Here are some snapshots of Leah and a quick write-up of where she is at four and a half years old.
Leah is adjusting well to being a big sister. She tells me daily how much she loves Peter and even told someone one day at preschool pick up that she loves Peter "more than lollipops." Since we're at my parents house, I don't think she's had to fully adjust to not being an only child. There's plenty of attention to go around between living with "Grampy" and "Grammy" (Leah gave them those names on her own.) and having her cousins nearby. She is a little impatient for Peter to be awake more. He'll barely crack open one eyelid and she'll run to get his play gym and all of the baby toys in hopes that she can play with him. She's already asked me if she can teach him how to walk. She has been really helpful running errands to get diapers, wipes, spit-up clothes, my cell phone, etc. when I am nursing Peter.
Leah is going to Pre-K full time 9-2 Monday through Friday. It was really an adjustment at first because she was missing her nap and we still have some cranky days, but overall she has adjusted well. She loves her teachers Miss Lacey and Miss Amber. She really enjoys the responsibility of having a different job each week in the classroom and excitedly tells me about her job each day. Her favorite centers are housekeeping and the bean sensory table. When I pick her up, she likes to walk around the classroom and give all of her classmates a hug.
One of the things they are working on in school is letter sounds. In the car ride to and from school she likes to have me quiz her on different words. We've also enjoyed playing "I Spy" and "Guess that Animals" during our 20 minute commute. Leah can identify all of her letters uppercase and lowercase. When it comes to counting, she has difficulty differentiating 13 and 14 because she has difficulty making the "th" sound. After all of that, she ends up skipping 15. After 15 though, she is good for a while and can reliably count to 50 and beyond.
Leah is becoming a better conversationalist and participates in conversations although she tends to go off topic. I find that she listens now to conversations that I am having with others... especially if it's about HER. She will insert herself into those conversations to clarify if she feels it is necessary.
We've been continuing to work on independence. I had Leah doing most stuff independently, but with Peter getting here I found that I started doing stuff for her again because we are usually short on time and it's faster for me to do stuff for her. In the last week or so, we've adjusted bedtime to earlier so that she will wake up earlier. When we get a head start in the morning, there is more time for her to be independent on things like getting dressed and buckling herself.
As a attempt to start to teach responsibility and money management, we do chores and an allowance with Leah. She can earn $1 per week if she keeps Darwin's litter box clean, helps to gather all the trash on trash days, and empties the silverware from the dishwasher. She likes to save everything to pay for rides at the annual carnival, but she has recently learned that she can spend her allowance on things like donuts and other snacks. For the most part, I need to work with her to do her chores, but she has actually started to clean the litter box without me initiating it. She still comes and tells me that she scooped it though afterwards.
Leah is very much into anything My Little Pony or Doc McStuffins. She watches the shows on her iPad in the mornings when I do her hair for school. Her favorite color is still pink, but she'll tell you that she loves "pink and purple... and all the colors." I'm not sure if she's indecisive or if she just feels bad for the other colors and wants them to feel included. She loves to sneak chocolate and other sweet snacks with Grampy which they do frequently now that we live here full time. She loves playing with her cousins when they are here after school. They like to jump on the trampoline and play with her toys. Leah likes to sing a lot, but never the actual words to a song. She prefers to make up her own words with borrowed melodies. Leah still prefers to have playmates and complains frequently about being lonely, but she is rather good at playing independently especially if it's with a new unfamiliar toy. She has become very attached to stuffed animals, particularly Lambie and Hobbes. She has to have them with her at bedtime in a certain order next to her in bed along with her purple blankie.
Leah is still very much a pleaser, but is very stubborn. She likes to do things/decide things on her own. For instance, before we bless a meal, I will ask her if she wants to say it or if I should say the blessing. She always wants to choose her OWN option that was not given. She select someone else in the room or say that she will help Lambie say the prayer. After she completes a task, she wants to know if you are proud of her or if she did a good job. When she gets in trouble, her first question is always though tears, "Do you still love me?"
I absolutely love my big four and a half year old. I am blessed to be her Mommy!
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