Wa'a

I meant to post this when Wa'a turned four. But I'm posting it now so I never forget...


My dearest Wa'a,

You are four years old! I still remember your third birthday, so I can't believe the time came again to celebrate the wonderful YOU!

You are quite the personality! You have so much loudness and shyness mixed together. You love to cook but not to eat. You love attention, but only when you approve it. You think every owwie will have blood, and you are so good at giving kisses better. You think it's so funny to "take a bow" when we praise you, and will always belt at the top of your lungs your favorite songs. You don't always need me to lay with you at night anymore, but you always come find me in the mornings to climb into my bed and snuggle. You are so independent, but stress when you don't know where I am. You are still obsessed with dinosaurs, even when they are big and scary looking, but you fear spiders more than anything. You are still the protector of your little sister and are always looking out for her and her safety. Except when you love to tackle her to the ground of course. :) You cry when you feel like she might be unsafe or could get hurt. You help her to sign and find her bottle and you give her great hugs. You are too big to be in the grocery cart, but always need to hold my hand. In the mornings, you are thoughtful by closing your bedroom door so Clara doesn't wake, and you also make sure dad has all the things he needs for the day before heading out the door for work. You will climb and jump high off of most things, but high speeds on the bike terrify you. You nap so well, and often tell me that you are tired and would like to go to sleep. I love it. You are best friends with your daddy, and you love to play hide and seek, chase, or watch movies on his phone with him. Chips and salsa are still your go-to foods, and you love a good popsicle. You refuse to be fully potty trained, and being given the choice of staying home with mama or going to preschool, you always choose mama. You adore your cousins and ask about them almost daily. You can watch a movie once or twice, and then have what seems like the entire thing memorized. It's amazing the memory you have! You often feel overwhelmed with guilt when you get in trouble and always come to us for comfort and hugs, even though you know we are upset with you. You are showing us your stubborn side more, and can hold a grudge a little bit longer now that you're older. But you are still so unbelievably forgiving. You have a tender heart and often stress when you see one of us crying and love to offer kisses and hugs. You tell me every Sunday how you don't like church, but then are smiling and so happy when we pick you up from your Sunbeam class. You cup your ears when you hear something, and also cup your eyes when something is far away, pretending you are holding binoculars. I still spoil you almost every shopping trip with a chocolate donut and you love to pick out the circular ones with sprinkles. You run to the backdoor every morning to look for birds and rabbits to chase, and you enjoy being outside and playing in water. You still carry your blanket around and often suck your thumb when super tired.

You give such wonderful prayers. We often can't understand some of the words you are saying, and then other times you speak so clearly and we can hear you praying for every single person, toy, or food you have seen that day. You still give "moon eyes" when you smile so big that your face scrunches. You love to be goofy and silly and are a huge tease to dad and me. You can make any object into some sort of monster and you run around the house roaring and growling. You can run back and forth for what seems like forever, and people comment on your high energy. You are full of laughter, love and smiles. You are tender, sensitive and emotional. You give the best (and worst) stink eye faces. You still know how to push the limits, and yet you are naturally comfortable in safety and peace. We love you so very much, and we feel and see how much you have blessed our lives every single day. Thank you for being YOU, and for being apart of this family.

We love you,Wa'a!!

Happy fourth birthday.

Love, Momma