Mara-4 Years

Where do I start with my oldest girl....She is just becoming the best big sister.  She includes Maddy and sometimes has more patience with her than I do! She loves coming up with games for them to play together and also loves being in charge! Typical first born ;)

She is so social and really loves being with her friends.  She asks to do things with them constantly and gets restless if we stay in the house too much.  I've also noticed she's a bit of a planner.  She has been recently asking the order in which things are happening.  She also almost always asks what we are doing everyday.  She just likes to be in the know!

She is a huge helper at the grocery store now.  She does almost all the shopping for me as I call out things on our list and push the cart.  It's a huge help with Maddy still being small. 

I love that we have moved away from the tantrums of the 3's.  Don't get me wrong there's a lot of sass that has come with 4 but I at least we can have a conversation with her and she understand where we are coming from.

She loves to sleep on her floor in her room.  She'll set up two sleeping bags and drag her animals down there.  I don't know the appeal but we've indulged her in this aspect.

She is still princess obsessed and this only grew with our trip to Disney.  I think she was at the perfect age for a first trip. I know she will remember it for sometime and she still constantly talks about it.  She has all the princess dolls, castles and these are her go to toys for pretend most days. 

She has become a less picky eater.  She will try almost anything we put in front of her and is usually willing to eat however many "additional bites" we require to get down from the table.  She is still a snacker and I think would prefer to eat throughout the day rather than three meals.  I am like this too so we try to do a healthy mix.  The only time we've found issues with this is at bedtime.  She always wants more food or to take things upstairs.

Bedtime is ok.   She is still not the best sleeper although doesn't wake us up constantly through the night.  She'll get up to use the restroom or if there was a loud noise but that's about it.  She will stay in her room till her light turns pink and then come into our bed.  She's a night owl but is always happy in the mornings (just prefers to sleep later). 

I love listening to her stories now.  She recalls events and loves to share.  I love listening to the details she leaves out and which ones she includes.  It's really interesting how her mind works. 

She thrives on alone time and really values quality time with both her dad and I.  I really try to give that to her along with a more physical touch as I know she needs that too.  She is different from me in that aspect so it is definitly an effort I try to put out there. 

Mara you are amazing.  You are so loving, patient and kind.  You light up our world and we are so thankful for the moments and memories this year.  Love you to the moon and back little girl!