Our youngest turned four last week. She is thriving. I have said it before: she is by far the most observant of our three kids. Her memory is amazing and she’ll recall the smallest details from events that happened months ago. She keeps mental tabs on the last location of her preferred toys and knows if her favorite articles of clothing are clean or dirty and if those clothes are at our house or Grandma’s house. She has long, skinny legs, rich brown hair, and bright blue eyes just like Simon. And as the 18 month mark of Simon’s passing approaches, it’s hard to believe our sweet baby lost her father while she was still in diapers and just learning to form sentences.

We indulged her every wish for her birthday since her wishes were so simple and attainable. She had Sprite and french fries from Chick-Fil-A for breakfast. She spent the morning at Knott’s Berry Farm with me and Jason, lavishing in the attention of briefly being an only child. She is finally tall enough for a majority of the rides and, like her brother and sister, is a thrill seeker that exhibits no fear. On our way home, we picked up a cake with rainbow colors on it to match her birthday present request of a rainbow blanket. She also wanted a pinwheel. Done and done.

That night, we had a small family party with a My Little Pony theme. The birthday girl requested rice and chips for birthday dinner but we just couldn’t get on board there. We compromised with pizza and salad. In addition to her rainbow blanket and pinwheel, she was given a variety of new clothes, which she loves. The girl doesn’t mind hand-me-downs, but she squeals with delight when something is all hers.

Sweet baby girl, it will be years before you truly understand all that has happened in your life, but I hope love is the dominant feeling that exists alongside other emotions. You are so, so loved.