Dear Littles,

You turned 4 today.  I don’t even know how that happened.  Slow days, fast years.  When I think of other 4 year periods in my life, they were all slower.  High school seemed like it took an eternity.  College was quicker, but I got my 4 years worth.  My 4 years in TV was a slow grind.  The first 4 years of marriage seemed about right.  The first 4 years of your life?  It went by in the blink of an eye.  I’m sure I’ll say that every year though.

So here’s the deal.  You love Wonder Woman, absolutely love her.

You have dresses, sleep dresses, room decorations, stuffed animals, costumes, a lunch box, a back pack…all Wonder Woman.  It’s no surprise you love her because momma does too.   It also wouldn’t surprise me if you grew up to be a super hero; just like your mother.

You and your mom have so much in common.  You’re both incredibly smart.  I can’t believe the words that come out of your mouth sometimes.  You’ll use big words like “magnificent” and “incredible” and you’re always saying words and then telling us their definition.  You’ll say something like, “Mom, that dinner was delicious, that means good, right?”  Your brain is always working and absorbing.  Your mom and I joke that you’ll probably end up being an English professor.  I can’t wait to see how you use that talent.

You’re also very funny.  You tell two hilarious jokes.  The first one is, “Why are pirates always angry? Because they ARRRRRRRE!”  Mom taught you that one.  The second one is, “Want to hear a dirty word?  POLLUTION!”  Yeah, dad taught you that one.  You laugh and giggle after both of them.  You’ll tell them 5 times in a row and we’ll all laugh together.  It’s hilarious.  That means funny, right?

You do have a serious side.  You’ll go into your room and disappear for an hour.  You need that introvert time.  You’ll reappear with crafts you made, and pictures you have drawn, tucked into envelopes to give to your mom and me.  You’re handy with scissors, tape, and a glue stick.  You love to cut out pictures from magazines and make collages.  They’re very creative.  I think you get that from me.

You love to sing and dance.  It’s not uncommon to hear you playing with your stuffed animals or walking down the hall and you’ll be humming a tune, only you know.  You sing the Lord’s Prayer to us on most nights and use a different tune every night.  It always starts with, “Our Faaaaaaaaather, who art in heaaaaaaaaaven,” before you break off into a different tune, and it always ends with “Ah ah ah ah ah ah aaaaaaaa-men.”  I’ve recorded a number of them.  I can put on any vinyl on the record player and you’ll tell me you like the song.  You do give me requests from time to time like “Rocketman” and “the Hungry song” (that would be “Hungerstrike” by Temple of the Dog).  You love to dance and you love it when I twirl you.  We even have a little routine where you spin in, then out, then in, then out, and then you run and jump into my arms and I spin you around like a couple of fancy ballroom dancers.

Your favorite song is still “the Shrek song,” or as it’s really called, “All-Star” by Smash Mouth.

Whenever we’re in the car, you ask me to play it.  The funny thing is, I remember when I bought that CD.  I was on a road trip from Chicago to Orange City, IA.  I was 20 years old.  I’d like to go back in time and see the look on my 20-year-old self’s face when I told him that in 19 years he would have a daughter who would request this song, almost daily.  I don’t think I would have believed him.

You’re an awesome big sister, and you absolutely love your little sister.  She wants to do everything you’re doing and sometimes that annoys you.  Most of the time you play really well together and you do such a good job of sharing your stuff with her.  Your little sister’s favorite place is your room.  It’s going to be so much fun to watch you grow up together.  I’m sure you’ll have your fights, but I’m also sure you’ll be thick as thieves and plot against your mother and me.  One of the funny things you do is when your sister is whining about something, you’ll say, “Wah wah, JoJo.”  The other day she was in the living room and you were in your room.  She started whining about something and from all the way down the hall I hear this faint, “Wah wah, JoJo.”  I laughed so hard.  When the dust settles you love your sister and she wants to be just like you.

The most amazing thing about you is your compassionate and kind heart.  That makes you so beautiful.  Oh sure, you love to wear princess dresses, put on lip gloss, get manicures and pedicures with mom, and have your hair braided.  You’re beautiful on the outside, but what makes you beautiful is on the inside.  You care about people and their feelings.  You can tell when one of us is having a bad day and you ask us about it.  You go out of your way to share your stuff.  You’ll “earn” a treat by eating a good dinner, only to share your treat with us.  Tonight, on your birthday, a friend of ours gave you two amazing Elsa dresses, one for your size right now and one for when you get bigger.  We told you how fortunate you were to get two dresses and without any hesitation, you suggested we give one away.  We love reading Bible stories at dinner and at bedtime and we love hearing you talk about God and how he lives in your heart.   That’s so evident by the way you treat people.

Before you were born, I couldn’t imagine what life would be like with a little girl; now, I can’t imagine what life would be like without my little girl.  Your mom and I are so proud of you and so blessed God gave us you.  Please, don’t grow up too fast; but when you do, I just want you to know you’ll always be daddy’s little girl and we’ll always have a time to dance.

I love you, Pen.  Happy birthday.

Dadda