Oh, child.

What I would give to bottle you up right now.

You, full of ideas and stories and brand new words that the world has never heard. You have opinions wholly your own. You tell me you love me multiple times a day, especially when we are close together, like when I help you put on your pants or when I brush your hair.

You love cleaning the mirror after a shower. You are very consistent in your drawings: one large circle for a head/body, two, smaller empty circles for eyes, small lines for arms and legs, a three-piece receding hairline, a nose, a belly button under the nose, a mouth and another scribble spot, which is the bottom. And every drawing of a person has one.

You profess your love for books. You thank Jesus every night for your "wonderful books." You can throw a ball straighter than I can. You ask to lick the spoon after we make something yummy. You know the difference between a carnivore and an herbivore. You came home one day from Ms. Stephenie's singing, "Baby, you can go an love yourself," which is a Justin Bieber lyric. You love Star Wars stories although you have never seen any of the movies. You make dad be Darth Vader and you are Luke Skywalker. I get to be Princess Leia. You make sound effects like your dad. You like to snuggle with mom.

Sometimes when I lay with you a few minutes at bedtime, you reach over and pull me into a choke hold, so close to your cheek that I think my skull might crush yours. Then you push me away, saying I'm squishing you. Sometimes when you run to the bathroom, you say you need some alone time. The other night, you called me in to see your latest bathroom production. You exclaimed, "Whoa! That a big poopoo for a little kid like me!"

You laugh and giggle and squeal a lot. "Tickle me, Mom!" is something that you say frequently. You prefer veggies over anything bready and fruit over everything. Ms. Stephenie has introduced you to McDonald's, which is a treat to go to the PlayPlace. Sometimes you watch PBSKids on the iPad, and your favorite show, the show you tend to recite later--like when the bath water is draining and you talk about "reflections" or when you play with you babies (who are all named Calvin) and talk about making a jumping apparatus--is Design Squad, a show that is made for much older kids.

Just this week, I've seen you get more interested in Barbies, moreso the clothes and shoes. And the Barbie bicycle.

A couple weekends ago, we drove to Dodge City for Aunt Manda Lou and Uncle Jared's wedding. You were a very patient traveler. You and Brinklee went with Aunt Lacie and me to get your nails painted--the first time! And although you had been talking about your "wedding dress" for weeks, once you put it on, it was not your favorite at all. However, hours later at the reception, you LOVED twirling in it. You and cousin Koble danced and danced and danced and danced. You got a second wind around 9:15p with a round of chocolate icing and refused to leave the dance floor, even though you were dancing like a zombie.

Shoogie, you are such a joy right now. From dancing the naked cu-ca-ra-cha before getting into the tub to cracking yourself up when you make up your own joke, you. are. amazing.