And Now She is Four

Face Painting at the Fantasy Fair

A Real Unicorn

Pony Ride in Her Rainbow Fairy Wings

Baby in a Bonnet

Baby Mantis

Throwing Fairy Dust into the Fairy Ring

I love this picture, two of the people dearest to my heart playing in fairyland  together.

Horses at the 4-H Fair

Giant Water Slide

On the cow train with her friend, Steve and Vi are in the next car.

Pony ride at the 4-H fair

Little kid tractor pull

Pen's favorite band at the 4-H fair. Steve is helping to make the tunnel on the far right, and Pen has just gone through the tunnel on the far left.

Sitting, holding bunnies. We did this for so long.

Pen wanted me to take this picture. Little calf, cuddling up to it's stall mate,  just like a cat or dog would do.

On her actual birthday, at the zoo. Ready to ride the train with her Daddy.

They are watching  3 river otters swimming and showing off for the kids.

Pony ride at the zoo.

Performing with The Toe Jam Puppet Band (Pen's got the orange wig).

Violet in a wig.

2nd train ride at the zoo, arranging her friends.

The girls and their uncles.

Penelope's birthday dinner.

Pen's horse cake, made by Daddy.

Steve's rose, and hoof prints after the horses had been removed.

Happy birthday girl, eating her rose.

The girls opening Pen's gifts.

Tom and Pen setting up the much desired stable.

This year Penelope's birthday was more of a week long extravaganza that began the weekend before her birthday and finished up on her birthday this past Monday. We kicked it off by going to the fantasy fair at our local plant nursery. Pen wore her fairy dress, got her face painted, rode a pony, climbed on a pirate ship, and best of all,saw a real unicorn. She just stared and stared at it. She was absolutely shocked to discover that unicorns whiny in exactly the same way that horses do.

Then our praying mantis babies finally hatched. I'll do another post about them, but it was exciting.

Then Penelope attended Fairy Camp for 2 days. I helped my friend Faye to create the first fairy camp a long, long time ago. Faye called to ask if Penelope would like to come this year, and she had such a wonderful time. She made fairy wings, and a crown and wand. She made fairy dust, read fairy stories, built a fairy bower, and chose her fairy name - Rosetta Rosa Rugosa.

Then we went to the 4-H fair the day before her birthday. She held bunnies, went on a water slide, a cow train, watched horse competitions, pet cows and asked their young owners a million questions. She ran into a friend from music class and had fun with her for a while, watched a cow parade and an antique tractor parade, and of course, rode a pony. Her favorite band, the toe jam puppet band, was there too and we all watched their show.

Then on Monday, Pen's actual birthday, we went to the zoo, where we go every Monday to see The Toe Jam Puppet band. They sang Pen Happy Birthday and did her favorite song/shadow puppet show, Mr. Bun - at her request. She also rode the train twice, the carousel once, and of course, had two pony rides.

Then we came home for a cook out, both her uncles came over and she had a wonderful horse cake made by her father, which was so yummy. She opened her gifts, and was so excited to get the horse stable she has wanted since before Christmas (the store was sold out at Christmas time) and she stayed up until much too late playing with it.

I can hardly believe my little girl is four. Three didn't seem much bigger than two to me, still a baby, still a little, round toddler. But four is different, four is not really a baby anymore. But four is wonderful, four is interesting and inquisitive, with definite interests and big dreams. She wants to know everything. She wants to help with everything. I plan to enjoy every minute of her being four, every horse filled, fairy filled, bug filled day.