So "Four"tunate...

My Sweet Girl,

It has been a month since your birthday; I am a little behind this year! I absolutely cannot believe that you are four! It seems impossible, but when I see your hair growing longer by the day and your jeans growing shorter by the week, I cannot deny that you are, indeed, growing up!

This past year we have made a lot of fun memories! We got to see you ride your first roller coaster, write your full name, start "school," really begin to enjoy swimming, and make your first (human) best friend. Your love of cats has waned over the past year, but now your love of dogs rivals my own, much to my relief!

There are so, so many things I admire about you. You are yourself. You dance when there is no music, you sing at the top of your lungs without knowing the words, and you say whatever is on your mind. You are funny! Oh, how your quick wit and quirky sense of humor can make us laugh, even on our grouchiest days!! You are so generous. When I presented you with our "Operation Christmas Child" shoebox, you were so excited to pick out all the things our little boy might want. You never once asked if you could have something for yourself, but continued adding more and more things to our stash for him!  You are honest. If you do something wrong, you immediately own up to it, unflinchingly. You rarely need more than a reminder or a look to do the right thing, and your teachers at school say you are kind, considerate, and so smart.

Your intelligence still astounds us! You have been reading up a storm all year, and I love hearing you sound out unfamiliar words as you plow through new books. Recently, when I brought home a puzzle game intended for my students, you surprised even yourself by mastering it immediately! Your spatial reasoning is already better than my own. (You get that from your dad). You have the memory of an elephant. If you say something happened, we can be sure that it will be correct, usually down to the last detail, and we often count on you to find things, because you always know right where they are!

Things weren't all butterflies and sunshine this past year, though. Daddy and I often found ourselves looking at each other and mouthing the word "threenager" when you would have one of your sassier moments. Sometimes those moments were nothing short of exasperating, but mostly, they were a glimpse into a future that is rapidly approaching, a future I am not ready for. As the next year sees you starting Pre-K and (hopefully) taking our first family vacation, I know that I will often find myself holding my breath, hoping to stop time and keep you small for just a little longer.

Oh, how I love you my child. And no matter how time speeds on, or how tall you grow, that is something that will never change.

Yours "four"ever,


Mommy