Miss Lily is now 4!

That's right, my baby girl is now 4! Where has the time gone? It's really quite scary. I look at her and see her rapidly leaving her babyhood behind, never to be regained. It is bitter sweet.

Her actual birthday was very low key as I knew that her dance revue the following day was going to be huge! She attended her swimming class in the morning. As usual she loved it and chattered away happily to her teacher Debbie every chance she had. Her swimming ability has really improved greatly this term; she is very confident with putting her face in the water and can kick and paddle for a metre or so without the teacher holding her. It's so lovely to see the enjoyment and pride she has in doing well.

The remainder of the day was spent opening presents and playing. We gave her a swimming Baby Bjorn dolly (I've always wanted one of these Mumma!! she said), a dress for her bigger dolly, some Moon Dough (a pizza kit), Beatrix Potter collection and a gorgeous wooden picnic set, complete with strawberries and picnic basket. Oh and a set of snap cards to play. And a Christmas Fairy outfit. Quite a lot now that I've written it all down. Oh well. It's not like she receives toys throughout the year. We had spaghetti with meatballs for dinner as that was what she decided she wanted to eat most of all for her birthday dinner. The day ended with cupcakes.

The following day was her dance revue at the WEC. It was tiring and a long day but she loved it all and wants to do it again. The day began with a dress rehearsal. I dropped her off and wandered up to the Mall where I found a cute pair of sandals which were 40% off (yay!). The rehearsal ran late so by the time I collected her there wasn't a huge amount of time between that and the Matinee performance. Just enough time to eat a sandwich and get changed.

I was furious when Leigh purchased tickets 4 rows from the front. I had asked him to buy tickets up the back because I was worried Oliver would become restless and that we'd need to have an easy access to an exit. As it was, it was great that we had tickets so close because otherwise it would have been very difficult to make out who was who in their costume. Of course Lily's hair is BRIGHT red and could be seen a kilometre away but all of their hair was completely covered with a little cap and floppy elephant ears so it was impossible to tell from a distance. Anyway, they were all adorable and their performance passed by all too quickly. Lily was stuck behind another girl for some moments which was a tad frustrating but eventually she made her way to the line and she looked like she was having fun.

I had had no intention of watching the evening performance but when Lily mentioned on the way there that she would be looking for me I couldn't stand the thought of her searching for me and my not being there. Yes, I am a sucker. But she's so little and it's her first year....Anyway, I ended up being seated in the very front row and the very happy look on her face when she saw me and waved was worth the effort and money. By the end of the evening she was tired and so was I with all of the running around and excitement!

I had wondered in the lead up to the concert if it was all just a bit of a wank and a waste of money her being involved in the concert, but really it was a lovely experience and everyone involved did such a great job in looking after the kids etc that I'm more than happy for her to be involved again next year if she wants to be.

Then on the Sunday, Mum  etc came over for an early dinner and Lily happily opened more lovely presents- a pink scooter, a cooking chef set, a blueberry plant, gorgeous tutu complete with head circle and wand, a pair of earrings, a bag and a Little Mermaid nightie and slippers. Spoilt girl. I'm sorry to say that she had to be prompted several times to say thank you so I need to work on that. I know she was  tired and probably quite overwhelmed but she's always had such pretty manners and I don't want to lose it now that she's becoming older.

All in all it was a busy but enjoyable few days and now that it's all over I just cannot believe she is 4....

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl, I love you with all of my heart!!