Happy Birthday Maya Grace!

Dear Maya,

I can't believe you are four now! It seems like not that long ago, Daddy, Christian and I were at the ultrasound appointment, where we found out we were going to have a baby girl. Daddy and I were overjoyed. Christian said it looked like an elephant was in my tummy (it can be hard to tell what you are looking at with those things). You see, your brother was going through the typical rambunctious- little- boy- terrible- twos, and the thought of having a calm sweet little girl sounded heavenly.

Well, what God blessed us with was even better...You! You are not the little girl I imagined, you are even better. You have your Daddy's sense of humor and you love to make people laugh. You have also learned that when I am disciplining you, you can just do something silly and I cannot help but laugh. I am working on that though! However, I am pretty sure this is a skill you will be able to use all throughout life. You love to watch people dance on TV and mimic their every move. You work up quite a sweat and when you are too tired to go on, you tell us that your legs are too long and you can't dance anymore. You also remind us daily that we need to sign you up for dance class. I'm working on that too!

I love your little "Boston" accent (although we may need to look into speech therapy at some point). I love the fact that for the first six months of your life, the only place you would sleep at night was in the crook of my arm. I cherish those memories. I love that you love to pretend that you are a baby because it takes me back to those days. I love that you are such a girly girl and that you love shoes just as much as I do. You also don't have a problem telling me if you don't think my shoes are pretty enough. I love that you love all of your babies so much and you are such a good little "Mommy" to them. I love that you like to pretend to be a baby animal and cry "ayuda me, ayuda me", because that's what they do on Diego. You are obsessed with keeping your play cottage clean even if the rest of the house is in shambles all around you. I love that you call Christian, Kwissen.

I love that you are so attached to your Daddy, yet equally attached to me. I love that you always want me to put you to bed, even if it is because you know that Daddy is more strict at bedtime. I love how you emphatically promise that you will NEVER EVER do something again, even though we know it will happen again in 5 minutes. I love that you always want to go pick Christian up from school right after we drop him off. I love the special bond that you have formed with your cousin, Bethany. You two are two little kooky peas in a pod. I love the fact that you say that each one of your Grandma's are your favorite. I love the fact that you make people earn your trust and affection. Please remember this one when you hit the teenage years. Pretty Please. I love that you always have to sit on your Papa's lap when we have dessert.

I love everything about you Maya Grace and I am so blessed to be your Mommy. And as one of your favorite books says, you are pinkaliscious!

Love,

Mommy