Leah's 4th Birthday Luau Party

Leah Knows Best

Leah was absolutely refusing to go to sleep tonight. She told me she wasn't tired, not sleepy. I was sitting in bed folding another load of laundry and she was on the floor "reading" a book. I said "Leah after I put this load of clothes away it is time for bed. No excuses. " and she says "Mama I said I AM NOT TIRED. I will tell YOU when I am tired." 10 minutes pass and I notice I haven't heard a peep from her. I go look down at the floor and this is what I find:

4 Year Old Milestones

Motor Development: Gross Motor Skills

• running is more controlled; can start, stop, and turn
• turns somersaults; hops on one foot; gallops
• can easily catch, throw, and bounce a ball
• can brush teeth, comb hair, wash, and dress with little assistance
  

Motor Development: Fine Motor Skills

• copies crosses and squares
• prints some letters
• uses table utensils skillfully
• cuts on a line

Language and Thinking Development

• uses a 1,500-word vocabulary; speaks in relatively complex sentences ("Mommy opened the door and the dog ran out.") I am pretty sure that Leah's vocabulary is about twice this in English and half this in Spanish.
  
• understands words that relate one idea to another — if, why, when
• continues to learn through experience and the senses
• understands, mostly, the difference between fantasy and reality Except when related to trolls, fairies and anything involving Princess Annelisse & her best friend Molly.
  
• understands number and space concepts — more, less, bigger, in, under, behind
• thinks literally; starting to develop logical thinking
• begins to grasp that pictures and symbols can represent real objects
• starts to recognize patterns among objects — round things, soft things, animals
• grasps the concepts of past, present, and future but does not understand the duration of time She is starting to ask us about yesterday, tomorrow, last week, last year. Used to be everything was last year but lately she has been realizing when yesterday and tomorrow actually were/are.
  
  

Social and Emotional Development

• takes turns, shares, and cooperates
• expresses anger verbally rather than physically
• can feel jealousy
• may sometimes lie to protect herself, but understands the concept of lying
• enjoys pretending and has a vivid imagination

In addition to all of this she is beginning to read. Her teachers tell me everyday how much farther along she is coming. I suspect that by age 5 she will be more than ready for Kindergarten. Very proud of our little girl.

Tattoos for Good Behavior

Leah's behavior hasn't been the best at home as of late. We've been dealing with the terrible twos & threes in the span of a few months. The kid is 3 going on 16. Worse than a temperamental, hormonally imbalanced teenager some days. We've been trying to practice gentle discipline techniques with her. Trying to deal with her in a logical fashion versus the old school methods (that work so quickly and well) but don't have long term effects.

One thing is rewards for doing things (she should really be doing without argument anyway) but it seems that recognizing her hard work & effort is important to her. It works in school so why not at home. Lately her rewards of choice has been tattoos and stickers...and not just any tattoos as one can see in the following pictures.

She is such a fun child. She decides she wants to have a pretty princess day, so I let her hair down, she puts on a pretty dress, nice sandals and then adds biker, old school tattoos to the mix.





These particular tattoos are quite realistic looking and people did double takes on them all day today. They were a hit with her teachers & kids at her school. Reason 20, 999 why I love her school so much. They aren't generally judgmental stuffy types. They take things in stride and take great pride in each child's individuality, no matter how quirky it may be.

Just another Sunday

Today was an early day. Matt & Leah went out for a bit. Matt ran some errands while Leah played with Lindsay & Ruth & George. Mom stayed home cleaning in peace :) Abuelo & Vivian came over later in the day, had dinner that was grilled on our new outdoor electric grill. The grill's cooking efficiency surprised all of us. It cooks up burgers & hotdogs very quickly, they came moist, not dry. And even had a lil bit of the grilled taste you get used to with charcoal & gas without the chemicals.

Snapped a couple of pictures of Leah before she went out for the morning/afternoon.

Dancing in the front of the house.






This is when she started telling "Mama it is sooooooooo hot! I am melting like the witch in the Wizard of Oz. I'm mmmmmeeeelllttinnnnng."


Face she gave me when I started laughing my booty off.

Good Morning, Good Morning

Our morning routine has improved greatly especially now that Leah can dress herself for the most part. Just another reminder to us that she is not a baby anymore and will really be 4 in a few weeks.

