Our 4-year-old and our 1-month-old!!

It's July 19th, 2014, which means we have a four-year-old AND a one-month-old in our household today!!

Here is Brie (last fall) showing off her birthdate at school. Pretty much sums up how everyone feels about their special day, doesn't it??  HAPPY!!

Today we celebrated in several fun ways. Brie slept late (smart girl!) and then asked for her doll Baby Baby shortly after she awoke. Can you spot her? That's right, we put her in the basket of Brie's new (to her) bike.  {The bike was our neighbor's daughter's, but she had long outgrown it. Tony and I spiffed it up a bit and added some purple embellishments--streamers, a bell and a basket--just for Brie.} The gift was a huge hit!

After breakfast, we headed to the zoo.  Here's Brie riding on the zoo carousel (top left) while Sebastian supervised.

I could go on and on about how proud Tony and I are of Brie (I certainly have before), but I'll leave you with just a few things that we most admire about our fabulous four-year-old:

Brie is a puzzle girl. She loves to dive into something that takes her full attention and gives her a challenge.

She appreciates the little things. Brie got several birthday cards in the mail this week and relished opening every, single one of them. I can't help but think that she'll be a happier person in life because even the small things bring her so much joy.

She loves her family and the home we live in. Her gratefulness for the people and love around her impress me every day.

She's a thinker. Each day Brie asks me a dozen excellent questions. "Mom, why do we get birthday cards on our birthday?" (What a good question! I'm really not sure how that custom arose...) and "Why do big people help little (pronounced "widdle") people?" (Gosh, Brie, if only our world leaders would ponder that question for just five minutes...the world would be a better place.)

We also love that she's always moved to the beat of her own drum...

has always loved playing with her big brother...

and has always done things that are years ahead of her age just to prove that she can.

Happy Birthday, Brie!  We love you!

And now for our one-month-old! Sebastian celebrated a small birthday today with his big sister. Brie even read her birthday cards to him.

After all, who wouldn't want to share a birthday with this little guy?  We're all enjoying the little laughs that our new addition provides.

Here's Sebastian waving, "Hi!"

Doing a little cha-cha...

Reenacting the Hustle from "Saturday Night Fever"...

 and then conking out...all in about 40 seconds!

He's definitely a happy and curious little guy when he's awake...

who makes very sweet faces at everyone who holds him...

looks precious in silly hats...

and cheers, "Yay!" for cute pajamas! We love you, too, Sebastian! Happy first month!

P.S.  If you see a 4-year-old on a pink bike, a new baby in the stroller and their big brother around the neighborhood these days, that's us!