Life With My Four Year Old

This afternoon I drove with Daisy to meet up with some of our friends for lunch.  On the way there I was blasting some worship tunes from the local Christian radio station.  Daisy loudly hollered at me from the back seat, "Mom I want to listen to my princess music not this song."  

Meanwhile you must understand that we have been listening to the Frozen soundtrack for two months solid in the car and then for her birthday last week, she was blessed with another Princess music CD which has also been on repeat in the car this entire week.   I really do love letting her listen to her music in the car.  It is a sacrifice worth making but, ever so often I try to sneak in something else in desperation and in order to keep myself sane.  

I thought for a moment and then explained to my darling daughter, "Mommy wants to be filled up with joy right now, so I am listening to a few worship songs so I can praise Jesus and get full.  Right now I am only up to about here (and I made a line mark at my mid section) with joy.  I need to be all the way past here (and I motioned above my head.).  After I get full of joy it can be your turn okay kiddo." 

She crossed her arms and frowned in the back seat.  "Well, this music doesn't fill me with joy, she grumbled." 

"Princess music fills you with joy right, I asked?"  

She nodded with a big smile on her face hoping she'd convinced me that I was torturing her and she deserved her tunes back.  "Well, I understand that, I told her and Mommy loves to share with you."  After I listen to two more songs it will be your turn.  It's so kind of you to give mommy a turn and to let me get full of joy too."

A few minutes passed and Daisy asks loudly from the back seat, "Are you full yet mom? I've been waiting patiently." 

At this point I was cracking up and in fact I felt quite full of joy, so she got to listen to her Princess music.  I think it was a successful object lesson regardless of how long it lasted and it definitely provided an awesome belly laugh.

This is why I love four year olds:  They are smart, hilarious, sassy, challenging, creative, temperamental, imaginative, never boring and so so much fun!!   Four year olds are certainly not always easy as any mom of a four year old can attest but, I think that most of us would say that the things that our kiddos say and the barrel laughs that we get because of them are priceless rewards.  

I love my girl to bits.

(now on to the boring four year old details that are being documented simply to preserve them for my memory.) These pictures were taken on her 4th birthday.  She is looking so big these days!

 Four Year Old Food Dairies:

What she likes to eat lately: Not much unfortunately.  She was so good for the longest time about eating a wide variety of foods but, she has definitely gotten pickier as she has gotten older.  She still loves sushi.  I would say that it is probably her favorite food but, we only eat it once a month if we are lucky.  If she could have it her way she would eat sushi every day for lunch and dinner.  I still marvel at the fact that my little girl loves raw fish and has since she was one.  Her favorite thing to do is to get a plate of raw pieces of salmon, dip them in soy sauce, tip her head back and drop the fish down the hatches.  She always has the biggest smile on her face when she eats sushi:). 

She generally eats pancakes and yogurt for breakfast, though on occasion we switch it up and she'll eat one of these: oatmeal, cereal, eggs and toast, top ramon, sausage or bacon and eggs.  She loves bacon.  I think she could eat the entire family sized package by herself if I let her.

For lunch she will eat applesauce or one of these fruits: strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, or banana.  She won't eat any other fruit.  She likes string cheese but, not the white.  It has to be the square shaped (not rounded) mixed orange cheddar.  Seriously, she is that particular about it.  She will tolerate a sandwich, chicken nuggets, pizza, hot dog, corn dogs, or pasta but, she is never thrilled with her lunch options.

Dinner, like lunch, can be a challenge because she seldom wants to eat what I prepare.  On the other hand she is great about trying new things and even eating several bites of something that she doesn't care for without giving me much lip.  Last night she tried several bites of asparagus and I was very proud of her.  Tonight she ate a few bites of avocado for the first time without complaining. That is more than enough effort for me.  I don't ever force her to finish a food that she doesn't seem to like.  She loves steak, fish, pasta, tacos, smoked salmon, steamed broccoli (score!), rice (is a big favorite!!), grilled cheese, corn on the cob and burgers with fries, mac n' cheese etc..

She loves desserts and candy of course however; she tends to prefer ice cream over anything else and she isn't particularly fond of cakes/cupcakes/donuts...only the frosting.  She loves chips and crackers.

(this is the face she makes when she is feeling embarrassed or shy...or on the spot as she was  feeling while I was taking her pictures. lol)  

Four Year Old Activity Diaries:

I think the most important detail to document is that Daisy does not like to play alone.  Hardly ever.  She will when I require her to but, she is not a fan. She wants to be glued to me 24/7.  She follows me into the bathroom and plays and chats my ear off while I do my business.  If I am getting dressed or putting on makeup she wants to be doing the same thing.  If I am cooking she wants to be helping.  If I get the mail, she follows me out.  If I am editing pictures, she wants to edit pictures.  She is my shadow. 

It's really exhausting mentally to have so little personal space but, it is also very, very sweet and I am trying my best to make the most of this chapter as I know it will pass all too fast.

