Letter to Lucia: 52 Months

Dear Little Lulu,

You're growing up so fast. It's suddenly apparent that you are not such a tiny little girl anymore--your hair is getting longer, your preferences for clothing more outrageous and personal. You love wearing tights, and spend most days in some sort of dress-up outfit, usually a leotard or leotard-with-attached-skirt. You are not bothered by the wintry cold in such outfits. I walk around the house in two sweaters, and there you are in a leotard.

Right now you love playing hide and seek, and though our range is limited--you have yet to realize you can hide absolutely anywhere in the house and always just stick to whatever floor we're on--you manage to find inventive places, like covering yourself with pillows on the couch. It's hilarious when you and Greta both play. You both hide in the same place, and though you understand the point is to hide quietly, Greta squeals and scream-laughs, often popping out to see where I am then darting back into your hiding place. There's nothing cuter than finding you two squeezed under a table or lying down with your upper bodies "hidden" under the coffee table, giggling, waiting for me with wide smiles.

You love playing the game Orchard we got you for Christmas, and I suspect you'd love to play other games as well, but Greta is--to put it kindly--generally not so cooperative. We usually play after Quiet Time, when Greta is still napping.

I discovered recently that you've memorized many of the books we read at bedtime. On especially trying nights, when I try to paraphrase or--gasp!--skip a few lines to speed things along, you stop what you're doing and correct me, pointing out that I skipped a page or supplying the line I glossed over. You even catch single word changes. Nothing gets by you.

You continue to love school and often resist going home at the end of the morning. You continue to enjoy Quiet Time, engaging in involved games and intricate creations with beads and tiny cubes. You got pop beads for Christmas, which you've been highly enjoying. Your tiny Sophia and tiny tea sets are your favorite Quiet Time toys right now.

You continue to eat like we're forcing you to consume a plate full of mud, with sighs and a sad, woe-is-me expression. We cook things you like, or once liked; we've stopped the U.N.-caliber negotiations and made the amount you eat your "choice"; we're just trying to find what works. Greta often eats so much that she finishes off whatever I've cooked--and then she begins agitating to eat what's on your plate, which, of course, you refuse to share with her, not realizing it means you'd have less food to face. Sigh.

Favorite toys/activities: tiny Sofia doll, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, forts, hide and seek, blocks, pop beads, coloring (all of a sudden you're coloring more or less in the lines), tiny tea set, running around in the basement rec room, dress-up, dancing

Favorite books: My First Little House books, Ladybug Girl, Good Knight books (all of these are read pretty much every day)