Dear Katherine,

You turned 4 this week. I've been telling you for weeks that we were going to skip your birthday, so that you could stay my little 3 year old forever. But you knew better. You made sure I knew that you wanted Chocolate cake and pink frosting. You reminded me that we needed balloons and presents. And, you logically told me that if you never grew up, you could never be a special Mommy like I am. OK Katherine, you can grow up, but slowly, OK?

When you started preschool in the fall you could have cared less about your ABCs. You knew a few letters, but didn't want to be bothered by what they meant. Now you know them all and are the first to respond when Maggie asks "How do I spell 'Total'?" You shout proudly "T! To-tal starts with T!" You are "reading" very well with pictures and signs. You are figuring out the code and it is so fun to watch!

You are also growing into your role as middle child. Most of the time, you take such good care of Abby. Playing together, giving her snacks, watching her if she's doing something she shouldn't. You still like to smother her with hugs, but she's pretty used to that now. And I just love to watch you with Maggie. Your self-confidence shows through when you stand up to her and tell her not to boss you around. And yet, my heart still breaks when I see you disappointed when Maggie gets to do something that you can't do quite yet.

I love to sit and read stories with you; You would sit and listen to stories all day if you could. You still love to snuggle in and be"cozy" with me. Every night you ask me to bring you water if you are still awake when I go to bed. Every night you are already asleep. And every morning you ask me why I didn't bring you water, and giggle when I describe how asleep you your were - arms flung out, covers at the bottom of you bed.

You say the sweetest, funniest things. As we water the flowers outside,"You need to water me too Mommy - I need to keep growing!" Or in the car, on your birthday,

"Mommy, when I woke up today I was in my bed, and I looked, and my legs were a little bit longer. Because I'm 4 now. So I'm big." Or last night, waving your arms to get our attention and pointing to Daddy,"Guys Guys Guys, nope, No more cookie dough ice cream, Daddy ate it all up! Wook"

Katherine, you are more special to me than you know. I'm so proud of you, and I love you so much. Happy Birthday, 4 year old!

Don't let the adorable face fool you. This one? She's trouble. I shouldn't be surprised that she ate a mouthful of dirt today. She eats everything she can find.

Katherine's crumbs from the floor. A plastic, yellow golfball outside.
But a face full of dirt? Sure enough. Katherine and I were watering plants while Abby sat in her car. I thought she was happy to honk her horn and pull at the grass. I should have realized 30 seconds sooner that the horn wasn't honking. When I turned around she was black from her nose to her chin. She had discovered some mud on the wheel of her car and decided to eat it. I cleaned her face as well as I could with a hose and her sunhat and then took her in to finish the job. I'm guessing she's not the first kid to do this, but it's still a bit disturbing to see!

What else has happened in the last few weeks? Well, Maggie grew up.

Maybe it's just me, but I think she looks about 5 years older than she did a month or two ago. It could be just that her SIX missing teeth have aged her. Or as she tells me "I'm ALMOST in FIRST Grade!" She had her first Daddy-Daughter dance 2 weeks ago and loved it. (picture below) Her class has chick eggs waiting to hatch and she now comes home with bulletins each day "One is out, Two have cracks!" "Three today, one yellow, 2 black!" I suppose it's about the closest she's had to a pet, so she's pretty excited.

A funny Maggie-ism from 2 weeks ago. It was Pizza day for hot lunch, and that is the only day Maggie buys her lunch at school. We were looking at the menu and I said"You know, you should get the green beans with your pizza, you like beans." She replied, "But Mooooooooommmmm, I don't have TIME for that stuff! I only have time for pizza and milk.If I have other things I won't have any time left for talking!" Really? How can I argue with that?
Katherine finishes her first year of preschool this week, turns 4 next week, and is still the funniest kid I know. The other day she said "I want to sing and you can make a movie of me." And of course, I did exactly that. She likes to help me do my physical therapy stretches, but she thinks that creating her own stretches is more fun that doing the ones I'm supposed to do for "homework." Her exercises are generally funnier, but not as effective.

One day last week, sitting in the kitchen with Chris, she said "Excuse somebody" and when Chris asked her to clarify she said, "That's what you say when you know somebody farted, but you just don't know who, you just say 'Excuse somebody!'"
2 days shy of 13 months, Abby's been working on a few new tricks. She pulls up to standing on anything that stands still - even your own legs if you stop walking near her. Her favorite spot is at the bottom of the stairs, but that's also the most dangerous, as sometimes she forgets to hold on and bumps her head. She has taken a few steps along the couch, but only with enticement (remote control.) Vocabulary wise, she's starting to make some sense. She's using Hi, Mama, and Dada most of the time. In the morning she says something close to "Bye Dada" And when she wants to be picked up she throws her arms up in the air and shouts "UH" She thinks she's saying much more than that. She is constantly experimenting with putting sounds together. Unfortunately, right now I have no way to interpret them!

(edited to add: I forgot to report Abby's "Uh-Oh" when something drops from her high chair. Also, usually, if you ask her for a kiss, she'll lean in toward you. And if you offer her a hug, she'll pat your back. How could I leave those out?)
Daddy-Daughter Dance. It was 40 and raining. But Maggie wore sandals. It was her first lesson in fashion before comfort. And without any coaching, she learned another"girl lesson" she took her shoes off when they hurt her feet.

This was my Mother's Day picture. Who needs all 3 looking at the camera, right?

And now you're all caught up!