4 Years

Four seems to be one of the most noticeable transitions thus far. Clarita is definitely a little girl now and there is nothing toddler like about her (except maybe her tantrums). She's full of sass and spunk, but also shy in big groups, especially if she doesn't know everyone. It's really uncanny how much like small me she is. I can't help but laugh at her antics as I can imagine myself doing the same thing. Her latest obsession is spelling and she is constantly asking us how to spell words. She also "spells" her own words and then asks us what she spelled. She learned how to write her name and constantly writes it on everything. She surprised us when she told us Dada's phone number. I'm still not sure how she learned it, but I'm glad that she knows it!

Birthday VIP is the best!

She literally could not wait to go to school

Clara is still one of the most stubborn and opinionated kids I know and absolutely will not do something if she doesn't want to. Most kids can be swayed by what other kids do, but not Clara. When asked to do something and told, "so and so is doing it" she replies, "your kid is not doing it." I guess it's good that she doesn't succumb to peer pressure, but it would be nice if she was a little easier to persuade. She also still throws epic tantrums, although they are much less frequent. I am really looking forward to the end of those!

All that aside, Clara is really a fun little girl. She loves to tell knock knock jokes and even invents her own. She is quite dramatic and always singing, dancing, or acting out scenes from books and movies. Clara has declared that she wants to be in a play when she gets bigger and I have no doubt she will be a great performer. She is also very empathic and has been known to cry during movies because she is sad for the characters. She is genuinely concerned about others and always wants to make sure everyone is happy and doing well. Clarita loves her brother and often tells him so. She also loves Bailey and is disappointed on days she doesn't get to see her. She still gets into arguments with them when they play with toys she wants or do something to her toy that she doesn't agree with, but generally they all get along well. Clara is always looking after them and gets hysterical if she thinks they are going to get hurt. 

Clarita is such a girly girl. She loves princesses, Barbies, and pink. She is obsessed with being a mom and often wears Baby Suemoto in her carrier, rocks her to sleep, nurses her, and even carries her places in her car seat with her little diaper bag. I have found that she is much better behaved when she is being a mom so I encourage this behavior, especially in church! She loves dresses and generally refuses to wear pants. She also loves to dress up, preferably as a princess. Clara also likes to play outside, ride her scooter, and collect bugs. Whenever Dada cleans out the pool filter she asks him to give her some dead bugs to look at!

Overall this little girl is such a joy! She knows how to push my buttons, but she also knows how to make me smile. She constantly tells us she loves us and that we are the best Mama and Dada around. I can't imagine a life without her. She's my little buddy and helper and I genuinely love to spend time with her! Clarita definitely brightens our lives!

Stats

Weight: 29.6 pounds

Height: 39.5 inches 

Wearing

She's still super tiny and generally only changes sizes because the season changes or her legs get too long. She wears 4T pants and dresses, 3T shorts, and 4T shirts with some 3T mixed in. Most of her clothes (especially pants and shorts) are baggy because she is so skinny. She has some 4T pants that literally fall off. Basically she has to wear leggings because the waist is skinnier. 

Likes

Mama and Dada and Emmett, playing outside and going to the park, playing with her kitchen, helping us cook, reading, riding her scooter, playing with her cousins (especially Bailey who she claims is her sister), playing with the cats (especially Baza who she decided is her cat), singing, dancing, taking baths, anything craft related, bubbles, bounce houses, playing with her friends, dressing up (especially like a princess), Barbies, dolls, movies.

Dislikes

Not getting her way immediately, being told no, waiting, having to go potty if she doesn't want to, not getting to eat dessert.

Sleeping

Clarita still takes a nap and generally goes down between 1:00 and 2:00 and sleeps for 1.5 to 3 hours. Some days she refuses to nap but still stays in her room for a couple of hours playing and reading quietly. She goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 and generally gets up between 6:30 and 7:00. She usually either comes downstairs when she wakes up or plays and reads in her room until we come up to get Emmett. She sleeps in a twin bed with a million animals and a bottle of water. 

Nicknames

Clarita, Snugglepuff, Snuggle, Wiggle, Munchkin, Birthday Twin, Loqs, Puff, Wewah (thanks Emmett)

Talking

Clarita still talks up a storm and seems to have a good understanding of grammar. She  continues to speak more and more Spanish and now says some complete sentences in Spanish. She also likes to turn Spanish verbs into English and says things like "I portared mal (I behaved badly)" and "I'm crecering (I'm growing)." She's been obsessed with learning other languages and often invents words and tells me they are French.

Eating

Clara is definitely picky. She loves fruit, and will at least try most vegetables. She likes salad and will generally eat that. She also generally likes yogurt and cereal (Grape Nuts and plain oatmeal are two of her favorites). Everything else is hit or miss. Some days she loves pasta other days she refuses to eat it. She is not keen on trying new things but can usually be coaxed to try at least a bite. She refuses to eat meat unless it is super processed (hot dogs, chicken nuggets, bacon, etc). She definitely got my sweet tooth and always wants dessert after dinner. That is sometimes enough to get her to eat her dinner, but sometimes she declares that she doesn't want postre and refuses to eat dinner.

Favorite Colors

Pink, purple and red. 

Best Friends

She almost always says Bailey and Grace (from preschool) are her best friends. She's been adamant that she doesn't like boys except her best friend Drew (aka Lyla's dad), and occasionally will say that Reed or Kieran are her best boy friends. 

Exciting Events

December 26, 2016: First time at a toy store (she was in heaven)
December 30, 2016: First time sleeping in a bunk bed
January 14, 2017: First time using Bengay (her legs were super sore after skiing)
January 18, 2017: Gets her first Barbie
January 24, 2017: First ski lesson (she cried)
February 4, 2017: First happy meal (she was more excited about the chicken nuggets than the toy)
February 18, 2017: Gets completely dressed by herself
March 19, 2017: First trip to a movie theater