Can it be true that our little girl is FOUR?!?! Yes, it is indeed true and we are so amazed by how much she can do, say, process, and feel. So much has changed about her but some things have stayed the same as well – including her love for that blue skirt that she’s had since she was 2!

This sassy ball of energy has accomplished so much in the past year:

• Writing and Reading: Janie can write just about every letter of the alphabet in upper case letters. I haven’t counted how many she does on her own and how many she can do after a demonstration or cueing. Regardless, she loves to spell out words and write everyone’s names.  She’s also learning the sounds of all the letters and still loves to have stories read to her.
• Drawing: Her drawing skills have also made lots of gains these past 3 months. Her self-portrait has more detail including fingers and toes. We’ve seen her draw a turtle, elephant, balloon, triangle, and many other things.
• Gross Motor: She’s a whiz on the scooter and we’ve put away the tricycle. She also learned how to hop on one foot and skip. She’s also been taking soccer every week and has learned to stop the ball, dribble, weave between cones, and kick the ball to the goal. This past December, Janie finally mustered up enough courage to go down the small slide and swim around the pool in Hawaii using her floatation vest. Now if only she would learn to jump in…I guess that’s for when she’s 4.
• Speaking of Hawaii…one of her favorite trips this past year was Hawaii in December. Sophie and her family were there and so were Toni and Thomas! She also traveled to Vancouver for the first time and had so much fun with Amelia.
• Favorites: Her favorite books include many of the Dr. Seuss books, Octonauts Creature Report book, Too Many Mangoes, and a few others I can’t remember at the moment. Her favorite movies/shows are still Frozen (now with Frozen Fever too), Octonauts, and Masha and the Bear. Favorite foods include Khao Mun Gai, bean burritos, raw fish, raw oysters, edamame, Tom Kha (coconut soup), shrimp, ice cream, and carrots.
• She lost her precious GG this past year but she was replaced with Little Guy.
• Growth: Janie is growing taller and we think she’s just under 40 inches tall. She was tall enough to ride her first rollercoaster at Disneyland and one of the slides at AT&T Park this year. We don’t know how much she weighs yet but she’s definitely slimmed down quite a bit. Luckily the cheeks have stayed around.  She’s wearing 4T and 5T clothes now and her PJ pants are quickly turning into capris. What’s nice about her growth is that she can reach a lot of public sinks now on her own. Ah…Mama’s back appreciates that the most.
• Math: Janie loves to count – especially her reward pennies. The other day, she amazed us with some practical math during dinner. She said, “I can have two, Mommy can have two, so we will need four.” She does this all the time to us.
• School: Janie has been enrolled in preschool this past year and has been making some nice strides. Nowadays, she will just drop off her backpack and run out to the play yard without even saying goodbye. She has lots of friends and plays with pretty much everyone in her class. She’s also picked up on little tidbits like where people live, what language they speak, and what kind of lunchbox and food they bring from home. She loves her teachers, Denise and Sharla, and they have told us how independent and creative she is throughout the day.
• Personality: Our little girl is definitely going to make waves in life. She stands up for what she wants and believes in even if it makes people uncomfortable or frustrated (especially Mommy and Daddy). She also has a very creative side and has a keen ability to make something out of nothing. Toys are kind of useless for her because she can be perfectly happy playing with a straw and coffee stirrer. Janie is also very sweet and loving. When I listen to her play with her stuffed animals, I hear a very motherly caring part of her. She loves pretending to be a medic (like Peso, one of her favorite Octonauts) and has put together (on her own) a medical bag that she uses daily to bandage her family/stuffed friends, check their temperature, fix broken teeth, and give medicine.Her silly side has also blossomed this past year. She likes to make funny faces when Mama tries to take her photo and she cracks up at every funny or weird sound/word. She also makes up her own silly words/lyrics to tunes that she knows.
• Big Sister: The biggest change for her 3rd year was the addition of a little brother to the family. She is so proud of him when we are outside with him (especially at school). She proudly says, “this is my little brother, he came out of Mommy’s tummy, I’m a big sister”. She likes to play with him but has also learned that now that he’s moving, she can’t peacefully play with her toys next to him without getting attacked by the little monster. We hear a lot of “PEANUT! NO!” when they are together lately. But in the end, she loves him to pieces and will help out with finding his puppy pacifier or feeding him snacks.
• Challenges: With all the good things, there are also some difficulties with this little lady. We are still managing her behaviors with the penny reward system but she’s also become very smart about it. She has a knack for negotiating and nagging to a point where we almost give in sometimes. There are some days when she is motivated to do things on her own like get dressed or clean up and then there are days when she will complain “I’m too tired to do what I’m supposed to do”. Naps on weekends are rare but still necessary sometimes. She also loves playing with other kids but sharing is still hard when it’s not to her advantage. I suppose that’s normal for the age still. Toilet training is going well and she doesn’t have accidents during the day (including her naps at school) but she’s still unreliable at night – mostly because she wakes up slowly in the morning and gets too lazy to get up to the toilet. We’ve also learned how sneaky she can be and has been caught sneaking things she knows she’s not supposed to take or play with. She’s been caught sneaking tape out of Mama’s drawer, cutting things open with her scissors, and eating snacks that are not meant for breakfast – just to name a few.

I know this is a long post but it’s hard to describe the mixed emotions we are feeling about our baby girl turning 4. She’s officially a kid with real memories of her many adventures now and growing up so quickly before our eyes. Happy 4th Birthday, Baby Girl. We love you!!