Every once in a while, after a busy day of preschool or a busy social play date, Daisy will surprise me and go off and play alone for about 20-30 minutes.  It seems to help her decompress after a lot of social activity.  I am noticing that she has started doing this a tad more in the last month even.  I always love listening to her chat with her toys and creating imaginary adventures.  

Her other interests:

Princesses.  Anything Princess.  Movies.  CD's. Books.  Dress-up dresses, jewelry, games, princess figurines, princess chairs, dolls, stickers, tattoos, backpacks, purses, clothes, candy etc.

She loves music.  She has a few musical toys and she loves to turn music on loudly and dance to it.  She had a microphone and little amp for a while until it broke and I would say that was one of her favorite toys.  Singing and dancing is definitely in her blood:).  She had a drum set and loved it...until that broke as well.  lol   Mandisa is one of her favorite singers (her favorite songs being 1,4, 8 and 9 on the overcomer CD...yes I know because they play over and over and OVER again whenever I have the CD on hahaha!).  I'm thrilled because I love Mandisa and her message too:).  

Dress up.  It's one of her favorite things to do.  She has been known to wear her Cinderella dress and crown (that is her current favorite only because she thinks it looks like Elsa's ice dress lol) out to dinner or to go shopping.  It's pretty cute to see her strolling around dressed up in public.  I think she really feels like a princess during those outings.  She waves at everyone and smiles.  I just love her to pieces.   For a while there she as dressing up every day.  She has definitely been winding down a bit.  I hope the phase isn't passing yet...I'm not ready to see it go! 

Babies.  She loves being a little mommy.  She is really, really good with her baby dolls and with real babies.  She is gentle and she knows how to take care of them.  She's got great instincts.  She cooks them food in her kitchen, washes them, dresses them and snuggles them in bed under her blankets.  It absolutely melts me to see how nurturing she is.  She fills up her doll's diaper bag, hangs it on the arm of her stroller and walks around the house talking on her fake cell phone.  LOL.  One night I came in to kiss her sleeping face goodnight before I went to bed.  She had lined up four of her babies on a pillow at the foot of her bed and she had wrapped each of them in a blanket.  I almost cried and giggled all at once.  Things like that get me so emotional.  hehe. 

Imagination play.  She has an incredible imagination.  She can entertain herself in a world of imagination for quite some time and she likes it even more if other people enter that world with her.  I'll admit that it is tiring to shift my adult brain into the land of imagination on the fly at all hours of the day but, it is rewarding and I certainly try.  Just tonight she wanted me to pretend that I was bringing my car into her car shop and she as going to fix it for me.  She comes up with so many impressive details and she tells me what I am supposed to do and say more often than not.  Maybe she will be a writer like her mommy? :). 

Other: She likes playing with her doll house, legos, cooking in her kitchen, stacking things, organizing things, Lite Bright,chalk, bubbles, stickers, painting, playing games, riding her bike, scooter, reading books, pbskids.org on my computer, leap pad games, throwing water balloons, playing age appropriate board games (We just started this a few months ago and it's been so fun! We play go fish, candyland and princess board games.  She loves to have pretend picnics with her dishes, babies and my tablecloth.  She loves to fill grocery bags with random toys for imaginary activities and I find them all over the house later on.  She loves collecting rocks, sticks and flowers.  She fills her purse and mine with them wherever we go.  She is a nature child for sure.  If she sees water she must jump in it or throw a rock, sand, she must dig in it and a hill she must run down.  I'm quite sure that we are going to have lots of fun adventures with this kiddo in the future.

Daisy is literally on the very edge of 4T in everything.  4T barely fits her but, the problem is that 5T is still a bit big so I am squeezing her into her shirts and pants for as long as I can....which won't be much more than a month or two probably.  She wears size 9 shoes and still has a good amount of wiggle room.  She is about 38 pounds and close to 40 inches tall.  She is still not all that particular about what she wears.  I even try to get her more involved in the decision making process but, for the most part she is content with me dressing her.  She does however; demand a braid in her hair every day..thanks to Elsa from Frozen.  Her hair is SO hard to braid.  I do my best but, as you can see in these pictures...no braid.  She definitely seems to be a shoe and hair girl.  

She is just about done with naps.  Boo.  I can get her to take maybe one or two a week at this point and I usually only do it if she seems extra emotional or if it was an extra busy day.  It has been SO SO hard for me to adjust to this.  She on the other hand, is adjusting just fine.  I love quiet time and down time.  It's the introvert in me I suppose.  Losing the 2-3 hour quiet time mid day is a hard shift for a momma.  This has been going on for a couple of months now so I am beginning to adapt and learn new ways to pass the time but, it is a slow transition for sure. lol If she doe nap it is usually from around 2-4:30. 

