Dear Miriam,

I can't believe another year has come an gone.  You are four already and it really seems like you were just born!  Cliche, maybe, but I really am amazed that I've been blessed with you for four years.  I love you more than words can say, but I will try anyway and tell you a few things about you while I am at it.

You are a performer and the star of the show.  You love the spotlight and despite some shy moments, you are ready and willing to show anyone and everyone just how smart, funny and entertaining you are.  You still love to sing, although you don't like when I catch you singing by yourself.  It's just so sweet that I love to sneak (hopefully unnoticed) to see you being truly yourself.

You never cease to amaze me with your intellect.  You memorize songs and scriptures and other phrases faster than I can and you remember them months and months later without any practice or recall in between.  It's astounding.  You love working to memorize the monthly Primary scripture so you can pass it off and earn a prize.  I think you would do it even without the prize because you just like to work that little brain of yours.

Another fun thing about your little brain is how observant you are.  You remember small details from many instances, some from over a year ago.  You always remind me about things from Grandma's house, Rexburg, old friends.  Sometimes you just point out things around town that I haven't even thought to look at.  You help me slow down and notice the world around me that I'm sometimes to busy to see.  I love that you remind me to do this often.  I hope you always will.

You have always enjoyed puzzles and games, but now you are getting good at them.  You can outsmart me at memory any day.  And you also love Hi Ho Cherry-O and Cootie.  You do 24 and 25 piece puzzles all by yourself and you can do a 48 piece puzzle if I sit by you.  You don't really need my help, I think you just like that I'm playing with you, and I love to play with you too, so it works out pretty well.

You still love to help in the kitchen.  You have become quite the master pourer and mixer.  You really enjoy when I let you crack the eggs, but I don't always have the patience for those messes, so that will probably stay a special treat for a few more years.  Your favorite things to help with are breakfast foods (waffles, pancakes, crepes and muffins) and bread.  You're not at all interested when chopping and/or sauteing vegetables is involved though.

Recently, you have taken to drawing.  You've never been very interested in anything artistic until a few months ago.  Now you draw people and animals all the time.  I love your artwork.

A recent drawing of someone.  I love the arm out of the head and all the hair.

You still despise clothes.  You wear them when we go out, of course, but at home it is nearly impossible to keep you dressed for even a few hours.  I've tried all sorts of ways to keep you modest to no avail.  Hopefully one day you will change your mindset about how hot/itchy/annoying clothes are because it is a lot easier to blog when I have pictures of a little girl with clothes on.

Your favorite toy is still your dollhouse, with your dolls as a close second.  You love to play "house" with all your people.  You create different situations and activities for them and play all the different characters.  It is fun (and sometimes quite the eye-opener) to listen in on how you hear things.

You've been learning to read and excelling at it.  I'm not really that surprised because you've known the alphabet since before you entered nursery and your vocabulary has always been years ahead of your peers.  You love to talk and you love to be read to, so learning to read is a natural fit for you.  You love and beg for your daily lessons, even on weekends when I'm hoping for a break!    Sometimes you get frustrated when things are a little bit difficult, but you always buckle down and figure it out.  I hope you'll always remember to keep trying when things get harder.  Learning new things will always pose a challenge, but you are so smart, I know you can take on anything.

You are just as sweet as the day you were born.  Openly defiant at times, yes, but still so spunky and energetic.  I love our morning snuggles and play times throughout the day.  I am so blessed to be your mother and to have you as my oldest, guinea pig child.  You are so forgiving of my many faults and mistakes.  You help me be so much better of a person.  I love you, sweet pea.  I am such a lucky mom to have YOU for my daughter.