Four Years

Maizey Maizey Maizey,

I know I have said it every other year, but this year I MEAN it, how can you possibly be FOUR years old??? FOUR? I can still picture the tiny little girl that preferred to be left alone on her mat and the sassy little two year old that slowly walked the streets with her pregnant mom, asking if I wanted to go get a latte. Sometimes I miss that little girl, but most days, I am just amazed to watch the little big girl you have become.

You are, without a doubt, one of my most favorite people to be around. You are easy to get a long with, you are (almost) always up for an adventure, you love doing and trying and seeing new things. You are so my daughter in that regard. You are generally happy, but you have started having a "witching hour" again - if you get too hungry before dinner, ohhhh man, does that make dinner a nightmare. A few weeks ago, it took you TWO HOURS to eat. Oh, the crying, the arguing, the sitting there in silence. It was painful. Also, in an attempt to make you just freaking eat your zucchini, I said what you didn't finish that night, you would be fed for breakfast. You, for some reason, thought that sounded like a way better option than eating it right then, so you took it. I tried to tell you that it was not a good choice, and that it was going to be worse the next morning but there was no arguing with you. So, you forced me to follow through, and the next morning, you sat for ANOTHER 45 minutes and ate those, I don't know, like 8 bites of yellow zucchini. Call me crazy, but I don't think you saw it as punishment and I think given the option again, you would totally take it. But you know what? We had yellow zucchini two nights ago, and you ate it without a single word, so maybe it worked!

You start three days a week pre-school in two weeks. I am going to miss you.

You are pretty much the best big sister ever. You are so kind to Buddy, you share with him, you razz him and when he cries you try to make it better. You share everything with him, you include him, you teach him things he totally shouldn't be doing, like jumping from the coffee table to the couch, you help him put his housecoat on every morning and open the door for him on the truck. You say sorry when you aren't that nice to him and you mean it. You shut his finger in the door of the closet the other day and you laughed and laughed until you saw how hurt he was, and then I was sure you were going to cry too. You talk gently to him and try to use your words with him rather than fighting/grabbing/taking/hitting. He, on the other hand, does not. Sorry. I think he will outgrow this, but thank you for being so patient with him.

Your favorite thing right now is the old cartoon Spiderman and His Amazing Friends. You could play Firestar, Iceman and Spiderman all day, every day. You hide  behind trees to turn into Firestar, you are honestly confused when people don't know what you are talking about or what game you want to play. You wanted a Spiderman birthday, so that's what we had. Daddy could not be more pleased with this - he would sit and watch Spiderman with you all day if he could. You don't just love the old cartoons either, you love the newest movie as well, The Amazing Spiderman, but you do prefer to start it after he's already become Spiderman, rather than watching all the "boring" part about how it all happened.

You are currently loving dresses. Every single day.

You still really love being around us too, you like when we get down on the floor and play games with you - go fish and memory, you love doing crafts, but I actually kind of hate the messes, so on the special days you get to do one, you are over the moon with excitement. Although, I have to admit, the older you get the better the messes are, so maybe I should lighten up! Also, you love having special things you get to do while Buddy naps - chew gum, play with your tiny little My Little Pony Stuff, use glitter glue.

I absolutely love the little girl you have grown into,. You are sweet, honest, kind and just fun to be around. You are polite and unintentionally hilarious. We love watching everything you are and everything you are becoming. I am a little sad about what you are no longer (a little baby), but I am thrilled to see what you are growing into - an amazing little big person who loves life, her family and friends.

We love you baby girl, more than you could possibly know.
I can't wait to see how another year unfolds.

Love, Mom and Daddy