If she doesn't nap she is usually in bed by 8.  I try to start her bedtime routine by 7:30 but, it is so hard to do as we often don't even eat dinner until 7 many nights.  The reason I am so committed to an early bedtime is because it is the only way that I get any down time before my own bedtime.  She will crash within 10-15 minutes after being put to bed if it is a no nap day.  I am sure she will outgrow that but, at this point she crashes fast which is nice.  She wakes up around 7:30 almost every day.  She gets herself up to go potty in the middle of the night with no problem though she likes me to come and tuck her back in to bed because she is a bit scared of the dark all by herself. I don't blame her but it sure has made me sleep to get up with her each night again.  Almost reminding me of the early baby days!

She is no longer scared of men (took long enough! lol)..though she is still shy around them and tends to keep her distance.  She seems to be very comfortable in familiar places and around familiar people but, in new environments or with new people she is quite shy and will even hang on me if I am around.  Her personality reminds me of my own a bit.

She likes to be the one in charge.  She does not seem to be drawn to other girls or boys who want to call the shots.   She can get her feelings hurt easily and she is quite sensitive.  The positive side of her sensitivity is that she is always responding to others who are sad or hurt.  She notices vibes and conversations that others would miss and she nurtures often in her sweet four year old way.  It's very endearing.  I love seeing how God is using one of her challenging qualities for his good.  She is a people lover.  Just tonight we went on a walk around our neighborhood and she said hi and waved to every person that went by.  I could tell she got a little sad when kids wouldn't say hi back.  She's sensitive...she's sweet.  This tough world might prove to be a hard place for my sensitive kiddo from time to time but, I think I think the world is better off with her and other sensitive souls in it.

Her current favorite shows are Magic School Bus (which surprises me but, I love it), Justin Time, Curious George, Cat in the Hat, Care Bears, Peg and Cat, Wild Cratts and Pingu.  She loves Pingu which cracks me up because there are no words in those movies.

She is quite funny.  She likes to make people laugh and she can get me belly laughing like no one else can.  I wonder if she has a little class clown inside. lol  In ballet this Thursday she pulled her elastic headband in to her eyes on purpose and then looked around at the teacher and other students and said, "hey, who turned out the lights?"  I had my head down because I was laughing as the teacher gently scolded her and asked her to pull her head band back up.  

She gets very hyper in the evening.  It is almost always a result of being over tired.  Daisy never mellows out when she is tired, she always gets more amped up.  She is especially spazzy after a bath and when we are trying to get her in her jammies.  Those moments require extra patience to say the least but, they can also be quite amusing.  She loves running around naked like a wild banshee after her baths.  We call it the, "go get your wild out," run. lol

She loves her Daddy.  She is a little more rough with him and she loves to do anything and everything with him.  Help him mow the lawn, take out the trash, clean the garage, go fishing, wash his truck, etc. She adores him to say the least. 

She has definitely begun asserting her four year old control.  She is much more argumentative now and can get frustrated very easily.  She still has meltdowns when she doesn't get her way or if something upsets her.  This is proving to make our already long days much longer.  I guess in some ways I am glad that she is right on track with her age appropriate milestones. lol.  I am trying my best to navigate this new season with patience and wisdom...and so much prayer.

I will say that one area that Daisy has dramatically improved in over the past six months is her social interaction.  She never wanted other kids in her personal space bubble.  She didn't know how to actually play with other kids (and she still struggles with this) but, she is getting there.  I see that she is enjoying being with other kids more than being alone now.  She spent a good hour at the mall running away from imaginary monsters with a bunch of other stranger kids and she had a blast.  She only got bored when they stopped playing.  It really is such a delight to see my daughter growing and changing all in the grace of God.  She's come a long way since starting preschool last August.

More often than not though, Daisy is cheerful and walks with a skip in her step.  She loves to be silly and she loves to shower me with hugs and kisses.  She is quite affectionate!

Academically we are on our own track I'd say and I am okay with that.  She does not know how to read yet nor does she know how to sound out words.  I have tried to get her interested in such things but, she is totally turned off.  She has learned the sounds that different letters make and she has almost learned how to write her own name. Score!  I have literally been working on this with her for several months!  It took weeks just to get her to write a letter D!  I see that she is paying more attention to other kids who can write their names or read and I think it is motivating her and challenging her to learn more.  I'll take it! 

She loves to read books each night and she loves to ask tons of questions while we are reading.  I hope that she becomes an avid reader someday.  Books open up such a fantastic world of imagination for young and old alike.  

Her memory is insanely sharp.  I'd say she has a borderline photographic memory.  She did not get that from me!  She can remember details from when she was a two year old...it's mind blowing.  

She loves play dates with her friends and she now identifies with each of them and remembers details about every friend's family.  She loves going to parks and museums and I do to.  Generally I will do anything that might get me out of the house.  I am not a fan of being in the house with Daisy for too long...the life gets sucked out of me much faster when we are home. LOL  

I will think of a kajillion more things to document the second I hit publish on this post but, for now this will do.