Dear Emme,
You are officially 4 years old. You have started to settle into your personality, which is a bit larger than life. You're full of contradictions, shy and boisterous, rowdy and dainty, dramatic and subdued. Just when someone tries to peg you, you change. Even finding a song to reflect this past year for your slide show was a challenge. The words for all that you are have not been compiled into one piece of music. So, I chose an instrumental piece called Ode to a Butterfly. I think that fits.
Emme, you adore going to preschool and just delight in each new experience. Ms. Melissa is one of your favorite people ever and you cozy up to her like she's your second mama. Complete entitled ownership and a hundred percent assurance that you are loved and wanted in her lap and arms. Props to you and Ms. Melissa for pulling that off without excluding the rest of the class.
You love to make people laugh, Emme. It brings you great joy to put on a silly face and get a giggle from someone. You're also a fan of the dramatic entrance, the beauty queen wave and theatrical emotions. If I had a dime for each time you've exclaimed, "Oh No!" with a staged gasp and grand gestures, we'd have college knocked out for you. I won't be a bit surprised to see you take the leads in musical theater (and life in general). You've got a gift and a penchant for the spotlight.
Another abiding love of yours is dance. This year you discovered The Nutcracker and just can't get enough of it. Emme, you listen to the music several times a week; page through a picture book of the ballet; practice the dancers' poses from the book; absorb the ballet itself on our dvd recording and just love every aspect. But you're no dance snob. You love it all. Each dance you observe is studied and replicated to the best of your abilities. And you've got skills! You're a natural and a quick study, to boot. Tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, ballroom... I've seen you imitate them all. Dance lessons are on your horizon, darling girl.
Oh, Emme, you have such a sweet spirit. There is a deep well of kindness inside of you that bubbles forth. You are so incredibly helpful because you just love to be available and give of yourself. The ways you observe and take mental notes when you see a need to be filled is amazing. If you don't have a chance to take action immediately, you wait and step in the next time the need is present. I think that's such an advanced ability and I'm so very proud of your precious heart.
I've been greatly privileged to watch your imagination take flight this past year. It is extraordinary! You role play and create elaborate scenarios with ease and great delight. My personal favorite is switching places. You get to be mama and I'm Emme. You are such a doll and so patient when you're playing 'Mama'. I test you and you never hit the wall; bringing me blankets, singing songs, reading stories, extra kisses, snacks, cups of water, more covers... Really! I'm a pill. And you, darling girl, help me see myself through your eyes and make me want to be all that you believe and more.
This year, Emme, you learned to use the potty. You did it in one day and never looked back. You also figured out that your ticket to the universe is a tall step stool. There is nothing you won't or can't access yourself, though you are polite enough to ask permission (sometimes while in progress or afterwards). You are miss independence...unless there's a strange man in the vicinity. That's your shy-kryptonite. Not such a bad thing, I think. You hide behind me and whisper over and over, 'don't be shy. don't be shy'. Emme, it's ok to be shy or need to borrow a little courage. You're brave without being reckless. It's a valuable thing to have a little internal caution.
Emme, you've worked hard this year in speech therapy. The words and ideas are all there, you just have a little trouble getting it all out in a comprehensive sentence. But it doesn't slow you down a bit. Your mind is so intriguing. I love listening to you string thoughts together, finding patterns, making connections, building your imaginative repertoire. You are decoding three and four letter words now and have an arsenal of sight recognition words. Though, you still rely on us or Ruby to have a story read, you're capable of working through some beginning readers yourself. However, you much prefer to draw. Quiet moments throughout the day often find you seated in your art corner, sketching faces and practicing letters. I watched you run to grab a magnadoodle board the other day and sketch different scenes from a television show. As the story changed, you wiped the board and began a new sketch of the revised story. Your movements were fast and sure and the scenes I saw unfold on the magnadoodle completely made sense because I saw what you were sketching. Unbelievable! How do you know how to do that?
You are a treasure, precious Mary Elizabeth. I am so incredibly proud of you and the little lady you are becoming. You can do anything and be anything you want. I believe that with all my heart. No matter how things change I hope you always want to snuggle with me first thing in the morning and ask for whispered secrets every night before sleep. I pray you grow with grace into confidence and integrity full of patience and loving kindness. I love you Moses.
love,
Mama
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