Maya's 4-year Letter

Dear Maya,

Today, you are four. FOUR!!! It is so difficult for us to think of you as a big kid, since you will forever be our little baby girl... but that is exactly what you are. A big girl, wrapped in a spunky little package!

I don't even know where to begin. This past year, you started preschool and dance classes, and your world expanded more outside of our home. While you are still very shy and reserved around non-family, you talk and sing nearly non-stop around those you are closest to. Your preschool teacher doesn't believe me when I tell her that I have actually had to ask you to stop talking for a minute so I could hear myself think-- but it's absolutely true! You love to dance and make up songs, and plan elaborate birthday parties for Pink Bunny on an almost-daily basis. Your imagination is out of this world, and you love to tell wild stories and draw bold, colorful pictures. You are learning to write, and can even sound out a few words. I can practically hear the wheels in your brain spinning around!

You are, as you have always been, an incredibly good-natured and loving little girl. You are constantly telling me that I'm your best friend, but that Nikos and Daddy are your best friends, too. You give out a million hugs and kisses a day, and still love to climb into our laps and snuggle. Your daddy and I love you to pieces, of course, but so does your big brother. He really is your best friend and your partner in crime. He might try to deny it, since he's at an age where he thinks girls are icky, but the truth is that he wouldn't know what to do without you. I just about died when I saw the birthday card he made for you, totally unprompted, last week. It's you and him holding hands, with a heart in the middle. Yup. Your brother really loves you! Physically, you have grown so much this year. You are stretching out like a little string bean! I can't wait for your 4-year doctor's appointment to see exactly how much you've grown. You are definitely taller! You look older, too, with your baby chub melting away and your hair cut shorter. In some ways, I can't believe it's been ONLY a year since your last birthday, because you have changed so much. On the other hand, I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. Such is being a parent, I guess!

Anyway, I have said it before and I will say it again... You were the missing piece in our family, and we have trouble remember our lives before you were in them! We love you FOREVER, baby girl, and don't you forget it! Happy, HAPPY Birthday!!

All our love,
Mommy, Daddy, and Niko