Oh my sweet little love, my mister four, my how've you changed. Gone are the days where we could rock you to sleep, and with them went your little baby sighs. That McQueen car you carried with you everywhere? I haven't seen it for a long time now. You've ditched the pacifiers and have been using the regular potty for well over a year now. And yes, I sort of miss seeing you in fluff.

Some things that are thankfully behind us though include your painful eczema.I wish I could remember who recommended jojoba oil and tea tree oil so I could send them a giant "Thank You!" card. Also behind us is the dreaded D-word: deployment.  So here's what I know about you at 4:

-Classical music is your kryptonite. Seriously, anytime you try to battle bedtimes, I just turn on some Emilie Autumn and within minutes, you're snoring away

-You are amazingly smart. We understand that you have some trouble with speech and finding the right words, but once you find your voice, it blows us away how deep you are. 

-In the past year, your most memorable persona has to either be when you ran around as a naked kung fu panda bear or when you went around the living room putting things on your head and declaring yourself a decorator crab. 

-McQueen and Buzz Lightyear are no longer your favorites. Instead, you cant get enough of the Octonauts, Doctor Who, and any National Geographic program about animals. 

-You can count and say the alphabet, but rather choose to recite your own version of things.

-Puzzles are your strong point right now, as well as taking apart electronics. I came across one of your trains recently that you unscrewed, removed the batteries, and removed the electrical board.

-And after all these years, you're still such a daddys boy. No one can make your face light up quite like Dad does when he walks in the door.

-You even took up skateboarding like dad.

So little one, I hope this is still around in the future and someday you stumble upon it. You've brought nothing but joy and crazy energy into our lives. Now we have homeschooling, more traveling and grand adventures in our future.