“We Are All Excited. . .”

With Babies 2 & 3, Mara has always been the doting big sister. Thrilled to have a brother. And again thrilled to have a sister.

When I got pregnant with #4, she insisted that Micah needed a brother, and he would be so happy to have one, which we understood to mean that she too was thrilled Micah would have a baby brother.

Recently, Mara’s tune has changed a bit. She’s started saying things like “I don’t know. I just think our family is perfect the way it is,” or “We have Mommy and Daddy and Mara and Micah and Carissa–and that’s just perfect.”

Not sure where these ideas are coming from, but they don’t sound like Mara! (Possibly from the Clifford The Big Red Dog episode where Emily Elizabeth’s cranky friend Jetta has a new little brother.)

So you can imagine my joy when Mara told me today, “I have a surprise for you!” and handed me a card that she wrote.

It’s hard to read the way Mara wrote it, but I’m always intrigued by her attempts to “sound out” the words by herself! Despite the look of a bunch of jumbled letters, her attempt at writing does make sense on some level.

I told Daniel I feel badly that her teacher (I) have been slack in keeping up with teaching her blends and ladders that would help her learn to read. But all in time.

Daniel was intrigued that she shows “complete disregard for spelling, punctuation and all spacing conventions.” (Okay, she is only four!)

Maybe adding spacing to what she wrote makes it a bit more decipherable:

“Dear Mommy We R Ol Ixsid Too Se V Bab Buvr Luv Mara.”

Translation: “Dear Mommy, We are all excited to see the baby brother! Love, Mara.”

Yes, my dear Mara, we are excited!

I think I’ll keep this one for Braxton’s baby book.