Dear Alexis,

FOUR! Can you believe it? Of course you can. You've been anxiously awaiting this day essentially since your last birthday. I'm not real happy that you went out and found that flux capicitator and magic juju that allowed you to fast forward time through the past year, but I'll forgive it because you have enjoyed this day more than Meg enjoys sleep.

Speaking of sleep, this is the year that I finally came to terms with something--you don't need sleep. I keep saying it because I find it so incredibly hard to believe. I mean, what's not to love about sleep? It's really my most favorite thing in the world. Besides you, that is.

You are, in every way, my little buddy. You had to be forcibly evicted four years ago as you had absolutely no interest in doing anything but drop-kicking my lungs and punching my bladder for the rest of your life. Now you've spent the past four years trying to find a way back in. I could say you are like a gangrenous growth that is constantly attached around my body, but I prefer to think of you as "cuddly." Very, very cuddly. (Secretly, I love every second of it. If I told you that now, though, you'd probably hire a plastic surgeon to just finish off the permanent attachment. We'll stick with me telling you to "find a hobby" instead.)

When you aren't busy trying to find your way back into my womb, you're running around belting out the songs in your heart. If you hear a song once, you own it. You will sing it, you will dance to it, you will be it. It's absolutely fantastic when the Song of the Day is something from High School Musical, but not so much when it's Opeth. My current favorite is when you start yelling, "BOOM BOOM POW" because there's nothing quite as funny as a short person declaring, "You're jackin' my style."

Simply put, nobody could ever jack your style.

You have an amazing style that is all your own, from the way you dress to the way you carry yourself day-to-day. With your heart in your pocket, you seek to make the world a better place, and you're doing it on your own terms. You enjoyed helping me select toys for some kids in need so much at Christmas that every shopping trip is now filled with requests like, "Can we buy this for the kids who don't have a lot of toys like me?" That giving heart is going to take you great places some day.

I can't wait to go those great places with you.

I love you, kid, and don't you ever forget it.

Happy birthday, Alexis. I hope Four is your greatest year ever.

Love,

Your Sleep-Deprived but Completely in Love with You Momma