You're four today! You've asked me everyday for the past few weeks if you were four yet and today is finally that day. When I got to tell you yes this morning you threw your hands in the air and exclaimed "YES!!!! See Mama, wook how big my feet are! Its cause I'm four now." For your birthday today you'd like to go to the mall and go shopping and then make a cake with a turtle and a pteranodon on top. You've asked for a Belle costume and a remote control skunk.
Life with you is not boring. You are passionate and that applies to everything in your life. You don't just get upset, you are DEVASTATED. You aren't just happy, you are ECSTATIC. And you can go from one of those emotions to the other, and back, in a matter of seconds. You challenge my patience almost everyday. You also do or say something everyday that makes me laugh out loud or amazes me. You are creative and smart and just plain crazy. I never in a million years thought that as a mom I would have to say things like, "I know you're a mountain lion, but please don't hiss at the waitress anymore, ok?" You are still very much the actress, role playing as dinosaurs, animals, bugs. You completely devote yourself to your role, and your body language and mannerisms are amazingly accurate. My favorite characters are your hissing, crouching raptor, and the bug eyed, tongue flicking "chamil-i-kan."
You went to school for the first time this year and loved every minute of it. You made a ton of friends, boy and girl. I heard from several parents that their kids only talk about you when it comes to school. You were "best fwiends" with Nicolas, sometimes Juliette. You loved the rituals of school, the standing in line and folding your hands and singing the songs. You already knew your letters, shapes and colors, so all you truly gained from this year of school was a little more social maturity, how to share, take turns.
Listening to me and your big brother talk about the sounds letters make, you've picked up on it and are starting to try to sound out words on your own. You have a handful of words you know by sight. You begged for a workbook which we bought for you, and you are very serious about doing your "work." You've taken it upon yourself to learn how to write letters. You are still very much an artist, coming up with new techniques and ideas all the time. You love to paint on your easel, and draw with your crayons. Your new thing lately has been assemblage art, cutting and gluing all sorts of crazy things together to make something new. You made a Puss in Boots the other day. You used a cutout of a cats head, then glued down a harmonica for his body, and were about to glue down our can opener when your dad discovered you. The can opener has black handles, so when it was all put together it really did look like he was wearing boots.
You and your brother are still two little peas in a pod. You crack each other up, laughing long into the night when you should be sleeping. You look out for each other and have inside jokes. You make him laugh with your made up songs. He makes you laugh with fart jokes.
You get more beautiful everyday. Walking around with you is sometimes like walking around with a mini celebrity. We get stopped all the time, told you are too cute! so pretty! Walking with you through a restaurant I can see people nudge each other and point at you, coo how cute you are. And you notice it too. You hold your head a little higher, smile sweetly and say thank you.
I can't believe my little rolypoly newborn is four years old, you've brought so much joy to us and I can't even begin to explain how much we love you, Squirrels. Happy Happy Birthday!!
