Ashleigh is Four (a few weeks late…)
Ashleigh,
I can hardly believe that you are four years old already. It seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with you, and now you are four years old and a big sister. Where has time gone? The past year has brought many changes to our world. You went from being an only child to being a big sister. You have grown so much in the past year. You are starting to come out of your shell and interact with the world around you. I love your excitement levels. You are so enthusiastic about most everything. You love to let your creativity shine through.
It’s amazing to see how much you have learned in the past year. You can now write your name, and you love to learn. The puzzles you started with last year are all way too easy for you to do. A 24 piece puzzle is done in minutes. You are very good at 63 piece puzzles, and we are moving to 100 piece puzzles! I’m amazed by your problem solving skills and your ability to think through the task at hand.
Books are so much fun. You love to “read” to your stuffed animals and your “kids” at night after Mommy and Daddy read you books. Speaking of your “kids”, your imagination is incredible. Your imaginary friends are all your kids. You started off the year with just a couple of them, then you had 6 of them, and now I think you’ve lost count. Caillou & Rosie are the ones who are usually around, but we’ve also met Herbert and Sherbert, as well as many others.
You love to see the world around you. Trips to the Science Center, Aquarium, and Zoo are always a great time. Storyville is a great place and you also enjoyed the Nature Story Hour the week we actually made it there. Anytime you can be in an enviornment where you are learning you are thrilled.
This fall we started “doing school”. We bought some pre-k curriculum and we have been learning about letters. You love to learn how words are spelled and you are a pro at sounding them out. You have a memory that I can’t even fathom and often try to make sure mommy and daddy don’t forget events that you remember.
I love to listen to you count and try to do simple math. I’m so proud that you know that 4 + 4 = 8. You are so smart! I hope we can continue to foster the love of learning you have deep inside. You amaze me with the information you retain, and the things you like to know about. I don’t think your brain ever rests.
You are an amazing big sister. You love nothing more than to sit and hold your sister, or lay next to her and “talk” with her and make her smile. I love that I can leave the two of you alone for up to 10 or 15 minutes to do laundry and you two will still be where I left you chatting away. I hope you two love spending time with each other in a few years!
You love to help with your sister too. You are always ready and waiting with a fresh diaper during diaper changes, a change of clothes when needed, or just a smile and hug for your sister. You love to watch Bekah sleep, and you can’t wait for her to learn how to talk so you can have real conversations with her.
In the past year you have started to blossom and come out of your shell a bit. You will now sometimes speak to other adults in our presence, and you are quite the social butterfly when among other kids (with no grown-ups watching). I love seeing you mature and grow each day. I can’t wait to see what the next year holds for us!
Love you bunches and bunches,
Mommy