Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Birthday, part 2

My dear Sophie,

Today is your 4th birthday. Last night you and I sat on the couch and I told you about the night you were born. That was the first time I had ever done that and you were overjoyed to hear the telling. You were so glad to hear that you cried when you were born, exclaiming "Just like Miller!" and you nursed, "Just like Miller!" and you grew inside my belly and were born on a full moon, "Just like Miller!"

There is no doubt that your little brother has been the biggest change in your life this past year, and you have handled the growth in our family with the grace I have come to expect from you.
You continue to be the sweet and sensitive little girl that I have always known you to be. A stern "get back to bed" leaves you in tears and your fear of spiders and other bugs has been very apparent this summer. Still, you are keen to let them - well, let ME let them - out doors and not kill or hurt them in any way. You have also developed quite an interest in the macabre - Coraline, scary stories and movies, and zombies. This is so much like your father and I love to see so much of him in you.

You are incredibly silly and if you get a laugh, you stick on that subject ad nauseam to try to get more. You are always making up songs and dreams and dancing through the living room. And not a day goes by without a spontaneous "I love you" or, "You're a good mommy, mommy".

You love to be snuggled and kissed and wrapped tightly in your soft, green blanket. You love your routines of Orange Juice and cartoons in the morning and goodnight of book and back scratches. We have evolved to longer, chapter books and books of short stories that take longer and longer to read each night. It's not unusual for you to stop us in the middle of the story because you just want to go to sleep. You are so aware of who you are.

You are not perfect. You try my patience. You would rather me or your dad give you bites of food rather than feed yourself, which is incredibly frustrating. You hate having your hair washed and brushed and generally fussed over, which often makes for difficult mornings and bath times. You hate picking up your toys and honestly, the whining has gotten a little out of hand. You pick your nose. You refuse to eat dinner. You can be painfully blunt and honest and hurt other children's feelings.
You will continue to learn about kindness and tact. And because you are so mature in so many ways, sometimes I forget that you are only 4 years old. A mere 1,460 days.

My darling little girl, who is beautiful and ornery and difficult and imaginative and amazing. Happy birthday. I can't wait to watch you grow as you begin your 5th rotation around the sun.

4 comments:

kclblogs said...

Beautiful post, AM. How lucky you all are to have each other. Happy Birthday, sweet girl. And happy birth-day to the Mama, who is beginning her 5th year of mamadom!

kristin said...

i love, love, love this.

what a genuine child she is.

beinmyOWNself said...

dang it banana, you made my eyes leak! what a sweet and wonderful homage to a sweet and wonderful lil short person who won't *truly* appreciate it for many years.....i love you and i love your lil bird!

Rachel said...

Lovely. Thank you for sharing this with us... Happy birthday to all of you!