Claire at 4 years

Claire turned four on April 25th so I'm a bit behind with her update.



Claire weighs 28.2 pounds ("less than 3rd percent", a.k.a. "not on the chart. at all").  She gained only 0.8 pounds in the past 6 months.  She is 37.5 inches tall (10th percentile).  Claire wears mostly size 3T in pants/shorts/some skirts. She wears a size 2T in other skirts and size 4T in shirts.  And she wears size 7/8 shoe.  Basically, she's a mini me.   And I love the below picture of her.



Oh, it's so hard to describe how wonderful and inspirational and frustrating challenging this little girl is. I have loved watching her personality and character develop.  Claire surprises me with how aware, considerate, and concerned she is of others.  I think it would be 'normal' for Claire to be self-centered and in her own little world at barely 4 years old.  However, she is not only aware but remarkably interested in the people and situations around her.  If she sees a child get hurt at gymnastics or the park, etc, she will stop in her tracks and be completely focused on the child until she feels comfortable that they are okay.  At dinner, she always asks Josh and I, "How was your day?" She wants to know who we saw, what we did, what we ate for lunch.  She says, "Okay!  Mom and Dad, please talk about your days!" and then she listens intently.  She's simply interested in other people.  I find this interesting for being barely 4.



Claire is also drama.  So.much.drama.  Little things can remain little things or unnecessarily become big things and you never know which way it's going to go.  She's unpredictable.



Other unique things about Claire:

• She is obsessed with purple and pink and loves wearing accessories (belts, scarves, necklaces, bracelets, bows, you name it).  She found a little cubby in the John Deere motorized car at the cabin and exclaimed, "This would be a PERFECT spot for my make-up!"
• She also doesn't mind getting dirty, will pick up bugs (but doesn't like worms), loves to run and explore and climb outside. 
• Her favorite thing to do right now is create cards for friends/family using wrapping paper, stickers, markers/crayons and other craft supplies.  Perhaps this is a combination of her love for "projects" and people. 
• She enjoys watching people perform on TV.  Sometimes this winter/spring, we let her watch parts of American Idol, the Voice and Dancing with the Stars.  She was mesmerized. 
• Claire has become a really good eater. She'll eat any meat as long as it's not spicy.  She does well with vegetables- she eats cherry tomatoes like they're candy and she also enjoys carrots, green beans, peas and the kids have a spinach salad every day at daycare.  Both Claire and Max would live on fruit and cereal.  She's starting to not want to eat cheese- it's awful!
• She enjoys wrestling with Max, Daddy and I 
• Claire used to stay in her bed and call for me to come get her when she woke up in the morning.  For the past six months or so, she's woken up on her own and gotten dressed without making a peep.  I usually wake up when she's in my room admiring her outfit in our full-length mirror.   
• She adores her cousins and friends.  She can make Mara and Maverick laugh at daycare like no other.  Claire and Brody are the best of friends.  She also adores her brother. She'll say, "We love our Max boy".  
• Claire does NOT like beards.  Whenever you talk about a person, her first question is always "Does he/she have a beard?" (she doesn't discriminate).  
• Unlike Max, Claire loves going to church.  She prays for people often.  Earlier this week we were eating dinner at Chipotle.  We watched two firetrucks and an ambulance race by.  She stopped eating and just stared thoughtfully before asking to pray for whoever needed help.  So proud of my girl.
• Sometimes I wish she would stand her ground more.  At gymnastics she lets three more aggressive children constantly cut in front of her in line.  She watches them step in front of her and sometimes even push her aside and she calmly backs away and falls in line behind them.  The Mama Bear in me wants to shout an encouraging word for her to stick up for herself.  And I also want to ask the parents of those children next to me why they are allowing their children to behave this way (if that was my child you better believe I would be correcting them).  But I bite my tongue and let her fight her own fight in the way she wants.  

There's so, so much more I could say.  I could say how she regularly makes my heart nearly burst.  I could write how I humbly learn from her, like when she gently says to me, "Mommy, I like when you talk softly" after I have gotten firm with one of them.  She is such a special girl.

"Though she be but little, she is fierce." - Shakespeare