If noticed Kelly’s face has odd shading, it’s where I tried to erase chocolate chip cookie smears. Do you ever wonder how kids eat by leading with their chins?  It seems HARDER.  And do they all use their hair as a napkin?

More and more, we hear from friends and family about Kelly, “You are in so much trouble with that one.”  Really?  What gave that away?  The part where she proposed marriage to half of her Pre-K class based on how often they complimented her on her clothes, or the part where she’s held an 8 month vendetta against a boy in Kindergarten who teased her in bug camp?  Every single day, I hear who she is marrying, and the imaginary conversations she makes up in her head should she ever get the courage to confront Mr. Kindergarten.  Honestly, I think she’s actually going to marry Mr. Kindergarten, to which she does not disagree.  At least she has insight into her madness.

At 4, she is SO VERY FOUR.  She’s a poster child for 4, if you will.  Honest, driven, emotional, with so much to say:

Kelly: Mommy, why can’t we take things with us to heaven?

Mommy: Because stuff is imperfect, and heaven is perfect.

Kelly: But what if you have something you really, really want to take with you?

Mommy: Nope.  You won’t want it there, and you won’t need it.

Kelly (with an air of desperation): But what if on your way, you just grip it in your hands, really, really TIGHT?!!!

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Kelly: Mommy, just in case you were worried, I want you to know that when Sara and I play “Having A Baby”, I’m not really having a baby.  It’s just for pretend.

Mommy: I’m so glad you told me!  Wow, that’s a relief. Not to mention the worry that you and Sara were upstairs giving birth to penguins and polar bears.

Kelly: Those are just stuffed animals under our shirts!! Mommy, how did you not know that?!

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Kelly: How does a statement start?

Mommy: With a “st”.  ST-ST-ST…statement.

Kelly: No, that’s not what I’m asking.  How do you start statement?

Sara: Kelly, s and t make a “st” sound.  ST-ST-ST.  Can you hear it?

Kelly: No.  Like you know when you say “how” or “what”?  Those things?  So how does a statement go?

Mommy: Are you asking if you start a question with who, what, why, where, when, or how, then how do you start a statement?

Kelly: YES!  YES!  How does a statement start?

Sara: (Odd, quizzical expression that says, Mom…she’s all yours.)

Mommy: Not with who, what, why, where, when, or how, so…with all the other words. All of them.

Kelly: OH!  Good! (For some strange reason, looking extremely relieved, like this has been keeping her up at night.)

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Kelly: Daddy, it’s not that I don’t love you.  Because I love you very much.  It’s just that I love Mommy so, so, so, SO much more.

Daddy: What?!

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Kelly: Mommy, do you know how I figure out if I want things?

Mommy: This should be good.  How?

Kelly: I see things my friends have, especially stuffed animals, and I just say to myself, “I WANT THAT!”

Mommy: Oh Kelly.  I’m just not sure where to start…