In one year, my daughter will be in school. Real school. Not just coloring all day, or affixing glitter to things that shouldn't have glitter on them (NOTHING SHOULD HAVE GLITTER ON IT), but honest-to-blog going to a place where the primary purpose is to learn. But we're not there yet, which is something Hollie and I have to remind ourselves daily. Right now, we have a 48-month old girl.
A number of things have marked the past year as one of growth. Less physical, more mental. Less height, more depth. Less big, more big sister. Without the ability to conduct a conversation, these pictures won't show the true differences between Year 3 and Year 4, but hopefully the color commentary will fill in the gaps.
As with the
last three years, each of these photos was taken on or near the 12th of the month.
And because it's how we do things here, this is where we left off.
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| September 2013 |
While not the most ambitious thing she rode at the beach last year, she was pretty darn thrilled by it. Now? Not so much. This year on the boardwalk, after the second ride that only went in a circle, she slumped in her seat and muttered, "This ride is booooooring."
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| October 2013 |
KidZooU at the Philadelphia Zoo finally opened in 2013. The most notable thing about our trip is that Millie made it into a viewing bubble without incident. At 37 months, she was finally able to judge when to stand up without smacking her head. This is a serious achievement, because I was getting pretty tired of crawling on a fours to fish her out.
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| November 2013 |
While she technically achieved older sibling status while she was two years old, I would argue she didn't really come into her own as a big sister until she hit three. That's at least partially due to G2's role as a non-mobile lump for the first six months. Regardless, in the last year, she has come to relish her newfound responsibilities. Chief among these? Playful tormentor.
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| December 2013 |
From the time she could stand on the step stool next to the counter, she's enjoyed baking and decorating. But this was the year she realized the most important benefit of the task. Now we just have to teach her to finish decorating before mainlining the piping bag.
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| January 2014 |
There was a lot of snow this year. Like, a ridiculous amount of snow. It got kind of boring after a while. We took a lot of pictures like this one.
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| February 2014 |
2014: The Year We Made Contact (with LEGO). As
discussed in this space previously, I have developed a process (patent pending) for indoctrinating children into the cult of LEGO. To be fair, it hasn't stuck as well as I'd like, but a couple of times per month, she asks to get the bricks out. She still mostly builds walls, but they're getting taller. We call this progress. Also in February, she attended her first concert.
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| Laurie Berkner is totally amazing, you guys. You don't even know. |
I have no regrets, except for maybe cheering too loudly during the encore. That might've been over the top.
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| March 2014 |
"Hey, LG! Smile!" And this is typical of what we get. Weird pose; weird face; 100% my child.
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| April 2014 |
Speaking of weird poses, this is also standard procedure for most afternoons. The hat is her brother's; the glasses are a hand-me-down from Aunt Kristen. The sprinkler? I think I blame her mother for that.
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| May 2014 |
This is the year she discovered that dandelions aren't just yellow flowers you can stick in a glass of water to give to Mama when she comes home from work. This is also the year that my backyard weed problem has gotten completely out of hand. Coincidence?
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| June 2014 |
Camping! S'mores! Sparklers! This year was full of big firsts. For instance, this was the first year she grabbed a lit sparkler from the wrong end and burnt her finger. That was less dramatic than you might assume. She's gotten much braver and more resilient in the last 12 months, and it's nothing less than thrilling.
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| July 2014 |
My brother and his wife had their first child in June. LG met him in July, and the most amazing thing was her reaction when he soiled himself quite loudly as soon as we put him in her lap. She could barely contain herself.
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| August 2014 |
We got LG a bike back in March, but it took a while before she got really comfortable with it. Just in time to get too big for it, as it happens. And the other picture? Well, how could I not share that? Just look at it.
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| Sept 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
In the run-up to our annual beach trip, we spent an agonizing few days watching the weather forecast get cloudier, colder and rainier. At the last minute, we decided to shift the trip forward a few days so we could catch some sun. As the picture on the far right illustrates, we made the right decision. This was about three minutes after letting her loose on the sand. She spent the better part of that day in the water getting smacked in the face by waves, over and over. And she loved every minute.
And boardwalk rides? I'm not even allowed to go on rides with her anymore, unless the rules state that I have to. Because she's a big kid now and does these things by herself. It's bittersweet, to be sure. (But markedly less expensive, at least until G2 wants to ride things.)
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| September 2013, 2014 |
Of course, that sort of thing tends to tire a person out. And thus begins a new tradition of comparing her vacation naps. It should be noted that she hasn't reliably taken an afternoon nap since she was two-and-a-half. On vacation? Out like a light.
But once again, she didn't officially celebrate her birthday on the beach, and since we do want to make her actual birthday something special, we got her a little something. Her reaction?
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| September 2014 |
But what could elicit such a response, you ask?
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| A horse, of course, of course. |
