Dear Livia,
Here are some stories about you.
You’re an amazing artist. You’re so creative. You work hard at your art, coloring for long periods of time, and you experiment with different techniques. Every time you hand us a piece of your artwork, there’s something that we can praise you for sincerely, no need to strain our brains to come up with false compliments. Your father and I are planning to frame some of your pictures.
You were mad at me one morning, though I don’t remember exactly why. It was time for breakfast, so I put cereal, milk, clementine slices, and yogurt in front of you and said, “Now you have everything a girl could wish for.” Apparently not. You looked me straight in the face and said, “I didn’t wish for you!” Ha-ha. I’m going to tell this story to your grammie, and she’s going to have a big laugh over it, because I used to be the same way (and maybe still am).
You talk about yourself in the third person sometimes, saying things like, “Noodle Doodle is here and she wants a hug from her Mommy!” Like your brother, you use numbers to express degrees of feeling. It’s really cute. For example, you once said, “The only people I love 100,000 are you and Daddy. I love everyone else 10. The only time I love Mommy and Daddy 10 is when you yell at me.”
I have a special song for cheering you up. I give you a hug and sing, “I give her huggy-hugs. I give her huggy-hugs. Cuz huggy-hugs always make her happier.” Sometimes when you’re feeling blue you ask me to sing the song to you.
You told us this morning that you do yoga at school. This was news to us, but if we had any doubts, you dispelled them immediately by demonstrating some poses. First you showed us a great version of the Windmill Pose. Every time you leaned to one side, you waved to the ceiling with the other hand and said, “Hi, Ceiling!” Then you turned off the light so you could show us the “Do-Nothing Doll,” which involved lying still on the floor for ten seconds. You practically bounced off the floor at the count of ten, because you were so eager to get back up and show us more of what you could do. You are full of energy and surprises!
Love,
Mom