Happy 4th of July

We really lucked out when we moved to the new house, in so many ways. One way is that we have great neighbors. They are nice, generous and get along beautifully with Leah. They are also down to earth and respectful. The kind of neighbors you can count on and also hang out with.

We went to our neighbor's parents' house for the 4th of July. Tons of food, good company, music & fireworks. Leah had a blast.



She fell on her bum about 10 minutes after we got there. We knew the nice, clean white shorts wouldn't stay white for long.


Leah is not a fan of loud noises, noise in general. She also does not care for fire, so put fireworks together and this kid wants no part of it. This of course does not stop us from inflicting them on her :)

Summer Time

Without a doubt the summer is turning out to be the best thing about living where we live. The pool has become Leah's home away from home. She has been swimming every day this week. The park is great and Leah loves playing there. Sitting out on the porch & stoop. Hanging out in the terrace area outside the pool, it really is great this time of year.

Cabin Fever

We were suffering from major cabin fever today so we went out to the mall for a bit. Only in the suburbs is that a solution to cabin fever, going from one building to another O_O but it worked.

Namebrand Awareness

Leah just informed me that she would like me to order her a pair of crocs, actually she wants a couple of different pairs of crocs.

She wants these:


She also would like these:


And she would like the cayman crocs in every color along with lots of Jibbitz to put in them.

This is the first name brand thing she has ever asked for. This is only the beginning.

Ice Cream Party

School is over for Leah, summer camp/pre-school will begin in 2 weeks. There was an ice cream end of the year party and the kids sure loved every bit of making their sundaes. Afterwards we walked around outside. Leah performed some musical for me, original Leah creation.

Our Little Mermaid

We already knew Leah loved the beach. She loves the sand. She can be there for hours on end and not complain at all.

Since the pool opened on the complex she has been living in it. We bought her these arm floaties hoping she'd start swimming. We didn't expect her to start after 30 minutes of having them on! With our neighbor Michelle's help and the lifeguard's instructions Leah was off to an awesome start on her swimming. All by herself. The kid is amazing.

She is going to be ready for swimming lessons in July.

She has to practice kicking and the proper technique for her arms, submerging herself, holding her breath and laying on her back.

We <3 Fair

Leah likes to go to fairs, I like to go fairs, Matt does not like to go. But we all go anyway. Nothing like fatty food, fast rides & petting zoos to make things just right.

Happy faces on the carousel.




Not so happy face on the dragon coaster.






Matt definitely enjoys feeding the animals. He always stays there longer than Leah. He is so good with animals.



Vanilla ice cream - cherry dipped. Followed by...


Leah's first corn dog. She loved it. Deep fried batter & hotdog? After a cone? Probably bad news & more rides.

Our Budding Photographer

Leah loves taking pictures. She took some of us just hanging out on the couch.




SELF-PORTRAIT- MYSPACE EMO STYLE


Stewie is all about the Budweiser

Go Yankees

Leah got a Yankee baseball cap from Ruth & George. For those who do not know Matt is not a fan of the Yankees, at all. He would like to start a bonfire and throw the hat in. Leah loves it. She looks so cute in it. She reminds me of a picture my parents have of Lani, Ernie and me. 2 of us wearing Mets hats & 1 wearing a Yankees cap. So cute.

Scooting Around

Leilani, Kain & Keith bought Leah a scooter as a gift when they came to visit. Leah loves riding it. One of things I love most about Leah is that she is such a mix of different personalities. She is a skirt wearing, girlie, town-boy...she is a walking contradiction.

Arggh!

PICTURE HAS BEEN REMOVED

Skull headband, black nailpolish, skull bikini, goodness I love this kid.

Big Apple Circus

It has become a yearly tradition. Every year we go to the Big Apple Circus. We love it. One ring circus, always great performers, amazing acrobats. Intimate as well.

Leah had two favorites, well three really.

She loves Grandma the Clown.


The Kovgar Troupe was absolutely astonishing with their teeterboards. Amazing last performance for the show. They also do a great jump rope routine in the beginning.

Then there is Yelena Larkina who does a hula hoop act that is breathtaking. Quite beautiful. She is married to another great act in the show, and legendary juggler Kris Kremo.

We all had a wonderful time, cannot wait till next time.