End of Another Year, Hope For The Next..

For most people, today is a chance to look back at the past year and remember all that has happened in their life and to look forward to a new year and the things that are coming up. Today I'm doing that as well, but I'm also looking back a few more years to four years ago today when my precious little princess was making her first appearance. I'm in shock that it's already been four years since our first New Year's Eve celebration together (well, all the nurses celebrated New Year's Eve, we celebrate our new baby and didn't even notice when midnight came and went). And here we are today, listening to fireworks going off (I really thought they were supposed to be at midnight, but I guess people are celebrating a little early this year?!), waiting for birthday cake to fully digest, possibly to indulge in a little more later and listening to our little girl "sleeping" in her room - more like playing with her new awesome doll house she got today. It's been an amazing four years and quite the past year. Syd's personality has developed insanely and she is not afraid to show it off. She is possibly the most creative little person I've ever met and her imagination is off the chart. Her memory is crazy good too and the small little details that she picks up and remembers are baffling. Just today we had probably eight to ten different times when she amazed us with her ability to remember the small details of things that happened a year ago, things I didn't even really remember until she said something. Another amazing thing that has happened this year is her understanding of God and her love for him. I still am amazed that she asked God into her heart earlier this year, not that she did it, but that she did it totally of her own volition and with such a true and pure spirit. I remember when I was four and asked Jesus into my heart and I pray that Syd will remember this as well. Based on her memory now, I don't have too much fear of her forgetting. Man, I love that little girl so much. She knows exactly how to grate my every last nerve, but just one little "I love you Mommy" and I melt. She really is a truly loving little girl, always telling people how much she loves them and it's something that I hope never ends.

Okay, before I start having to wipe tears away I'll share some of the pics we took from our little birthday party that we had today with our family (okay, with me, Jeff and Noah... Luke slept through the whole thing). And here are a few of my favorites that really say "Sydney" to me from the past year. Enjoy my little trip down memory lane!