Born yesterday

I know what you’re thinking.

You’re sitting there saying, “Gee it seems like just yesterday that crazy smart, sweet Mama over on The Gav Menagerie wrote those two nice posts about Peanut turning three. And here it is, already a year later. How is that possible?”

Believe me, I know how you feel.

The past year has absolutely flown by. I simply can’t believe my baby is turning four. FOUR! She’s a quarter of the way to getting her driver’s permit, people! And then she’ll be gone. Driving off. In my Passat (which at this rate, we will probably still own). And then I will never see her again (except maybe for meals or when she needs money for the movies or something). Can you feel my pain? Do you know where I’m coming from?!?

In no time—the blink of an eye, the flash of a tail, the wave of a magic wand—she has gone from this:



To this:



Someone, please, figure out a way to slow down time!

In all seriousness, I’m amazed at the difference in her from last year at this time. Last night, she was telling me about liquids and how, “sugar is not a liquid, but it will dissolve in a liquid.” (Thank Curious George on PBS for this – they talk about all sorts of science-y stuff).

Every day she becomes a little smarter, a little bigger, and a little more independent. Each year, she marches a little farther away from the baby in the picture above, and closer to the wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, kind, strong woman I know she is going to be. This is very difficult to contemplate right now. Imagining my life and home without her day-to-day presence is heart wrenching.

However, I know that every second, no matter what she does, I will love her. No matter how far she goes, she will always be here, in my home, in my head and this close to my heart:



Happy fourth birthday, baby girl! I am constantly amazed, continuously blessed, sometimes driven crazy, but always very grateful for the funny, sweet, charming, smart and beautiful presence you are in my life.