The Times They Are A Changin'

Rachel is now first to correct you when you refer to us her as a "little girl." She informs you that she is a "big girl." And sometimes, when you try to teach her something, you can hear the stirrings of teenaged rebellion as she tells you with exasperation in her voice, "I know that." The tone implies an accompanying eye roll.

Still, she is a sweet, sweet child. Some of her classmates were making her upset recently, taunting her with "Rachel is a boy!" We told her they were trying to get a reaction out of her. We suggested the best reaction was to ignore them. As an alternative, I told her she could taunt them back with, "(Boy's name here)is a girl." She told me she couldn't do that, because that would be mean.

Rachel is still very capable of making people laugh. One day, she came home with a rubber stamp on each hand. She informed us it was for "being good." I lavished praise upon her for her behavior and broke out in a big smile as she confessed, "I wasn't that good!"

Rachel is very much a conversationalist, able to communicate well beyond the norm for her age level. One day, we ate at Olive Garden. As the people who had been sitting behind us left, one of them asked Rachel the name of her Minnie Mouse. "Her name is Minnie," she replied. She then paused and in perfect comic timing, added in a matter-of-fact tone, "I didn't name her."

She also has a sense of style. One day recently, she left the house with a heavier weight pink top and a spring lavender hat with a lavender ribbon. My wife likened it to a bag lady. I think Rachel is simply an Annie Hall in training, with a unique sense of style. Or to put it another way, your typical four-year-old.

Rachel very much remains a child in love with her parents. Who am I to argue when she tells me, "You're my hero!" or "You're the best daddy ever!" I bask in the compliment, because I have a feeling it will be rescinded during the aforementioned teenaged rebellion.