Call me Four girl

Mia's birthday was so anticipated this year. As soon as the month of May hit, I would remind Mia that it was her birthday soon. Inevitably, after 20 or so days of reminding her, she had finally had enough. Mom, you always say that, and it's never my birthday yet. The day finally did come, and was celebrated with a "pool" party, and by "pool" I mean inflatable kiddie pool that was a hit with the 4 year olds nonetheless. On her actual Birthday, I woke her up and said "Wake up, Big Girl!", and she corrected me: "You can call me Four Girl, Mom".

According to Mia's 4 year old well check, she weighs 33 lbs, and measures 41 inches. Her weight puts her in the 3rd percentile, which is... not great, but she is about average in height. The weight did startle me a bit, but considering what a struggle meal time is, I shouldn't have been surprised. Mia is often left at the table as the only person not to have finished her meal (and that includes the baby sister whose little ramekin is empty of whatever puree she was having for dinner). While I'm not going to change too much of my cooking habits, I will stop expecting my 4 year old to eat quinoa (B and I have been trying not to eat too many carbs, but that's a bit difficult since I am still nursing) and I have been making her a handful of buttered noodles as a side dish since we found out she was totally skinny.

At 4, Mia's personality is quite her own. She likes to watch movies, play with her legos, play with her doll house. She still colors, but not quite as much as she used to. Her legos and doll house are the main source of play, and it's gotten quite imaginative. Eavesdropping into her storylines have become quite a favorite of mine, though I am startled at how often her dolls get in trouble (I'm always asking B-- Do I sound like that?!). Mia has really taken to being a big sister, maybe more than I thought she would. She plays with Lucy a lot, supervises her in her little exersaucer while I'm cooking. She is mostly gentle, though will accidentally hurt or startle Lucy once in a while, but nobody is harder on herself than she is when Lucy cries because of something she did.

She likes everything princess, refuses to wear anything but dresses (the longer the better) and is a bit of a outdoor play wimp. She loves going to the playground, but is scared of the slides and climbing high. It kind of surprises me, because she was much more adventurous when she was smaller, but we try not to force it. She's still very sensitive, doesn't respond well to yelling or harsh discipline, and is shy, but friendly and caring to those she knows.

I often joke that Mia is my best friend, but now that she's 4, she's so interactive and grown up, that it's hardly a joke anymore. So Happy Birthday to my darling girl, my sweetest big sister, my little best friend.