Dear Ry Ry,
Four?!?!? Noooooo!!! I can't believe my little 5 pound 1 ounce preemie baby is 4-years-old. Where has the time gone? Seriously, not to be dramatic but I can't believe it!!! You are a precious, precious little girl and have grown up so much in the last year.
I think you are just beautiful and when I catch myself telling you that I always add that the most beautiful thing about you is that you are pretty on the inside. And that is true about you-I'm not just saying that. You are so very sweet and loving-especially to your sister, dolls, and stuff animals. Mrs. Oster says that you talk about Charley alot at school and worry about her when she is sick. You pray every day and one day when Charley had a rough morning before school you prayed that she would feel better (at prayer-time at school). When we pray at night if she is taking antibiotics you pray that she won't have to take medicine anymore. It's just the most precious thing ever. I think I witnessed the sweetest thing ever and the best moment of my life two nights ago on Charley's birthday. After she blew out her candle you jumped out of your chair and ran to her chair and gave her the biggest hug. It was so spontaneous and just pure joy and love for your sister. The other day when it was just you and me you said that you wished Charley was there. I asked why and you said "because I love her." I hope and pray that you all will be close friends throughout your life and that you will always have each other (trust me, when you figure out how dysfunctional your parents are you'll need each other more than you know:)
Mrs. Oster also has said many, many times how "neat" you are. She says that you are advanced in what you are doing at school and very focused for your age. She said that you are able to work on a "work" until completion and you don't hop from activity to activity. The only thing we need to work on is "flexibility." Hmmm...not sure where you learned to be inflexible?
Mrs. Tucker said this week that you are so confident. She said that you just hop right in on what the kids are playing outside and fit right in. Since you are one of the very youngest that is apparently impressive. As I think I have blogged before, Mrs. Oster said before that you know who you are and what you want to do. I'm so proud of you for being confident. I hope that you will be able to always be confident because you are God's child you have every reason to be. Mrs. Oster also says that you have a love of learning that is not usual for your age. You like to ask Mommy and Daddy questions like "what do zebras eat?" and "why do the leaves turn colors in the fall?" You are of the new generation because when Daddy and I don't know the answer, you say "look it up on your phone." Ha! We do try to look up the things you ask about so that you will learn to stay interested in learning. We met with Mrs. Oster and a speech therapist (you did fine on your evaluation) and Mrs. Oster said you were the "perfect" child. We were so proud of you but want you to know we will always love you even if you are NOT the perfect child! We want to help you become who God has in mind for you to be...not who we want you to be.
This year (since August) you have learned to read. I can't believe my little baby girl can read. You read a Bob book every night and for your birthday you get the second set because you can read the first set so well.
You have a great imagination. You pretend alot-mostly that you are a princess, baby kitten, or baby puppy. Usually when you pretend, you have me pretend that I am "Ryan." You will randomly yell through the house "Ryan?" and I immediately answer as Ryan because you do this so often. You like to pretend to be sick or a lost baby animal or you may mention that your parents are dead. I have no idea where that came from and I find it quite disturbing. You might say that your "Mommy is broken."
You love animals. All kinds. Real or stuffed. Big or little. Aunt Ashley and Uncle Aaron got you a veterinarian/princess/barbie lab coat for your birthday. You love it. I think you might want to be a veterinarian one day since you can't be an actual animal.
We say prayers every night. Your prayers fluctuate between "thank you for Mommy and Daddy" to longer ones that are so sweet. You have prayed for:
--the whole wide world we live in
--my baby sister, Charley
--for Charley to not be sick and not to have to take medicine
--all of our things to play with
--the children of Africa (you did that during your Africa theme)
--rain, food
You had your Open House at Hope Lutheran Friday night and it was on Africa. I was so proud of you. You knew just about every word to the songs and I loved "These are the Places in the World...some are near...some are far...." You named countries I had never heard of as well as Disneyland and Idaho. You loved the song "Glory Glory Hallelujah, he reigns." You go around singing about the Lord and I love it!! Today you seemed to be making up a song about Jesus and you went right into "this old man...he made four..." I'm so happy Jesus flits through your brain just like the nursery rhymes. You made so many crafts during the Africa unit including a mask with raffia hair (Mrs. Oster said the wildness of the raffia stressed you out), a marriage doll, another mask, a pottery bowl, and a book about Africa, Kenya, Lake Victoria, the Indian Ocean, and more.
Also this year (more recently) you have learned to write your name. I love it! It is so cute. You also continued your dance lessons. This summer you took swimming lessons and learned to swim under water. As the summer went on, though, you lost your interest in doing it. But, I bet next year you will be like a fish.
You have also been doing AWANAS Cubbies where you learn a Bible verse each week. You LOVE it. This seems to be your most favorite activity.
You also played in the 3-4 year soccer league this fall. You were always very willing to jump in the game when needed (which is alot when compared to the others your age). At the last game you finally kicked the ball a couple of times...it didn't go anywhere but you got brave enough to kick it. Mostly, you ran alongside the rest of the players who were actually kicking the ball. If the ball came your way you would step away and let it pass you by. You made sure you were on the outskirts. I recognize this strategy well from my 8th grade P.E. class playing basketball. I was so proud of you for playing hard and working so hard and having fun.
I could go on and on about all of the wonderful, sweet, and cute things you have done and said this past year. But, tomorrow we are leaving for San Francisco for a conference and then the Mulick Thanksgiving and I haven't finished blogging from our summer vacation. I think I only have one more segment to go. Note: you may notice that it is actually a few days past 11/13....I started this then and am now finishing it on 11/16:)
I love you so much!! You have made me a better person and are teaching my all about patience and extending grace, mercy, and love even when I want to scream my head off. I'm still learning this lesson so bear with me:)
I love you!!
Mommy
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