Happy Birthday, Sloane!

(Better a few days later than never.)

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Dear Sloane,

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!!  You are FOUR YEARS old!  Time is going by too quickly.  You are growing up so fast.  It feels like we have a little teenager running around the house :)  You are so smart and have an amazing memory.  In fact, you remember the most random and obscure things.  It is scary how much detail you remember.  You love to negotiate with Daddy and I.  When things don’t go your way, you usually meltdown instantaneously.  Thankfully, you are happy and cheerful the vast majority of the time.  A few days ago I overheard you singing in your room, “Today is the best day ever, today is the best day ever, today is the best day ever….”

You are the most amazing big sister to Clark.  You were such a trooper the night I went into labor.  We had to wake up in the middle of the night and take you to the hospital with us.  You spent the night at my girlfriend’s house (you call her Joy-Joy) and were such a good girl for her.  You instantly fell in love with your brother and wanted to hold him right away.  You give him kisses and hugs every day and protect him from daddy when he says that he is going to eat Clark’s toes.  I thought you would want some one-on-one time with just daddy or just me, without your brother, but you prefer to be with him.  Earlier this week, I took you to soccer practice and Clark stayed home with our nanny.  You kept telling me how you missed him and when soccer was over you wanted to go home right away to see him and make sure he was okay.  Also, you really want to get a bunk bed when Clark is two years old so you can sleep together.

You started a new preschool in September that is within walking distance from our house.  Your teacher is Mrs. Gaffney and you love going to school.  You are the oldest in your class.  You still love listening to books and started to identify letters in smaller words.  You can trace your name very well.  You love practicing your letters and numbers on my important papers when I am doing work in the office. Your imagination is wild.  You make up all sorts of crazy games and scenarios when you play.  Everything is very detailed and we must play by your rules. Naps are now a thing of the past.  However, you do a 45-minute quiet time each day so I can do work.  In January, I am going to start working three days a week and Lucy (our nanny) is going to take care of you and Clark.  I am not sure how well you are going to react to this change since you are a momma’s girl and always want me by your side.

You LOVE watching cartoons.  I let you watch cartoons while I feed Clark, so you have been watching a lot of tv the last two months.  Doc McStuffins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse are your favorites.  You also love the movie Frozen and sing “Let it Go” all the time.  We let you pick out your own clothes and you nearly always pick out a dress.  You are the perfect mix of girly and tomboy.  You will wear a tutu and dance to Metallica. Playing in the dirt doesn’t bother you in the least.  We scoot to the park a lot, not as much as we did before your brother was born, and your new best neighborhood friend is Conner.   He is a year younger than you but the same size.  You love to boss him around and he is happy to oblige.

During the summer we went to the beach nearly every weekend and you are still frightened of the ocean.  You scream and cry when we try to get your feet wet in the waves.  Maybe you will turnaround next year when your brother gets in the water.  You spent a lot of time in the pool this summer and can swim with a floatie or with a kickboard.  However, you do not getting your face wet so you refuse to jump into the water.

I love you so much.  Thank you for being such a sweet girl and amazing big sister.  Next year I will throw you a real birthday party since this year we only had a few friends over in the afternoon and you were sad that it wasn’t a “real party that went into the night with daddy and big Ava and Harper”.  Of course you would remember your birthday part from last year….

XOXO,

Mommy

P.S. We trimmed your hair for the very first time a few weeks!!  Just a little trim to get rid of the tangles and make it straight in the back, although your hair is still wild and curly :)