M has been looking foward to her 4th birthday for a long time. Probably ever since she turned 3. And my goodness, did she ever grow up in that minute between 11:59 and 12:00am, February 24th. I think the first words out of her mouth that morning were "Mom, I'm 4 now." Just as matter of fact and grown up as could be. She immediately washed her hands at the sink without the stool, reached up as high as she could on the bookshelf, and pointed out to me that her ponytail was a little longer now. I think she honestly believes she grew that much overnight. Not to mention all the priveleges she thinks she is entitled to now that she is 4. Virgil took her with him to work all day and to Burger King and Dairy Queen. She came home with a pack of gum, a Happy Meal toy, and a rather exalted opinion of herself. A few days later she was trying her usual bossing around with W. I sat her down and explained how that she was not his boss and she couldn't always think everyone had to play her way. Her reply? ... "Daddy told me I can do more things now because I'm 4." I don't think Virgil completely thought through that one before he said it. She definately took it as a license to do whatever she felt like at the moment.
For her party we let her invite 5 kids. Talk about a noisy mess. You get 7 little excited and high-pitched voices in a trailer for an hour and a half and you're glad birthdays only come once a year. We gave her a new bike and all the kids would take turns riding it down the hallway. The six kids that were not having their turn would go racing behind the rider all trying to loudly proclaim that it was their turn next. Ear plugs would have been appropriate.
It is sad for me in a way to see her growing up. It seems so fast. Soon she will not be a girl anymore, but a woman. Wow. Which reminds me of something else she said. "When I'm 14 I'm going to invite just girls to my party and when I'm 17 I will invite just boys." Can we just have time stand still for a while?
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