Disclaimer: Here is my annual, long, boring post about what my kids are doing at certain ages. This is for me. You are welcome to read it, but consider yourself warned.
Adelie is four years old. How is that even possible?? At her 4 year old check-up, she is now weighing 33.5 lbs (37th percentile) and is 40" tall (56th percentile). She wears her 4T clothes and size 8 shoes. Adelie no longer naps, but sleeps for 11-12 hours at night. She took a tumbling class for most of the year, goes to pre-school 2 mornings/week, enjoys Sunday School and story hour, and just finished up 4 weeks of swimming lessons. Adelie is confident, social, sweet, active, and hilarious.
And did I mention adorable too??
Likes: Adelie is very social and loves all her activities. She makes friends wherever she goes, whether with kids her own age, older kids, or grown-ups. She loves playing with Staley and they remain the best of friends. Adelie's favorite play activities include Barbies, figurines, stuffed animals, dolls, and her doll house. She also likes to build things for her figurines with big Lego blocks and Magnatiles. Adelie loves doing craft activities, whether it's coloring, drawing, painting, stickers, gluing, cutting, Perler beads, or Play-Doh. She also loves being read to and will sit for long periods of time to listen to books. Outside, Adelie enjoys riding her bike with training wheels, doing sidewalk chalk, and playing on our playset or going to playgrounds. We don't often watch television, but she enjoys Blaze and the Monster Machines, Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Shimmer and Shine, and Freshbeat Band of Spies. I can't pick a favorite for her because she enjoys most movies or television shows that her siblings pick. With Staley's strong opinions, Adelie doesn't often get to make choices about movies or television shows that aren't influenced one way or another by her older sister. Luckily, she's pretty go-with-the-flow. And with her sweet, giving nature, she's also quick to let Briggs pick what he wants to watch as well. Mermaids remain her very favorite thing, and anything with Ariel is a favorite, whether it's a toy, movie, show, or outfit. Adelie loves to wear tutus and dresses and sparkly shoes and jewelry. She gets super-excited about putting on chapstick and chewing gum. Adelie is a good little eater, but her very favorite thing to eat is fruit and sweets. She loves her friends and her cousins, but she LOVES her siblings. She is a great little sister, going along with Staley's plans and generally being okay with Staley taking the lead and making decisions (as Staley is apt to do.) However, she is also a great big sister, sweetly helping out with Briggs, sharing with him, trying to console him if he's crying, and playing nicely with him.
Big sister Adelie
Little sister Adelie
Lots of favorites...tutu, sparkly shoes, and being out in the rain.
Dislikes: Adelie does not like to wear socks. She is sensitive about getting in trouble. Although her generally active state and sometimes questionable impulse control get her into trouble pretty often, she is usually remorseful and gets sad about it. She also doesn't like when she gets left behind or left out when she is trying to play with bigger kids. We have far less unnecessary tears these days, but they are not gone completely.
Luckily, we have way more smiles than tears.
Skills: Adelie is my active and coordinated little girl. She can run fast, climb well, and jump off things with ease. She rides a bike with training wheels and can propel a scooter. She loves to hop on one foot and hang upside down off of furniture. Adelie is getting to be a good drawer. She colors well in the lines and can cut out shapes or pictures she's drawn. She can write her name in all capital letters. Adelie is very independent. She dresses herself including zipping her coat. She still usually has her shoes on the wrong feet. She feeds herself with silverware, drinks from an open cup, brushes her teeth and hair (with help for thoroughness), and is beginning to wash herself at bathtime (again needing some help for thoroughness.) Adelie takes herself to the bathroom, although she still usually waits until the last minute. She is good about washing her hands, but flushing often gets forgotten. Adelie loves to help around the house. She clears her plate after meals, cleans up her toys, and likes to help with washing the table or folding laundry or rinsing out her cup. Although she doesn't always like to sit down with me for learning activities, somehow she continues to learn. Adelie can identify most of her upper case letters (75%?). She can count to 39, although still skips 15, and recognizes most of her numbers from 0-9. Adelie is starting to understand beginning sounds and can tell you what letter some words start with based on the sound.
Adelie seems to prefer this view of the world
Adelie has a very sweet and loving personality. She is quick to give hugs and snuggle. She is very generous. She loves to make things and then wrap them up to give to others. She is often giving gifts to Staley's teacher, her siblings, baby-sitters, friends, cousins, and neighbors. Anytime anyone is coming over, she wants to make something to give them. Although very sweet and loving, Adelie is also very funny and will often do anything for a laugh. She's my child who pushes the boundaries of what's acceptable for the sake of a laugh. She is my child who is shaking her booty or making up songs about underwear or jumping off the sofa or sticking her tongue out for pictures. Sometimes I will warn her to stop an activity or she'll have a consequence. She's quick to ask, "What's my consequence?", I think just to determine whether or not it's worth it for her to stop doing what she's doing. Adelie is so sweet and so fun, but she definitely keeps me on my toes. However, I can't imagine a day in my life without the spark and the joy that she brings to it. I love the little girl she is and the person she's turning out to be.
My big 4 year old
