A Whole Handful

My little baby turned five this week.  She gets to hold up a whole hand when asked how old she is.  She starts kindergarten in two weeks.  She's five.  I remember so clearly the instant she was born, and how she grabbed my hands and looked in my eyes, how perfectly she fit into my arms.  My beautiful baby, a five-year -old, a school-aged kid.  Oh, how I love her so.

Dearest Sofia,
Happy Birthday, sweetheart!  You love your birthday more than any other day in the year, and were planning this one back in February.  I love how excited you get - it is infectious.  You get that excited about lots of things, most of them much more mundane than birthdays.  You jump up and down and get your true smile stretching clear across your face and radiating through your body.  You get that excited about things like picking fresh garden tomatoes or that Amalia is playing with you, or that you get to take a bath.

You are so loving, my dear.  You always want to be on my lap, holding my hand, being as close to me as you can.  You give great hugs and kisses to Mommy and Daddy and Amalia.  You can be quite picky about who you give your love to and when, however.  Sometimes, you just don't want to say hello and be polite.  New situations and people you don't know very well always take you a bit of time to adjust, time when you like to be quiet and hiding, studying and gaining confidence.  Usually, if given enough time to warm up, you love people, especially in small groups or one-on-one.  You love to play and invent games and squeal and giggle.  You tend to get close to a particular person and want to spend all your time with them.  In Venezuela, you absolutely adored Julio's cousin's 12-year-old daughter Natascha, always playing happily with her.  You love to spend time with people you know well.  You are not as fond of visitors you don't know, even if they know you.

You are so smart, sweetie.  You are reading books now.  You ask such insightful questions, that I don't usually know the answer.  You want to look it up, to know, to understand.  You are so very curious, so anxious to find out how the world works.  You want to know why, always why.  How?  Your knowledge of the natural world, and of words and sounds are far beyond most kids your age.  I love how you always want to know, and always have a question.  More than one question, actually, and most of them are fantastic.  I can't wait to see how you do in school.  You loved 4K, getting to know other kids your age, playing on playgrounds and with friends and reinforcing knowledge that you already had.  According to your teacher, you did wonderfully in the classroom, but are a little bit slow.  Pokey Parra, in fact.  Not a surprise, as you do the same at home.  You always find something new to interest you, and can be easily distracted.  We registered for kindergarten on your birthday, and get to meet your teacher and see your classroom next Thursday, in preparation for your first day of school.

This year, you learned how to be a big sister.  Just nine days after your fourth birthday, you became a big sister with the birth of Amalia.  From day one, you have adored that role.  You always want to hold her, to hug her, to play with her.  You are enjoying now that she can respond and play with you, though that also makes it harder.  You are having some issues with jealousy now that she can share your toys and is starting to walk and talk.  Sometimes, you wish you were still a baby, though I remind you (and you remind me) that you are still and will always be Momma's baby.  I really love how much you love your sister, how you want to be helpful, and how much the two of you love each other.

You are my star, my first-born, my joy, my frustration, my pride, my darling.  I am so blessed to know you, to love you, to call you my daughter.  Happy fifth birthday,  honey.

Love,
Momma