Dear Aria -
Happy 4th birthday! It's hard to believe my little peanut is now 4 years old. Oh, how the last couple years have flown by. I remember like it was just yesterday celebrating your first birthday when you were still in Guyana. You had no idea that your family was already moving mountains to get to you.
Your birthday celebration this year did not go as planned. COVID had finally caught up with us. You spent the night before your big day sick with a fever. You were miserable and barely slept a wink. You'd be sick for over a week, putting quite the damper on your birthday celebrations.
On the morning of your 4th birthday, you were not in any mood to celebrate. Between lots of snuggles and sleep, you spent some time playing in your new ball pit. You love to throw ball after ball out of the pit in every possible direction until they are scattered all over the entire room.
Your birthday party rolled around a few days later, but you were still a sick little bug. We did our best to do some of your favorite things while making sure you got plenty of rest to recuperate.
One of your all-time favorite activities is swinging. You will often grab my hand and start walking with such intention and determination that I automatically know exactly where you are bringing me - to the basement stairs to go swinging! You love to be pushed back and forth - and the faster the better! You could spend hours in your swing. You were dolled up in your birthday dress I had purchased just for the occasion. You looked adorable, but our unfinished basement in the winter can be quite chilly, and your sweet little toes were so very cold. Despite being cold, you did not want to get out of your swing to go warm up. Instead your silly mama, wanting to warm you up and not wanting to make you sad, took off my socks and pulled the way too large socks as high as they would go onto your little legs. You seemed to think that was a great idea and happily kept swinging.
After finally convincing you to be all done swinging, we headed upstairs to warm up and open your birthday presents. You tore off chunks of wrapping paper while Rose eagerly assisted.
You had fun rocking on your new chair, and of course, throwing balls. You can never resist a fun game of fetch!
We branched out from your usual Baby Shark themed cake and went with a swimming theme. You sure do love the pool, so it only seemed fitting. It was a delicious cookies and cream cake courtesy of a local in-home bakery called CAKED. We wished you a very happy 4th birthday before serving up the sugary goodness. You didn't even want to try one bite. COVID really did a number on your appetite. Thankfully you are one strong little fighter and after just over a week of feeling crummy, you were on the mend.
Aria, you are such a tough little girl. The amount of work you put in on a daily basis is incredible. You rarely have a day off from work. Most days you put in 2 or more hours of therapy between OT, PT and Feeding therapy each multiple times a week. Then you come home to do even more work - standing in your stander, walking in your gait trainer, practicing how to push the wheels of your chair. You are the hardest working little one that I know.
You are bound and determined to be as mobile as possible. Your favorite mobility device right now is your Bella's Bumba chair. It's a mini manual wheelchair. We are in the process of getting you a new one - a one arm drive so that you can control both wheels with your strong arm. It will be so exciting to see you navigate in your new chair.
Every day, you spend at least 90 minutes in your stander. You stand daily in abduction to help keep your hips in their sockets. While you may object to getting into it initially, you quickly get over it. You love being upright and able to reach all the things hiding on top of the counters and inside the drawers. Your favorite drawer is the utensil drawer where you dig, grab, bang and toss everything within reach.
Your communication has sprouted this year. You know exactly what to do to be understood. You will reach for your favorite chair if you want to sit in it or reach towards the fridge if you want your bottle. I'll put a spread of lunch and dinner options in front of you and you will show me exactly which one you want. And when you are done eating one, you pick another to try. While you've been using the "all done" sign for a long time, you've added the "more" sign to your repertoire. It's so amazing to see you communicate all your needs. You love giving high 5s and fist bumps, so we had been working on waving "hi". Then one evening you decided to say "hi" too! Needless to say, your fan club was thrilled to hear you speak!
You love playing with your siblings, especially when they chase you around or push you widely throughout the house. You definitely have a need for speed! They all adore you and think you are just the cutest thing ever.
Cole especially loves to make you laugh. He will go out of his way to be extra silly for you. He adores the sound of your giggle and loves to make you happy.
You are still very much a Mama's Girl. You sure do love your mama and never want me out of your sight. I get it - I'm super protective of you too. You are my little sidekick. You do not like to share your Mama with anyone, even your siblings. If one of your siblings wants to be held or gets more attention than you are willing to part with, you definitely let us all know that you are not at all happy about the situation.
You have been attempting to sit up all on your own for a while. You try your hardest, but it's quite difficult to get your little body to do what you want it to. One day you were on the couch trying and trying to push yourself up when all of the sudden, you did it! You got up all on your own for a few seconds. You were so proud of yourself. Knowing your sheer determination, you will have this skill mastered in no time.
Your favorite TV show continues to be Mighty Little Bheem - a Netflix series about a super strong baby named Bheem who gets into all sorts of mischief. You giggle and laugh as you watch Bheem go on his wild adventures. Anyone who stands in the way and blocks your view of the TV will get quite the holler. You simply will not allow anyone to get in the way of your TV viewing enjoyment.
You love listening to Baby Shark on YouTube Kids and watching all the fun video variations. Your favorite currently is Bounce Patrols versions - and they sure do have several to choose from - the old standard, a Halloween version, Christmas version, and many more. You usually watch your Baby Shark videos during mealtime. It's the perfect amount of distraction to help me get every possible bite and calorie into you.
You have become an even pickier eater. You will analyze every spoonful that is brought to your mouth before opening up, just to make sure it's a food that you are expecting. And if it's not, there is no way to convince you otherwise. Your favorite foods (at least for now - these can change on a whim) are Oui raspberry coconut yogurt and hummus. You can eat hummus by the spoonful, ounce after ounce. There's nothing cuter than you signing for 'more' with your little mouth open waiting for the next bite.
You love playing in water. You will splash and splash and splash until everyone and everything around you is soaked. If you see a pool or a bathtub full of water, you are sure to ask (or more like demand!) with all your might to get in for a dip. You don't care if your swimsuit is on or if someone else is in the bath. You cannot resist the urge to get in and start splashing away.
Doors are another one of your favorites. I'm not sure where this obsession came from, but you love playing with doors. You will swing them back and forth and back and forth. You think it's extra funny to slam them shut, then sign "more" for me to open it and let you do it all over again.
You have a newfound love for blankets. You think it's fun to cover your face under any blanket you can get your hands on. I must admit, I was quite apprehensive about this new love of yours. Just to keep you extra safe, I have to play along. It's actually been a helpful distraction to get you to take your medicine without resisting. We must be a sight to see, sitting on the couch, giving you your medicine with a blanket overing our heads.
Now that you are a big toddler who loves to be on the move, you will be getting your very own bike customized just for you. You test drove a set of wheels at Gillette and not only did you love it, but you started pedaling it all on your own! We cannot wait to see you riding all over the neighborhood on your new set of wheels. It should be arriving just in time for spring.
A very happy 4th birthday to you, Aria! You are an amazing, determined little girl. We are so proud of all you've accomplished and can't wait to see what incredible progress you continue to make throughout the next year.
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