Happy Birthday to my little spitfire,

Raising you has been an adventure!

See I thought I kinda had the 0-4 thing down since your brothers made it that far, but I was so wrong. Raising you has been a completely new adventure.

Here’s the thing about raising girls, I know a little bit about what is going on in your head and where you’re headed and that scares me.

You my dear are strong willed, focused, and stubborn. Those traits are admirable, but maybe a tiny bit difficult to handle when I am all those things myself.

You are so aware of the situation it is almost scary. I can say something quietly to your dad or brothers and you will overhear and shout the answer back. This morning your brother asked where his swimsuit was, I don’t even know where you were but you responded matter of factly- “It’s on your bathroom floor under the wet towels”. How did you know that? And for real why are there wet towels on the bathroom floor?

You have the possibility to be anything. You’re so smart and savvy. You grasp things quickly and even more than that, you know how to apply what you’ve learned to your advantage. I hope you grow up to do ALL the things, and I hope your dad and I are there to make sure that you are able to do them without constantly worrying about how you’re going to juggle it all.

I hope you grow up to believe that people are basically good, but learn how to discern quickly who to trust and who to stay away from. Trust yourself. You need to be kind to everyone, but no one should take advantage of you.

I hope you see the importance of female friends. I worry that there are things you’ve missed as the younger sister of two brothers. but this is one lesson I want you to learn. I want you to learn that there is power in female friendships that can’t be found in other relationships. I hope you grow up knowing that needing your girlfriends doesn’t mean that any of the other relationships in your life are any less important.

I love that you take joy in creativity. You love to make things, really anything. It can be something in the workshop with dad, in the kitchen, at your craft table, or out of sticks in the backyard. You are always creating something and I love this.

I hope you keep speaking your mind every day. Your voice cannot be silenced at our house no matter how much your brothers try. I hope you keep the same passion and belief in the importance of what you have to say as you enter classrooms, workplaces, with friends, and in your own family some day.

I hope you continue to ask for help as you grow up. It’s hard to find people to help you in the way you need to be helped, I love that at 4 you know exactly what you want and tell people exactly how to help you.

I hope that you remember that perfection isn’t possible. You get frustrated when things don’t turn out just right, but I hope you can remember that it’s ok that it isn’t “right”.

I hope you continue to have the same level of self esteem. I know the day will come when the world knocks you down and tells you that you aren’t good enough, but I hope you’re strong enough to brush that crap off and hold your ground. You are good enough. Trust me, you are. I hope that despite the crumminess you will see, you remember that you are awesome!

I hope you can keep the eye roll and “you’ve got to be kidding me” attitude going. The world needs more self confident girls who stand their ground.  We need more girls who speak up, who recognize injustice and fight to change it, and who plow ahead because that’s what needs to be done. I don’t doubt that if you are able to keep this side of you alive and well you will be a force to be reckoned with as you get older.

We love you tons and tons, you’ve got this my dear, you don’t know what “this” is, but trust me, I know some of it, and you’ve got this under control.