Paw-ty! A Report from the Birthday Girl

Hello all! Kinley here.

It's been awhile since my Grandma has let me take over her blog. But on important occasions, you should hear from the actual birthday girl, don't you think? My Grandma says I should be a natural with the whole reporting thing since I love to ask questions. It's an occupational hazard, she says.

My 4th birthday was December 30, but we celebrated over the weekend so more people could come to my party. That was OK with me. I got to have a special day with my Mommy on my real birthday. My Mommy asked me if I wanted it to be just her and me. But I let Brooke come with us to the Discovery Center, too. Now that she's 16 months old, we like to play together ... well, most of the time. (** See below for the exclusions.)

My Mommy and I made homemade funfetti cupcakes for my party. My Mommy frosted them, but I got to put all the decorations on myself. I decided I wanted a Paw Patrol party. So I made doggy paw prints with M & Ms. We didn't even have to tell people what they were supposed to be. That's pretty good, don't you think? We decorated some of them with Paw Patrol rings. My favorite character is Skye. I like her because she's a girl and she likes pink - just like me!

When you are the birthday girl, Grandmas and Aunts and everyone act like Paw-paw-razzi. (Ha, ha! I just made a Paw Patrol joke.) Seriously, the cameras and phones were flashing like I was on the red carpet instead of my Paw Patrol play mat.

And getting the smile just right is kind of challenging when you're just a regular girl - not some actress.

"Smile!" they'd say.
"Don't smile!" they'd say.

Poor Brooke was so confused listening to all the conflicting advice that she just covered her face!

I did my best 4 year old smile.

As a 4 year old, I will continue perfecting my horse illustrations. I can spend hours drawing and coloring. I am going to start dance lessons. I still love books. My Grandma says I am a good singer. She got me a guitar, so I can practice even more.

I like playing with my friends at school and Sunday School and with my cousin, Hannah. I love make-believe, so I will make up lots of stories using my puppet theatre from my Aunt Kathy. (** Now if I can just keep Brooke from pulling it down!)

Have you ever heard of setting goals for the new year? Well, my family does this. My goal is to be "loud and proud" when people talk to me. I can be plenty loud at home with people I know. But I can be a little shy around other people. On Sunday, I tried out my new "loud and proud" plan when someone talked to me. Mommy says I did a little better. My Grandma says we all are works in progress.

Well, now that the holidays and my birthday are all over, I guess it's time to get back into the routine. So, I'll turn the blog back over to my Grandma.

Until next time,
Kinley

***

Grandma flashback moment: Kinley Marie Ladd arrived in time for our belated family Christmas celebration of 2011. She wasn't due until January 12. She was all of 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and was about the size of her Christmas stocking. She was the best party crasher ever! How time flies!