Charlotte turns 4.  My heart couldn’t love this girl any more.  She is definitely our sugar and spice and everything nice.  When we quoted that line four years ago to announce our first baby was a girl, I had no idea how true those words would be.  Some days Charlotte is pure sugar.  I love it when her sweet side comes out and she says how much she loves me or how grateful she is to be my daughter.  I also completely melt when she takes Johnny by the hand and talks to him in a “mother’s tone” as she tries to teach him something.  Sometimes she squeezes me too hard and expresses herself so eloquently while saying “this is the best day ever”.  She also loves to get silly and laugh really hard.  A current pastime in the car is telling jokes.  For instance, she will say how does a tree talk?  And then proceed to laugh really hard.  (Her audience is an easy one, Johnny and I will laugh at about everything she does.)   I totally get her when a song comes on she really likes – she closes her eyes and will just dance.  Man, I love this girl.

But when I say there is spice, oh boy… let’s call it caliente.  While she exhausts me, outsmarts me, negotiates the heck out of me, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Charlotte is far from simple and far from a push over.  There is always an opinion and a way to do things Charlotte’s way.  I rack my brain on an hourly basis trying to decide when to let her run the show and when to pick my battle.  It begins with how we make pancakes or the type of egg she would like and then proceeds into the level her juice needs to be poured.  It continues when choosing an outfit while negotiating the right shoes for the weather that day.  It is never a simple or quick conversation.  Once we finally get in the car, she likes to number off about 3-8 things she did really well in the last 30 minutes which is why she deserves that many candies.  At some point I just yes, of course, Charlotte.  Her questions are usually extremely thoughtful and heavy which in turn requires the right reply.  I sometimes fail while completely frustrating her because I can’t explain the difference between North America and America or why there is a McDonald’s flag next to the American flag.  Then there is the whole conversation about the moon lately and why you need a space suit because oxygen and gravity don’t exist in outer space.  She currently wants to be three things when she grows up – an astronaut, a music girl, and famous.  Heaven help me…  And to think she just turned four.  I’m extremely nervous for 14.

Then there is nice.  One day, Charlotte started crying in the car when she heard the song “Clementine” for the first time.  It absolutely broke my heart as I had to explain that she wasn’t really “lost and gone forever”, that it was just a song.  She also has become quite a caring older sister.  When I ask her to go grab a snack, she will always make sure to get one for Johnny as well.  When Johnny gets hurt, she will automatically give up her blankie or a stuffed animal to ease his pain.  I love it when she sincerely asks John and I how our date was or how the party went.  She truly is thoughtful and caring.  Her head is full of happy and complex thoughts… and totally innocent.  This is where I could just cry my eyes out thinking about her changing any bit.  I adore Charlotte and love to spend time with her.  She really is the most interesting person I know, and I get to call her my daughter.  Happy 4th birthday, Charlotte.

Below is Charlotte’s unicorn rainbow birthday party (per her request).  She was in heaven to have her friends and family come over for a perfect afternoon on April 3rd to celebrate.  Thank you to all that love and support Charlotte.

(p.s. she decided to get her face painted as a wolf… naturally, a wolf unicorn is the most magical creature anyone could come up with.)

Charlotte’s first bike ride with her new bike.