The Fantastic Four

I once heard a report on NPR that cuteness peaks at age three. The argument was that babies needed to be attractive in order to convince parents to care for them, but once they hit age four, they were self-sufficient enough that the biological imperative to be beautiful began to fade.

I've never been able to find the study since, mind you, but I believe it. In part because it's hard to imagine Nora becoming any more adorable than she was this year (when she wasn't on the floor kicking and screaming, that is). But mostly it's because a year ago, we had a cute toddler still in diapers (barely), who napped (sometimes), and used a bee bee, and now we have a little girl who doesn't require any of that (well, maybe the nap at times), who goes to school, can "read," and pretty much runs the whole show. And while I'm so proud of how independent Nora has become, I hope she still "needs" us for many years to come. Happy Birthday, baby girl, I love you so, so much.

1. Strike a pose.
2. Breakfast dessert, lunch dessert and dinner dessert are all real things. Snack dessert is just crazy talk.
3. When life gives you lemons, ask for Pink Lemonade.
4. Princess tea parties are the best.
5. It's all about the accessories.
6. There is reading, and then there is "reading".
7. Mmmm, s'mores.
8. Sometimes, you just need a hug.
9. "Excuse me..."
10. And in the immortal words of Alan Watts, "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."