My baby turns 4 tomorrow. Just typing those words seems surreal. How can four years have gone by already? Four years is a university degree. It's a career established. Four years is so much time. There is no way that my little bundle of smiles has been in our lives that long, is it?
What do I want to remember about my girl on the eve of her fourth birthday? I want to remember how easily she smiles. How much joy she finds in being with the people she loves. She is so easy to make happy, just by being nearby.
I love how she wants to be helpful. She wants so badly to be a helper to me as I make meals, bake goodies, clean the house, chop firewood. Whatever it is I'm doing, she is my little tag-along, looking at how she can help and offering up her time to me. It is a gift, and I know it won't last forever so I try to treasure it now.
My girl is sweet. She cuddles in; I love how she just exudes coziness when she snuggles into her stuffies, or wiggles under her blankets. She gives great hugs. She's empathetic and sometimes extroverted and sometimes shy depending on how many people are around, who they are and her mood. In places like Strong Start, she doesn't step out to play with other kids. Not yet anyway. When she did gymnastics last Spring, it was fun to watch as she got a little more brave through the sessions. Not that she really played with the other girls but there was more of an awareness by the end.
She and Isaac are truly the best of friends. She loves to play with him and is such a good playmate for all of his great and crazy imaginative games. They will go 'camping' together, or on adventures to hunt for treasure. They'll dump all the blankets off her bed and leap bravely from the ladder. She plays forts, legos, trains, cars and many, many other toys that Isaac chooses to play, though sometimes she prefers to do her own thing.
She loves to play games, and to read with me. If I ask her what she wants to do, the answer is quite often play a game. We like candyland and zoofari, uno moo and hungry hippo. We play frustration, connect four and a few more. She's not as good a listener as Isaac when it comes to reading, but she loves to cuddle in close to me and lean her head on my shoulder when I read a story she enjoys, and more often than not she likes me to read a few stories. As far as a normal three year old comparison, she probably sits better than most. The problem is I end up comparing her to her brother, who would probably sit for two hours straight if I kept reading! She loves going to library story time and I try to get her there most weeks. She listens to the stories well, participates in the songs and always does a craft. She really likes doing crafts and if she had a more crafty momma, she'd probably do way more crafts than what we do already!
Promise is an actress full of great character. She does this pretend laugh and will cover her mouth and shake her head like she is full of mirth. She does it when she's happy, but it really does seem like she is putting on a show at the same time. Tonight, she had the best expression on her face as we talked about it being her birthday tomorrow. Joy and silliness and excitement and you could tell she was thrilled but, in a way, pretending to be thrilled more. Of course, the drama can go the other way too. She can be full of tears in a split second, or do an ear-splitting scream over the tiniest thing. But all in all, for a three year old, her emotions are not a surprise to me. There's so much emotion in little ones, and so little understanding or control over them yet. She'll get there someday and I'm not worried as it's all part of the journey.
I adore how she worships in church, trying to sing along with the lyrics I tell her and kind of following on the lyrics she doesn't hear me say. When I raise my hands in praise, she often does the same. She's great in Sunday School and looks forward to it each week.
She loves to go barefoot, doesn't always choose sweets and it's definitely not an incentive for her. She's a dancer. She is a pretty good sleeper but if she wakes up, likes to sneak in bed with us to cuddle. She's gentle and curious, sweet and loving. She gives great big hugs to Daddy when he comes home, and she misses me when I drive Isaac to the bus stop.
I feel incredibly grateful to be Promise's mommy. I peek in on her sleeping at night and I thank Jesus that he chose me as her mom. It is not a task I take lightly and it is a beautiful, burdened joy I feel when I think about raising her to be a strong, confident, God-fearing, Jesus-loving woman someday.
Happy birthday my girl, Mommy loves you so much!
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