Dear Sof,
Turning five is a really special birthday. You really aren't my baby girl any more. You'll be starting kindergarten in the fall. I know you've been in preschool, but kindergarten is an even bigger deal than preschool was. You love school and I don't want that to ever change. Stay excited about learning. I know that you won't see this until your eighteen, but learn from everything you see and do. If you decide to not go to college, that doesn't mean you can stop learning. Learn from the people you interact with.
You finally outgrew your tricycle last fall and wanted a new bike for Christmas. I promised you that it would be better to wait until your birthday for a new bike since you wouldn't be riding it all winter anyway. Since I finally got a real house with a yard and plenty of room for you and Timmy to play, I got you two bikes for your birthday. They're nothing fancy, but then you'll be able to have one at both houses. I know it seems like I'm spoiling you with two bikes, but I swear you will be anything but spoiled. Trust me, your days of getting double toys for each house are limited.
Timmy is finally old enough for the two of you to really play together. You are nothing like me when it comes to playing. I never liked getting dirty (that's why I never went camping with Derek and the guys), but you are more than happy to come inside completely covered in mud and grass stains. Your moms aren't happy when I send you back to them like that, but we've never seen eye-to-eye on some of the things I let you do or the things they let you do.
This was the year you discovered how to play one parent against another. The first time you did that, it was one of the nights you were spending with Lexie and I, you wanted to watch some cartoons before school while you were eating breakfast. Mommy was not happy with you that night when you told her about it after school that afternoon since the rule has always been no television before school. You told me that they had been letting you when I mentioned that you weren't allowed TV in the morning.
I'm sorry if when you're reading these letters I repeat myself from year to year. A year is a long time to remember what I wrote to you and I'm sure reading 18 of these from each of is going to be somewhat repetitive.
Love,
Daddy