milestones 7, 5.5, 3.5

(Questions were answered by the girls.  Paragraphs are my commentary.)

L, age 7

Favorite color: red and pink

Favorite food: pizza, buffalo, salmon, cucumbers, strawberries

Favorite treat: suckers, chocolate cake and ice cream

Favorite movies: Miss Congeniality, Princess Diaries, Frozen, Cinderella Story

Her princess: Elsa and Belle

Favorite activities: “make stuff”, puzzles, reading, board games, dance

Favorite toys: Belle doll, barbies, legos

What I want to be when I grow up: teacher

Recently: mastered her bicycle without 2 wheels (living on a busy street, you haven’t gotten to ride much because I insist on being outside with you.  But you took to it like a fish takes to water!)

I can’t believe how fast you are growing.  It’s so exciting and so fun to see you discover the world and who you will become.  I love and look forward to each new milestone.  You’re bright and talented.  You want to try everything but get so frustrated if something doesn’t come easily.  You’re so very sensitive and emotional and wear your heart on your sleeve.  I worry how you crave approval and I pray for patience, knowing that if I react too harshly, it hurts you deeply.  I love that you want to help and that you want to make others happy.  You’re the first to offer a hug or to keep me company.  You’re such a good big sister, trying to include the little girls, teaching them and frequently doing most of the clean up work.  I appreciate you SO much.  At the recent parent teacher conference, your report card showed you performing well above age level in nearly every tested area.  Your teachers comment that you are very intelligent, quick to learn and a great help in class.  Hearing you read or play piano makes my heart soar, I’m so proud of your growth and your eagerness to develop these talents.  You are a gifted dancer with long graceful extensions, natural rhythm and I love that you throw yourself into it wholeheartedly.  You are affectionate, sincere, beautiful, sweet and passionate about life.

A, age 5 ½

Favorite color: “rainbow” (usually pink and purple)

Favorite food: ramen, spaghetti, eggs

Favorite treat: Hershey’s bar

Favorite movies: Ninja Turtles, Night at the Museum, Lizzie Maguire, Camp Rock, Jumangi 

Her princess: Rapunzel.  And Tiana.  And Anna.

Favorite activities: playdates with friends, crafts/art, playing the wii

Favorite toys: legos, magiclip princesses

What I want to be when I grow up: vet

Recently: today you lost your first tooth while biting into an apple.  I didn’t even know it was loose!  You’re growing fast and it’s sneaking up on me.

You keep me on my toes!  You are independent and brilliant.  You race around a million miles a minute, eager to conquer everything all at once.  However, you get frustrated SO easily and struggle to express yourself, forgetting to use words and resorting to shrieking or running off to your room.  You are SO stubborn.  While it’s difficult for me, I think that you are powerful and once your mind is made up, you will accomplish such great things.  Your unique sense of fashion makes me smile and your imagination regularly astounds me.  You are so creative and your play becomes so real to you.  I love listening to you play, describing details and directing everyone else.  You can get anyone to play with you.  You’re always the ring leader and are at the heart of every activity.    You are so creative, drawn to puzzles and art projects and especially building things like wood crafts and legos, paying careful attention to structure and patterns.  Your face is so expressive and your features are exquisite. 

E, age 3 ½

Favorite color: blue and pink

Favorite food: chicken nuggets, ramen, French fries, mac and cheese

Favorite treat: candy

Favorite movies: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First, Monsters University, Tangled

Her princess: Sofia, Cinderella

Favorite activities: “play games with daddy” (board games), help mom cook

Favorite toys: stuffed animals, Minnie Mouse figures

What I want to be when I grow up: a mom

My littlest sweetheart, I am so not ready for you to grow up.  I love getting to spend so much time with you and getting the chance to enjoy each phase.  You are mischievous and delightful.  You are often the instigator and the one responsible for getting your sisters wound up.  You are so full of energy, constantly running and bouncing in a way that is both obnoxious and adorable.  In fact, sometimes I’ll notice that you are literally running in circles just to keep yourself awake and if I can get you to hold still, you fall asleep in minutes.  I love listening to you play, especially with your stuffed animals or dolls, so very involved and completely in your own world.  You have a strong personality and strong opinions on everything from your outfit to the order in which you eat lunch to how a game is played.  And stubborn!  You still regularly have unreasonable-refuse-to-listen tantrums that we are working through.  And it drives me crazy that you try to change clothes multiple times a day.  Or better yet, undress and hide your clothes hoping that you can just wear pajamas or dressups all day.  And yet you are sweet.  You are so fun to hold and cuddle and I love your sweet little kisses.  More often than not, you sneak into our bed during the early morning and will go back to sleep for another hour or two and I cherish that time to cuddle.  You are incredibly articulate and creative, with a vocabulary far beyond average for your age.  Your big eyes are SO beautiful and your smile lights up the whole world.

General schedule
L’s alarm clock goes off at 7:15.  She stumbles around for awhile and gets to the piano bench about 7:30 to practice.  I love waking up to the sound of her playing.  A and E drift awake and we drift from sleepiness to general chaos.  L hurries to get ready for school and is on the bus by 8:10.  A and E finish getting ready and we go to preschool/gym by 9.  Except Wednesdays.  Lately on Wednesday we tend to be lazy and stay home all morning.  Sometimes I get really motivated and do the bulk of my cleaning then.  But usually we just play with toys.  Or bake cookies.  We usually eat around 11:30 and I try to talk them into a quiet time movie (usually more for my sanity than theirs). 

Monday is our favorite day for playdates or field trips since L is out early from school.

Tuesdays I usually babysit through the afternoon.  When L gets home from school, I leave the little girls with my mom or a friend and take L to piano lessons.  Tuesday night is usually Relief Society/Bunko or a movie night.

Wednesday is a playday.  L gets home from school and the girls get to play together.  Dinner is early and A has tumbling in the evening.

Thursday is crazy.  A has art class, L has two dance classes, I teach an evening class at the gym and typically Grandpa is in charge of dinner.

And then I always look forward to the weekend for whatever crazy adventure we have planned.