Dear H,
The nursery rhyme is wrong. Boys are made up of "everything nice" too. Sure, they love frogs and snails and puppy dog tails as much as little girls, but they are also sweet beyond measure.
If we hadn't had you, I wouldn't have known that three-year-old boys are pure delight. Joy in fullness. Love with no bounds. I can truly, completely, honesty, deeply say that your first four years of life have been peaceful and FUN. Adding you to our family has never seemed hard (perhaps that comes a bit from being the fourth child). On the contrary, your presence adds lighthearted pleasure to our days.
Physically, you are athletic and strong - gliding around on your bike effortlessly and with speed that surprises onlookers. You run "super fast," often challenging your parents, siblings, and grandparents to races. This summer, we put you in a swim-to-survive class with Miss Susie. By the end of the two weeks, you were fearlessly leaping into the pool to your dad.
Verbally, people have always commented on your advanced vocabulary. You pronounce, understand, and use words of surprising depth and length. Having three older sisters undeniably helps with that. Even so, you are a consumer and connoisseur of books. You will sit with stacks of books, "reading" them with animation. Similarly, you will sit on our laps and listen intently as we read aloud - even for long books with plentiful text and few illustrations.
Emotionally, you are laidback and carefree, gentle and joyful, winsome as you explore the world with wonder. You are rarely mischievous or disobedient. In fact, you've never been one to "get into things" or to "have tantrums" - even as a toddler.
Your sisters adore you and shower you with attention. In turn, you love them and consider them to be your favorite friends and playmates.
You also love:
On our three-week road trip this summer, you proved to be just as much a road trip warrior as our oldest three - loving the time in the car and the wonder of new places. In South Dakota, you were harnessed up and went on an adventure course & zipline. After you got the hang of it, you jumped into that zipline with full confidence, arms hanging back, exhilarating in the speedy descent.
For food preferences, you've acquired your dad's love of cherries. You like plain cherries, but also cherry ice cream, cherry yogurt, etcetera. For your birthday, I baked up a steaming cherry crisp and we topped it with vanilla ice cream. Pa, Ma, and Gpo walked over and we sang to you.
Happy Birthday, H! As you turn four, may you continue to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18) and may your life bring Him glory both now and forever. Amen.
OF NOTE:
INTERVIEW & FAVORITE THINGS