My Little Girl is 4 Today

I can't believe it - 4 years ago on Halloween night - Kim sat at our door passing out candy as she was in labor with Ayden. We were both hoping that she could hold off until after midnight so that we didn't have a Halloween Birthday. Of course my wife is amazingly controlled and was able to hold out until about 3 AM. I remember the night very well. We did the Halloween thing - tucked the boys in bed - had Kim's mom come up to the house to spend the night and snuck off to the hospital. Caleb was suspicious that something was up - but we didn't want him to be worried or up all night - so we didn't really tell him that it was all going down. Chase drifted off into oblivion like his normal-laid-back self.

Ayden Joy is the perfect name for our girl. Ayden means "fiery one" and joy means... well ... "joy." She is the perfect combination of both. She knows what she wants and can be assertive and even demanding. But she is also the happiest little kid and very funny. I never thought having a little girl could do to me what it's done (despite the warnings of many dads with daughters) - but it has. I'm amazed at how precious she is to me. I'm posting a little shrine in honor of my big girl - 4 years old today!