rule of 4

Hi Sidra,

4 year old stats:
40in tall
35 lbs.
head 52cm

I wrote those stats a few days ago and I'm noticing the 40in height. We were at a swimming pool today that had a measuring device since you had to be 42in to go on the slide. According to that you were just 39in. I guess the main thing for our measure chart on the wall of your room is knowing how much you are growing.

Picture captions- 1) At your birthday party with your other guests. The hired entertainment, Nanna Banana is performing/engaging you and your friends. Your little sister really wants to be part of it isn't brave enough to get too close. 2) Zoo Lights!! 3) Your birthday party with your cousin Rachel and friend Isa (Isabella). Rachel is painting your hand. Isa is a friend from school. She's a couple of months older than you. 4) At Sunriver the night you opened gifts from the family, the day before your real birthday. Your uncle Frog is reading you one of your birthday cards while your uncle David looks on. 5) You are checking out the gift that made all the adults envious. A really cool Red Sox hoody. 6) You're playing in the snow at Sunriver. 7) This is what you did an awful lot of at Sunriver. Play with your new gift, the Leapster. By the time you read this it will be a relic on the scrap heap. Now, it's an almost cutting edge electronic toy that also teaches you a few things. You weren't feeling too sharp on most of the trip and this was a great occupier for someone who needed to save her energy. If you look close enough you can see that your cheeks are rosy- from your low grade fever.

Your birthday party was fun. The theme was "The Little Mermaid." There was entertainment and your cousin did some hand painting. Nanna Banana, the entertainer also painted a nose and whiskers on all the guests. Actually, you wanted the whiskers but not the nose. There was one incident that put a damper on the celebration. One of the activities was like 'pin the tail on the donkey' but was really 'put the crown on Ariel.' You were the first to try it and you did ok, but didn't reach high enough. It turned out that your crown was third closest to where it should be and you were upset. You went and stood in the corner until I came over and talked to you. You were upset that you didn't win. I told you that you can't win all the time and that third is pretty good and there will be darn happy you were 3rd instead of 10th. I don't think it sunk in too well but you did come out for the rest of the party. However, we now have Ariel on the wall at home and you frequently place her crown on her in the right spot, without a blindfold.

Another cool gift you got was from your Grandma. There's a story behind it. At her house she has a figurine with her birthstone on it. It's a girl in a dress holding a flower with the stone in the center of the flower. You've always been drawn to it and have wanted to take it home. Grandma resisted that and instead got you one of your own with your birthstone in it. Hers is blue, yours is white.

Just before the winter vacation ended you and I went to see Zoo Lights. It was really fun. I didn't have to prompt by saying 'wow, look at that' or anything because you were saying that. We went on the train, had hot chocolate and I didn't have to carry you very much. It was New Years Eve and I think that helped keep the crowd smaller. At one point we were walking on a path that was fenced on both sides and the fences were filled with lights and the trees above were all lit. You said, "We're surrounded by lights!"

Here's the videos uncle Ben took of us skating.






Love, Aba