Four

Oh my, this baby of mine is four, one year away from school, almost at the point of enjoying time away from me, almost... for now she is still my girl, will always be I suspect, but now she has no shame in wanting me all the time, in calling out for me, for singling me out as the chosen one, (even when the job the chosen one gets to do is not a choice job- really? no one else can wipe your bum?) It is lovely and sweet, this almost independent stage, but I can already see it waning, and the self sufficient streak is showing strong.

This girl of ours.. she's a complex being, life with her is mostly much more exciting, and I'm sure we're just at the tip of that iceberg. Delicate, funny, strong, stubborn, smart, clever, insightful, caring, kind, quiet, shy, cautious, polite, social, wild, beautiful. She can identify at least three types of weeds, loves to eat portulaca, and is pretty much able to tell when things are ripe. She is most definitely a country girl, except that she's starting to squeak a bit about bugs, mostly for show I think.

She can almost read, and knows much more than she lets on, she draws pictures of us, and they are so lovely. She has an imagination that's as wild as the amazon, and she still says 'Bidiculous' instead of Ridiculous, even though she can say "r" in other words, she also says ' no problem' like " if you wanted to give me a treat, no problem, you could".

Happy birthday baby girl, I'm sure life will be full of surprises with you around.

This is the real photo she wanted me to take,
taken just seconds after the first one.