We did not forget to mention that Eleanor Kate turned four years old, but I am the Birthday blogger and I have been trying to relax in the evenings and not work on things on my To Do Lists. So, here I am talking about my kiddo's latest milestone, almost a month afterward. It's been a funny thing, these birthdays and how much they cause me to reflect. So much more than my own birthday. I can see all of the time since like a movie running in my head, and I get slightly emotional at how fast it is going. It is what everyone says: It goes fast, childhood is over in a blink, enjoy it now! Well, we do try.
Throughout are pictures of a happy Saturday birthday party. Nora invited her whole class and we had a nice turnout. The Dinosaur theme and pool backyard party was a hit! The slip 'n' slide was a huge hit, and everyone just had fun.
Here are the cupcakes!
So, what have I been musing about since Nora's 4th birthday? A bit of her present, future, and past. Right now, I think about how smart she is; how feisty and difficult she is; how very emotionally extreme she is from the happiest happy to the most negative and tortured sad; how creative and loving, thoughtful and amazing; how easily terrified she is of splinter removal while at the same time how easily she handles thunderstorms and scary episodes of Scooby Doo. How she makes me things at school and picks me weeds and flowers, tells jokes and sings like a kid, all loud and unashamed. Nearly every thought of her at 4 makes me smile.
Then, I find myself day dreaming about her future life: I wonder what she will become (I'm not a paleontologist yet! Maybe I'll be a zoologist!") and who she will love and how tall she will be (EK: "Mama, you're taller than Grandma." W: "Yep, and you'll probably be taller than me." EK: "Noooooooooo!!!!"). I wonder how well she will love herself (EK: "Nobody Loves me! Harumph" said just to get us protesting and hugging and kissing on her, usually ending in a fit of laughter); if she will struggle making friends or in school, and just how life will be with so much media. Who will her idols be? Her crushes? Her style definers? What will her master status be? How will she communicate with others?
And, well, then there are the looks back at her life up to now. Nora loves me telling stories about her in my tummy. Some of the facts she mixes up are pretty funny, but she loves the stories of kicking me when I would lay down and of being awaken by a pie pan and wooden spoon during a fetal heart monitor appointment. Oh, and I adore the pictures! Tiny itty bitty and then chubby baby girl, all smiles and heart melting hugs. Walking so easily, then loving a new baby brother, and trusting her Dad and I to "keep her safe, right mom?"
Well, here is where I get emotional. I try every day. To keep you and your brother safe and healthy. I worry about you every day, but we live life and have fun and we make mistakes and you cry and I cry and we are learning together. I get frustrated more now than I used to baby girl, because I know how smart you are and how lazy you can be, and how hard-headed and uncompromising. I also smile more than I used to, like when you hug your brother and watch out for him and still want me to hold you and fall asleep when we snuggle. When your eyes light up after school and you tell me jokes and are the first one to laugh.
You are amazing and 4 is a big one. One more short little year before school is kindergarten instead of child care. This is the year you learn to swim and ride a bike and write your name. So, a little looking back, reflecting on the present, and contemplating the future is normal for your mama. I am having loads of fun at the zoo, too. Happy Birthday Baby Girl, we could not adore you more.
