergarten next year, a fact that she enthusiastically reminds us of often, and we look forward to watching her flourish. She continues to amaze us with her crazy good memory and her speedy puzzle skills. She’s also becoming quite the artiste, (said with a French accent) a skill she obviously did NOT inherit from her momma! She loves her family and friends (part of her amazing memory – she misses all of her family and friends that are far away and talks about them often) and is a sweet big sister to William. That is, when they’re not fighting over their latest favorite toy or arguing over who gets to help mom in the kitchen. We can’t wait to see what four has in store for her. We love you, Sophia!