Shaela is almost 4!

Shaela is getting so big! She is growing like a well nourished weed. It is strange to see so many clothes getting tighter on her. Pants that were so long before, which I couldn't imagine her fitting in, are now to her size. Her feet are requiring new shoes, and dresses are tight around her upper back. We are actually buying her size 4 dresses now.

She is talking non-stop, she makes up some great stories and holds books like she is reading to you, with cadence and expressions that are priceless. She is drawing many pictures, mostly of her and Silky and Wilky and Cubby the Cheetah and Big Orange Bunny and Schwartz Bunny (from Nonna and YeYe from FAO Schwartz) sleeping with her in bed. She is also known in her school as the little adult. Her teachers love to hear what comes out of her mouth each day. She reiterates the things we teach her and then some.

Her occasional nightmares bring the response, "it is just my imagination running wild!"
Her imagination is pretty amazing, but it can also scare her as well. The other night she told me she likes when I use my WaterPik because the noise lets her know that I am there. She asked me to use it for a long, long time. "Promise me Mom"

Her playtime is always about making beds for all her friends. All the blankets we received as gifts have gotten much use. She also puts all her friends in a circle for "circle time". She will even give them items under their seats for show and tell. It is so cute.

She remembers everything, even if we haven't talked about it for many months. We had gone on a trip to Durango and I was showing her where we were on the map. 3 months later she is drawing the Rail Runner train, then tracks, then a huge map. She pointed out various locations on the map and said "this is Chama, this is Hawaii and this is Salulitta. We had never been to Chama and the only time I had mentioned it was when I was pointing it out on the map to Durango. Wow! She is constantly amazing me.

We were eating avocados one day and she looked at me and said, "avocados make your skin soft." Then one night as I was putting her to bed and limited the amount of books to be read she said, "let's read Spoon and the Orange Splot, we will compromise!" She also says things like " deal?" when she is negotiating for things.

The other thing she is saying is "Oh my God!" (Woops~!)

I've told her some "Heather stories" of Mama and Aunt Sue Sue and Heather playing at Heather's house. Trying to remember all the anecdotes of childhood past. She loves them, especially when Mama plays hide and seek and sits in the closet and sneaks pickled pumpkin to eat. Or when Mama climbs up the cherry trees the fastest so she can spit cherry pits at Aunt Sue Sue and Heather. Anything naughty, she wants me to repeat over and over again. She is fascinated by the dark side.

Shaela has not had to go to time out in a long time. We can reason with her and explain things to her. We also monitor her protein intake and blood sugar which helps the most. I explain to her that I want her to have a happy life and am training and teaching her choices to make to have a happy life. She can choose to be angry and mad (she does have quite the temper) or she can choose to be happy. She gets it. Thank goodness!

Shaela has two boyfriends, Avery and Tyler. When Avery got usurped by Tyler being the favorite because of his big cheeks, Avery was so crestfallen. But now, the two boys seem to share being with Shaela and all have lots of fun. It is so cute. However, the boys will not be in school over the summer, and today, I saw another boy, Kenai moving in to take their places!

What a joy to watch and witness her growth.
Blessings,
Debbie, Justin, Shaela, Kobi and Tara