You have developed quite the Southern accent over the past few months. It's not Marianna. It's the uber cute little blonde friend in your preschool class who sounds like the classic Southern Belle. You've changed your speech pattern to match hers. And it's HYSTERICAL. Aaaaaand kind of annoying. Because I have to muster extra brain cells to translate from Southern Belle to Normal Folk talk. Case in point:
Me: What would like to drink, peach?
You: Hmmm ... I think I mat like some aaaassss water.
Me: EXCUSE ME? What did you say?
You: [have zero clue why I just started yelling] Uh, I just said I mat like some aaaaassss water.
Me: [thinking in my head] Okay, let's translate to Normal Folk talk. 'Mat' means 'might'. And let's hope for her sake that she did NOT just ask for THAT kind of water. She must mean ice water. And just happens to sound like a debutante.
Me: [out loud] You'd like some ice water?
You: Yes! That's what I said!
Me: Nooooo, you said aaaaassss water. Let's say aye-ssss water.
You: Well, I like saying like aaaaassss water.
Me: I see. And that's a problem.
Here's a simpler version:
You: Good nat, Momma!
Me: Huh?
You: Good nat!
Me: You mean, good niiiiiight?
You: I like saying like this: 'nat'
Your current favorite show is Peg + Cat (it's 100% adorable, so it wholeheartedly gets the Mom Seal of Approval). One of the things Peg does is count by 2s. You asked what she was doing and I explained that she was counting every other number (I figured there was no need to explain that the numbers also had to be divisible by two). You cocked your head to the side and thought about it for a second. Then you were all, "Like, two ... um, four ... six ... uh, eight ... and ten?" (You then kept going all the way until 30). Um, yeah, kid. Just like that. Side note - I like being smarter than you. I can't keep being smarter than you if insist on catching onto concepts this quickly. Keep this up and I'll make you memorize the 50 states in alphabetical order. (I've tried, but after 22 years, I still can't get un-memorize that).
You're all about 'the law'. I have no clue where this 'law' came from but it royally defies any and all logic. If I tell you to brush your teeth before Charlie has brushed his teeth, you fall apart and sob "But Charlie hasn't brushed HIS teeth! It's the LAW that I go SECOND!" If I come to your pretend school and you suddenly realize that I don't have a desk but I try to shrug it off, you wail "But you HAVE to have a desk! It's the LAW! I'll go to JAIL if you don't have a desk!" It would appear that you think that jail is full of rule-breaking four-year-olds. Rule-breaking four-year-olds who brushed their teeth first and whose mothers didn't have a desk at make-believe school.
When I picked you up from school the other day, your teacher came up to me and said "I have GOT to tell you what Natalie did." (That sentence always makes me nervous, by the way). At chapel that day, the teacher asked if anyone wanted to lead the prayer. Well apparently you jumped at the opportunity to pray. You ran right up to the front of the room and, according to the teacher, you "prayed like a grownup". Daddy hadn't been feeling well that week and during your prayer, you asked God to touch Daddy's body and help him feel better. When I heard that, I just wanted to squeeze the stuffins out of you. I was so proud of you. We pray a LOT in our house (because living with two young kids? I either pray or go crazy/crazier) and it delights me to know you're actually absorbing something when we pray. Because most of the time, you fidget or pick the fuzz off your socks or whine because praying takes SO LONG or get in trouble because you insist that you don't know how to be still for 30 seconds.
As you inch closer and closer to five, I inch closer and closer to the time I had intended on stopping these monthly recaps for you. I thought, "I get how babies change from one month to the next, so I definitely want to write monthly recaps when the Smithkids are babies. But I'll probably stop when they turn five. Because how interesting could a four-year-old be from month to the next?" I'll tell you, self. VERY INTERESTING. While I'm not 100% sure I'll keep up with them, I'm 99.8% sure I will. You're too funny not to document. While you might not learn something major from one month to the next, I'm almost guaranteed from you a story that either leaves me in stitches or brings me in tears (or both). You are such a treasure, my sweet doll, and I cherish the memories you've allowed our family to experience. You sweet thang, you.
Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy
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Headlines for November 1, 2013:
- 'Panicking' families brace for billions in cuts to food-stamp benefits
- Midwives sometimes better than doctors, study says [Your mommy agrees!]
- How the NSA snoops: What happens when you hit 'send' on your email
- Cocaine smuggled in pumpkins at Montreal airport
- Boston Red Sox Win World Series!
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