Dear Abigail,
Just like that, we’re here again. Another year, another birthday, another letter. FOUR. It sounds so big, so much older than three for some reason - maybe because this year has shown me that you really aren’t a toddler anymore. You’re shifting into that next stage, and in many ways, you are so much more mature than just four. Day after day, I’m blown away by the way your mind works, voraciously taking in the world around you - noticing, remembering, wondering. You pick up on details I have never noticed. You remember people and places that pass me by. You wonder and ask questions about what you see and hear. You have such a deep curiosity and interest in the world around you. From remembering the name of all of the employees at our local coffee shop to introducing yourself to complete strangers in the grocery store, you are truly a people person. I watch how others gravitate to you. For a four year old, you have this incredible way of engaging others.Maybe they’re surprised by your ability to converse for such a little human. Maybe people are just drawn to your cute smile. Whatever it is, I hope that you realize what a wonderful trait this is. I hope you use it to keep making others smile, to keep making people feel seen and heard. The world needs that.
In your third year, your personality has truly come into its own. You love all things princess, but you can also get into the WWE with your dad. You could spend an entire day playing dress up and the next taking swings on the tee and running the bases. You love rock and roll, and playing the air guitar, but also love twirling around like a ballerina. Your love of reading has deepened, and you’ve continued to memorize entire books and “read” them to Grace. You even wanted to start reading chapter books, and we read Matilda from cover to cover. You are quite the responsible young lady and, although you do have a meltdown from time to time, you tend to take pride in things like feeding Harper (your chore), brushing your teeth and getting dressed on your own, helping me cook, and cleaning up. You love to show Grace how to do things, even though she may not always like to be told. As much as you’ve grown and changed, you are still my snuggler and will curl right up next to me in bed or on the couch. “I love you, mama,” you often tell me as you squeeze in.
In this third year, you’ve done so many things and so many firsts! During the winter, you started gymnastics class and tried skiing for the first time. You and Grace traveled with me to help coach the Stonehill team, and we built lots of snowmen! The spring was rainy and cold, but we celebrated Easter and birthdays with family and bundled up to take trips to the farm, the park, or anywhere else that gave us a chance to get outside. Your summer was full of pool days and beach days. We got to take a trip to North Conway with your Glam and Gramps where you revelled in the magic of Storyland and squealed with delight picking fresh blueberries on the mountains. Fall brought big changes with your transition from daycare to preschool. Although the first week or so included teary-eyed drop offs, you’ve truly embraced this change. You love to learn and come home every day telling me how to pronounce certain letters or about the cycle of a butterfly. Every week your art folder is stacked with drawings of your family, the sun, rainbows - all signed with your full name which you write on your own. Perhaps the biggest news of the fall is that you’re going to be a big sister yet again. You’ve already embraced the big sister role so well, that I have no doubt you’ll be amazing to this new baby girl. Just this morning, you got to feel her kick for the first time, and you were so excited that my heart just leapt.
I know that being the oldest is a hard role, and I want to acknowledge that sometimes I probably put more responsibility on you than I should. You’re so mature in so many ways, that I sometimes forget you’re just a little girl. As we welcome this new baby into our lives, I promise to do my best to remember to let you be little, too. As I’m realizing, these years pass by so quickly, and as much as I love and appreciate the maturity and independence you’re developing, I also love the imagination and the free spirit and the magic that comes with being little. So, let’s hang onto that for another year longer.
My sweet Abby, four years ago, my world became a brighter place when you made me a mama. For the last four years, I’ve been amazed by you, and I know that I will continue to be amazed by all you do - proud of you, inspired by you, encouraged by you and the kindness you carry everywhere you go. On your fourth birthday, I hope you feel all of the happiness you make me feel, and I hope you know just how amazing you are. I love you, sis.
Love,
Mama
xxx