To honey boo boo on her 4th birthday

To my sweet, sweet 4 year old baby girl.

As mentioned over and over again, you are our WHIRLWIND! Feisty, sassy, independent, strong willed - those don't even dent the surface of YOU. From night one with mommy and daddy, 4 years ago exactly, we've been in "how do we handle this?" mode. You rushed into our world knowing exactly what you want, always waiting for us to get on YOUR level. It's one of the traits I admire the most about you - willing things into the way you think they should be. From the way you idolize brother and say the name "Carter," to your proclivity for pajamas at all hours of the day, you are just the sweetest little fire ball we ever did see.

3 was such a great year for you, so I have to record some of the highlights as we move into the big F O U R:

1. How well and strongly you took to Snow! Oh man, talk about a dog person!!!! Cheek pinches, smothering cuddles and extreme adventures in training are your thing, girl. I just love looking into the kitchen where you're standing in ONLY undies, holding a piece of turkey and telling Snow to give you his "love paw!" Gaaaaaah!

2. Aforementioned pronunciation of "CARTER!!!" Holy cow. There is nothing sweeter than this. It's like every "r" sound is very strong. Carrrrrrterrrrr!!! It can be in a loving tone of voice or in an ughhhhhhh type of way. The bond between you and big brother is the absolute best.

3. Today during your first pedicure of all time. So yes, this didn't exactly happen when you were 3, but OMG. So darn precious. I will never forget how you kept looking over at me and blowing kisses. You picked out your neon purple, then proceeded to tell me that the pink I had selected wasn't bright enough, so "here you go." I'm now donning Baywatch nails. It's freaking awesome.

4. Watching you make friends I had nothing to do with! Bella and Valentina are mentioned constantly around here and it's amazing. The girls in your dance class? I love hearing about them! So cute and fun!

It's such a pleasure watching you grow! And let me tell you, I almost cried 1,000 times today thinking about how our BABY is 4. FOUR! How has this happened? I love it (but wouldn't mind a baby Kota snuggle here and there :)