Letter to Greta: 4 Years Old

Dear Grets,

Happy birthday! You're four! Four seemed so huge when Lucia was marking this milestone--but you are still undeniably my baby. You've been awash in birthday celebrations for two weeks now, and your birthday and Lucia's birthday kind of blur together since I just split up a lot of the gifts between the two of you. Nonetheless, today was your day, and it was a fun one.

You got to open one present this morning, a large plush Princess Luna (Lucia got one too). I was the helping parent at school, and you wore a sticker announcing your birthday and also announced it yourself as each of your classmates arrived. I brought cupcakes for your class, and everyone sang to you.

This afternoon, once Lucia got home from school, you got to open the rest of your gifts. Your favorites were a tiny sleeping Applejack in a bed and a variety of blind bag ponies. At your request, we had waffles for dinner, and then a cake you'd picked out from the grocery store (which, tired and overwhelmed by that point, you didn't eat). We took a fairly hilarious video of you at your tiredest, done-with-birthday moment, when you gave each of us an emphatic "thumb's down" and declared you WERE NOT four and that your name was "mister." Faced with your own absurdity, you then suddenly lost your bad mood and began laughing hysterically. The whole video--a minute, two minutes tops--perfectly showcases the insanity and hilarity of you at four years old.

I think four will be good to you. You had a rough start to your preschool year--lots of tears at separation, much hesitation at the whole school idea--but each week you seem more and more comfortable. There haven't been anymore tears since an absolutely insane day where you so violently resisted going to school that you actually drove ME to tears in front of teachers and other moms. That was fun. But that was also a turning point, and you've been fine ever since.

And now--your new year awaits. Four!

Favorite books: Hubnuckles, Too Many Pumpkins, Snow White and Rose Red, Fancy Nancy

Favorite toys/activities: all ponies, all the time. Blind bag ponies, plush ponies, other ponies. Crystal ponies especially. Rainbow Dash. Coloring. Princess plush dolls.