A letter to my {second} daughter: F-O-U-R!

Aleesia!

Today you move from a threenager to a big four year old! I think I will always remember how excited but scared I was for you to arrive – I had NO idea how to be a mom of more than 1 girl but I quickly figured it out.

I figured out that you were just what I (we) needed – the challenge, laughter, salty and sweetness you bring to every.single.day keep us continuously on our toes. We need to keep our eye on you because, well, you’re mischevious! You’ve cut your own hair, drew a mural on the wall (it was a good cat…) and turned yourself into cat girl. You often hide things in your pockets, sneak candy in your room, sneak things out of your sisters’ rooms, play a mean game of hide-and-seek, go outside when no one is looking, play with makeup that is definitly not yours, and ask for forgiveness for all of the above later.

You have always loved to snuggle and I hope that continues into the age of four – I cherish the moments where you snuggle up to me and cover me with your blanket. Especially these days when we are always on the go and there aren’t a lot of moments when just the two of us spend time alone.

Speaking of alone – you LOVE to be alone with me, or daddy, or any other adult in your life – it’s as if you are an only child holding the spot of second-oldest. I can’t explain it exactly but you certainly behave the best, have the most to say and simply are so especially enjoyable when you get a chance to shine alone whether that is while Vivian is napping and Gianna is at school or if we are on a special trip to Target.

Some of your favorite things to do are: talk about everything, read books, color, listen to music, go to the library, read books, dance, sing, play with your American Girl doll, read books, snuggle, make people laugh, play outside, play with the dog, do math (no, really!) and make crafts. You love your dance classes this year. You love school – your favorite parts are drama and music (no huge surprise there!). You are starting to make some of your own friends, watching your initial shyness bloom into your ‘true’ personality around others is really fun! You love dance and I am loving watching all that you are learning there each week because your skills are improving so quickly!

You’ve taught me that whatever I learned being Gianna’s mom before you were born doesn’t matter because you are YOU and I need to learn to be Aleesia’s mom. That means big bear hugs and soft speaking when you start to get a little ahead of your emotions and more negotiating and explaining than I might *want* to do to avoid a full melt-down. There are days when there are more tears, definance and overall attitude than I know what to do with and then there are other days where we enjoy so much laughter, smiles, jokes, kindness and sweetness that my heart bursts into a million pieces. We both need those happy days to fill up our tanks as a means to handle the hard days. When you REALLY laugh, I think the whole world laughs too – it is infectious!

This year you are going to become a big sister again and you are SO excited – a level of excitement I hope continues once the baby is here! You ask so often about the baby, love to feel it kick and wiggle and offer up many name suggestions which I love to hear. You have grown SO MUCH as a big sister this year – you watch over Vivian and help as much as I could expect you to. You tell me “I can handle this” when you know certain things need to be done and it is really sweet – as much as it is hard to see at times, I see a servant’s heart forming inside of you. The pride that beams from your face when you have helped someone is unmistakable.  You enjoy playing with Vivian and teaching her things – we have a little ways to go with sharing and taking turns, but the growth I’ve seen is imense this past year with so much more room to grow and learn from each other.  You’re a pretty fabulous little sister too – looking up to Gianna so much. And let’s not forget your cousins – you adore them and you and Luci – well you might as well be sisters!

We often refer to you as our little Gypsy – you love adventure and to be away from home whether that means spending the night with Grandma or one of your aunts or heading out of town to a hotel! We went a few different places this year, one of which was Disney World this summer (your second time) and you have asked to return nearly every single day since – recently you told me we HAD to go back so that you could show Ariel your hair since you cut it! You love to explore – there isn’t much that scares you or that you won’t try (for better or worse). I hope we can always feed your sense of adventure and exploration – it is contagious.

Four is going to be a year of continued, rapid growth – another baby, more preschool, trying new sports and continuing with dance, making new friends and growing current friendships, learning more and loving on others to the best of your ability. You’re going to continue to blaze your own path, there is no doubt about it!

I am proud of you every day and I love you more than words can say. I hope you feel loved for all the minutes of your life – especially the hard ones.

Love you!

Mommy