she’s four.
Today my baby girl is four. 1:04 am, to be exact.
I’m not one to get super sappy on birthdays — I almost try to make myself more emotional about it, but that’s just not me. But this year – goodness, I made it that far without crying — this year four is hitting me hard.
As I put her to bed last night, I said to her, “can you believe that when you wake up you will be four years old?”
“This week? This week, mommy!?”
“Yes! Tomorrow of THIS week!”
I wish you could have seen her face light up. That conversation happened about 4 more times, each time her excitement was the same: super excitement.
That’s the thing about this girl, she radiates joy. She genuinely gets overjoyed about the tiniest things.
She loves hard, and she’s as stubborn as they come.
She practices crying in the mirror. No, I’m not kidding.
I’m jealous of her imagination — and her hair color.
She loves people. Everyone is her friend and her empathy for others blows me away.
She remembers so many details, I often ask her to remind me of important things because I know she won’t forget!
She picked out a book to read last night: it was an instagram photo book from blurb that I made for her when she was about 18 months old. It doesn’t have any text, so we looked through it and I told her about so many goofy things she did and said. We talked about how bald she was and how she had two teeth just like Jonesy does. It was so bittersweet seeing photos in our old apartment and our first house in Pittsburgh — strange how familiar yet foreign they looked.
Last night, I prayed with her and then thanked her for making me a mommy. She asked me if I was getting old — I assured her I was trying not to! She looked at me and said, “I won’t let you get old mommy.” Ha! I’ll remind you of this when you are 14, Harlow. ;)
I’ve always been thankful for her, but this year my thankfulness is in a way that caught me off guard. She’s been my confidant and even my shoulder to cry on during the move and transition. I hate to admit that she’s been the one to see my frustration and exhaustion too. I’ve asked for her forgiveness so many times over these past few months — and I know it won’t be the last! She teaches me so much, I often wonder why I’m the mom. ;)
Harlow London,
You grow more beautiful by the day. I pray you never lose that sparkle in your eyes or your incredible giggle. Your personality draws people to you: I pray you draw people to Him.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously. – Micah 6:8b, The Message
We love you.
