Mia, at Four and a Half.

She skips when walking isn’t happy enough, runs when the fun is not arriving fast enough.

“One, two, ready, go” and we launch a little band, Mia blowing away on her mean blues harp, Nora intently shaking the maracas with her whole body and Mommy keeping time with a kitty cat tambourine.

While Nora’s voice is Betty Boop-high in a monotone of new vocabulary, Mia’s voice travels in up and down nonsense cadences, imitating dramatic stories she’s heard. “They fell in love and THEN! Over and over they went. And then! They went to the ZOO and walked and walked UP the road.”

She’s our four year old Teenager. She yells “I NEVER want you to touch me! Don’t talk to me!” and weeping angrily, runs from the room.

She’s our Drama Queen. Reunions with misplaced toys or news of a baby sitter’s arrival are heralded with gasps. She makes vehement use of her new favorite phrase, “never-ever,” as in, “Oh! I never-ever have used this cup in a while!”

She is an Artist.

Superhero. Wearing nothing but underpants and a cape, Mia runs down the hall with her arms stretched in front of her, looking for stuffed animals in peril. Eleanor, her sidekick, follows close behind.
“Mommy, Daddy, look!” Mia directs our attention to a small plastic parrot (or is it a macaw?) on the edge of Eleanor’s crib.
“His name is Peenie. He’s a baby parrot in the top of a tree! I’ll save him!”
Eleanor, always her big sister’s cheerleader, (except when she is her nemesis) echoes, “Babee! Tree! Yay!”
Mia plucks down the toy and gives it to me. Randy and I exchange amused glances and he goes downstairs to grab the camera.

Dictator.
Mia: There is only room on this iceberg for ONE person. And that NUMBER is me. NO ONE who is a BABY or a grown-up is allowed. NORA is a baby and you are a GROWNUP so you are not ALLOWED.
Me: If Nora is a baby and I’m a grownup, what are you?
Mia: A movie star.

Stand-Up Comedian. At the end of a play, sometimes the costumed players break character and bring up the houselights. They brightly ask, "Do you have any questions?" Mia has her arm up in the air immediately. “What is your favorite Christmas present?” she asks. We snort.

Child.