Kyler and Jeanette: Not a baby girl!

24 August 2015

Not a baby girl!

My beautiful baby girl turned four. She isn't really a baby anymore - she even told me that when I call her my baby girl: "Momma, I'm not a baby girl, I'm a big girl!" But when I asked her if I could still call her my baby girl anyway, she said yes and gave me a big hug.

In the last year, Calista has grown up, matured, and learned so much. She started pre-school one day a week last September, and did so well.

She loved going and playing with her new friends. Her teachers thought she was enthusiastic and very bright - they told me it might get us all into trouble someday if she isn't challenged. I believe it!

She also left nursery and started going to Primary at church. My little Sunbeam is full of energy and loves to give talks or say prayers. Sometimes she has difficulty sitting still or paying attention, but she's slowly getting better and her hilarity mostly makes up for it.

She has announced that she is going to marry a boy in her primary class (he agrees) and their wedding cake will be orange.

Calista is slowly learning the right way to deal with frustration and anger, and I am so proud of her for the progress she has made this last year.

It was especially apparent during the soccer season, watching her learn how to take a break to calm down rather than just have a tantrum. She still has more progress to make, but don't we all...?

Craig is one of her favorite people... most of the time. She has declared that she is a princess, and he is her prince. They are getting along really well most of the time, and it is so nice to watch them play together, and funny to find him in his crib with an apple (hmm, he can't get out, so how did it get in...?), and I love them both more than I can say.

Of course, Calista also loves when Craig is napping and we play all the games that he interferes with. Who doesn't like time away from their little brother every now and then?

One of my favorite things she does is make up silly songs and stories. Often the songs will just be narrating her current actions ("I am picking up my to-oys!") but they are funny nonetheless. Her stories mostly are about dragons, monsters, dinosaurs, or adventures (or a combination of all of them!).

Her imagination in general has exploded in the past year. She will pretend to be Calista-lion, Calista-anaconda, Calista-elephant, and more. Most of the stuffed animals she has named have been "Calista," though they are now starting to be nonsense words she makes up, like "Bah-nee-no."
Calista also loves to dance, and learns new moves all the time like "wiggle your hips, wiggle your hips." She will be taking a littler ballerinas class in the fall, and she is so excited.

She is learning how to write, and can write her name with decent consistency now. Calista can also write words if you tell her, slowly, how to spell each word in turn. She has also learned how to use scissors, to the detriment of her eyelashes and the cat's fur.

Calista often loves to help, especially when I am baking. She thinks it's fantastic to measure and pour the ingredients into the bowl, and only sometimes makes a larger mess than I would make on my own.

Sometimes she doesn't want to help, and occasionally she gets her privileges taken away for a time because she isn't listening or obeying her parents. Such is life with a 4-year-old, I think.

The vast majority of the time, I am in awe of this little girl. She is smart, sweet, loving, an amazing older sister, beautiful, strong, wonderful, and a great example to me. Calista has grown so much in the last year. I can't believe she is four already.

I am so proud of the little girl she is becoming, and while sometimes I want time to slow down, other times I am just content to "cuddle and watch videos" with my beautiful little girl.

Likes:
Dancing
Movies - Sleeping Beauty
Chocolate and candy
Spaghetti
Pizza
Apples
Making up stories and songs
Animals
Dinosaurs and dragons
Playing at playgrounds
PURPLE
Books

Dislikes:
Onion
Bell pepper
Knotty hair

August 2014