Nalani Joy Kearney: The Belated Birthday Post: The Big Four

Here is the annual "better late than never" birthday post.

Hammie has officially turned 4 and I'm more certain than ever that she is the greatest girl that has ever been born (yes, I may be a bit biased). Hammie continues to grow as children tend to do and her ever lengthening frame is becoming ever more capable. Jumping, running, dancing, climbing and other activities are increasingly fluid and I can foresee the day when Hammie's skills will surpass those of her old-man (my dancing title may already be in jeopardy).

Hammie's intellectual prowess, like her body, is growing by leaps and bounds. Her command of English and Swedish and ability to transition between the two impresses me and I'm certain I've got very limited time before Hammie will be correcting my Swedish. Her math skills are still pretty basic but she has invented a new number (“eleventeen”) and conveniently counts really high when it correlates to the number of M&M's she gets to eat. Her artistic skills are prodigious and while her early years consisted mainly of abstract works she now specializes in portraits. If you ask her for one I'm sure she whip one out in no time at all.

Hammie has reached that age where “kid intuition” magically kicks in. Out of no where she realized that cracks are not to be stepped on and a casual walk suddenly looks like a game of hop-scotch. Also, when we ran out of bacon she suggested we plant a “bacon tree” to remedy the problem. You can almost hear the gears turning as Hammie makes a quite logical conclusion based on what she's observed in her short life and then quickly alters it as new information comes forward (if only politicians could be so reasonable); Hammie is now aware that bacon doesn't grow on trees but I don't have the heart to tell her it can't really qualify as her favorite vegetable.

Hammie deftly uses her powers of reason to lobby for issues important to 4 year olds everywhere and whether it's icecream on a hot day or staying up late during the sunshine of Scandinavian summers, she is a shrewd negotiator (she also uses “cute appeal” to her advantage). Persistence is also one of her gifts and she'll ask the same question countless times if she hasn't gotten the answer she wants (it doesn't work as well as she'd like but you can't blame her for trying).

There are so many little quarks that make Hammie special and Lina and I proud parents. We wish we could spent more time with all are friends and family but the logistics of being an international family has it's down sides. Here are a few pictures from Hammie's birthday.