Dear Mercedes,
Happy Birthday!
Four years old seems so old and wise and mature... until you throw a random tantrum over not getting to pick which colour cup you use at dinner and I am reminded again of the tenuous balance between babyhood and childhood. Four is a hard age - on all of us! But it's fascinating and amazing to watch also. Your vocabulary and comprehension is astounding - every day you say something new and funny that proves how much you really understand about the world around you. You are starting to learn to read, slowly but surely - understanding the connection between letters and sounds, sounding out words, picking out sight words you recognize. You LOVE books just as much as your mother does (which thrills me of course!) and one of my absolute favourite things in the world is listening to you 'read' to yourself over the monitor before a nap.
You are funny and fun and snuggly (you still end up sleeping in our room for half the night, although we are proud that you start out in your bed at least!). You have a smile that lights up a room, and crazy hair that you refuse to let us tame most days. You are wonderfully cooperative at school, in public places, at the doctor or dentist (no cavities!) and fantastically defiant and stubborn at home. It bugs the hell out of your father and I, but it also makes me secretly proud to see you use logic to argue with us, and to see how your mind works. I could do without a lot of the crying and whining, but I'll say it again... four is hard :)
We are so proud of everything that you are and the beautiful girl you are becoming, inside and out. I can't wait to see what the year ahead holds for you, not the least of which includes starting all-day Junior Kindergarten!
Happy Birthday, to my favourite big girl, my first baby always. We love you.
Mama
