Dear Kenna,
You are FOUR! How did that happen?! Every year on your birthday we tell you about the day you were born and what we thought when we saw you for the first time. You and your sister were the teensiest babies I'd ever seen and I love you both with a love that still makes me well up with tears when I think about it. We adore you, Kenna Wenna Bing Bong.
This year has been a really busy year. You've visited Egypt, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and of course Saudi Arabia and the USA. You're a pretty good little traveler. When you are really tired you often have screaming fits that you can't easily calm yourself out of and occasionally make yourself sick and throw up which is not great but it happened less this year than in the past which has left us hopeful! You, like the rest of us, have a hard time shifting time zones and plugging along all day when you're tired but for the most part you're a traveling trooper. This year you did your first couple of presentations for our travel research projects and you enjoyed having your own little expertise.
You love learning new things and have fun demonstrating what you learn whether it's writing new letters you know on the sidewalk (you're favorite, for obvious reasons, is K), or showing us a picture you colored so meticulously and insisting that you need to hang it on your wall or that we need to hang it on our bedroom wall, or showing us new dance moves. You love to learn and get excited about gaining new abilities. We've been slowly easing you and your sister into workbook and letter flashcard time every day. Both of you push back a bit when MOM wants to teach you something so we've been babystepping into that and you've finally hit your stride. You love cutting practice pages and are getting to be quite the meticulous little writer too. I hope that need you have for details stays with you in your schooling.
You and your sister were potty trained a few months after your third birthday and it almost broke us all. Taryn dug in her heels for various reasons and refused to care because it was hard. You were so very emotional about the whole process it was a little maddening and also heartbreaking. You would NOT go to the bathroom alone. But once we went to the bathroom you were so afraid to push out poop or let your pee go that it was just torturous to watch. We'd go to the bathroom like it was a terrifying emergency over and over only to get there and have you jump off cheerfully insisting that you're actually fine. It took you a lot of successes before you could trust us that you wouldn't get hurt and that having control of this situation could actually be freeing and not imprisoning. So glad that situation is behind us. There are still days when we're not quite there but you're really trying and girl, it's hard to ever be mad at you when you're trying because you want so much to please us.
You love your sister. You can get her riled up faster than anyone else but you also are aware of her in a way I don't know if even you understand. When she's having a bad day you cheer up and try your best to tow the line and help me out. And when she's having a good day you take your turn testing boundaries or letting loose. It's so interesting to me that you two seem to take turns with each other as if you both know that I can't handle two melting toddlers all day. Of course, that happens once in a while but for the most part you two give each other the space to deal with your struggles. You guys can fight like cats and dogs but just in recent months you've become so much better at playing together. Recently you'll just disappear into an imaginary game and play together so sweetly for hours. It's not every day but these times are such a gift to me to watch you love each other and adapt to each other's suggestions for play. You're both very strong little girls and seeing you develop abilities to be flexible has been so great.
I'm not sure how you survive day to day let alone grow based on how much you eat every day. You love every kind of fruit. You'll eat at least 1 banana every day, usually 2. They're your favorites. You love yogurt drinks and almond/date energy balls. You've decided you don't like bread so sandwiches are out and you don't like pizza either and most breakfasts are a little tricky that way. You'll eat your waffles or pancakes throughout the morning if I leave them on the table but you're just not starving enough to put them away right away and you don't love them. You skip dinner most nights. Once in a while you'll surprise us by gobbling down something we have for dinner but most of the time you just pass.
You love to help in the kitchen. Throwing things in the blender and turning it on for our morning shake is your favorite job and if I start it up before you're out of bed you come down the stairs or hallway screaming that you want to help. How could I do that without you?! You're always up for making treats to share or writing notes to cheer someone up. You're a real sweetheart, Kenna. Ever since you were a baby you've been my deep feeler. You feel things so much deeper than your siblings and it almost looks painful sometimes. You like things just so and when you inevitably misplace some tiny toy you've been carrying around, or can't find a specific crayon you want, or don't get the exact number of grapes you want, you are completely broken in two. It's adorable and traumatizing at the same time because it's sometimes tricky to talk you down again. You don't always show the deep embarrassment and guilt when you get in trouble but it's there just under the surface as you put on a stubborn face. You want to be loved and snuggled and hugged and cheered for and when you do something disappointing you feel it deeply.
We moved to a new house just a month ago and I think you've adjusted really well. You're still sharing a room with your sister and we'll eventually bunk your beds. You struggled at first to get to sleep and stay asleep in a new space but you've adjusted. I think all the extra space so you and your sister can find different places to get away from each other once in a while has been a help. We all really miss our cul-de-sac though and you miss our old house. Just a week ago we were driving past our old place and you asked, "Mom, is someone new going to move into our house?" Yeah, baby they are. "And when they are tired of it can we please have it back?" Oh that broke my heart. We moved into our house on 7th Court when you were 9 months old. It's where you learned to crawl and walk and run and dance and it was sad to leave it. But we'll make equally lovely memories together in this new place though.
You've got a musical soul, Kenna. You cannot hold still when you hear music playing and if there is any character in the music you'll be running for a costume so you can sing and dance in character. Your dramatic facial expressions and cape swishing and dizzying twirls are so endearing. You love to sing and try really hard to listen to the words over and over again so you can get them in your head and sing them by yourself all day long.
You're a little bookworm. We clean up and put away every day but throughout the day you just grab books off shelves and out of boxes and by the end of the day you've carried and looked at and spread books around the whole house. You spend your quiet time every day pouring over books and singing and playing with toys so happily all by yourself. You seem to really enjoy that time recharging on your own and I often find you "reading" stories to yourself out loud. You're going to be a busy little reader because you can't get enough of new stories.
You love playing with anything tiny. We got you guys a little doll house and the teensy things inside were so wonderful to you. You especially loved the tiny toilet and the tiny toilet brush. You carried those around for days obsessively scrubbing the tiny toilet all day. That's your favorite real cleaning chore too. You and Taryn argue over who's turn it is to clean the toilet. So funny. You also love your little pop beads and shopkins. Anything tiny makes your heart so happy. You could also do crafts from craft kits every day. I brought some home for different holidays and you're always so bummed when the kits are gone so we have to jump on pinterest and find new little projects to do.
Kenna you are a darling little miss. You love people. You have thrived in Sunbeams so far this year and you are going to do great in K4 next Fall. You are so ready for school. Hopefully we can get you in a little dance class too because that would make your life complete. I love the way you twirl in any skirt or dress we put on just to see how much it floats. I love the way you write and color with tiny little cautious strokes. I love the way you run kicking your heels up because you think it's prettier. I love the serious look you give me when I give you the wrong answer, tipping your face down and looking up at me with those dark chocolate eyes over that tiny serious brow. You are going to do some incredible things with your life, sweet girl. I want to squeeze you all day long and I have loved these years with you and your sister at home and I'll miss you when you're in someone else's arms for a few hours each day next year. I am so glad you're my girl, Kenna baby.
Happy happy birthday, sweetie.
The world is yours.
Love,
Mom
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