What is Lainey like at 4?
Personality:
If I had to pick one word I'd describe her as sweet.
She's been really enjoyable this year.
She is a pretty good listener, kind to her brothers and other kids, and likes to help.
She is quite competitive and wants to do whatever Erik is able to do (riding her bike, playing soccer, swimming independently, read). She can't do everything he can do but she sure tries.
She's still pretty quiet but confident. She doesn't worry about what her peers think and is happy
to do things her own way.
She is somewhat emotional and gets easily upset if she is overtired but definitely not hard to
handle at this point.
She loves having a younger brother and is a little mother to Carson.
They truly seem to delight in each other and are constantly playing, singing, and giggling together.
They are really best buddies.
It's interesting to see the different relationship she has with Erik and Carson.
With Carson she is quite "mothering" but also very playful and silly.
With Erik she participates in more "grown up" activities -riding bikes, pretending, playing games.
Lainey is so so excited to have a new baby in the house.
She asks about him all day long, gives my belly kisses, and talks about what he will do when he is here. She originally had her heart set on a sister but without a moment's hesitation delighted in the idea of another brother! (I promise her having 3 brothers isn't too bad!)
Lainey has a deep desire for friendships and is constantly asking to have friends over or to go to a friends house. I try to arrange a get together about once a week for her. This always amuses me because Erik never, ever cared about having friends over when he was 3.5 years old.
Overall, Lainey has been really enjoyable this year!
School:
Lainey went to preschool two mornings a week this year and loved it.
She went to the same preschool as Erik, with the same teachers.
They are kind and wonderful!
The kids have spent 2.5 years going to preschool there and haven't
asked to stay home (been upset about anything at all) once. Pretty impressive.
Lainey likes artwork and probably colors and draws something most days.
She can write all of her upper case letters and most of her lower case letters.
She can count to 30.
She knows her letter sounds and I would expect she will be
reading by the time she turns 5, we'll see.
Lainey likes to sing and sings all day long, particularly when going to the bathroom and when riding in the car. Carson loves to sing too. They are a wonderful duet! ;)
Eating/Sleeping:
Eats well.
Still drinks almond milk, won't touch cows milk.
I eliminated wheat from her diet for the most part about 8 months ago.
I did this kind of randomly but almost immediately she stopped complaining of stomach aches and her loose stools went away (my odd stomach aches also stopped).
I added it back into her diet for a month and had celiac serology checked which was negative.
So I think she just has a wheat intolerance and celiac disease which is good.
I was very surprised to see such a difference.
She does get a serving of wheat probably 2-3 times a week still and it seems okay.
If she has a large amount of wheat 4-5 days in a row she starts complaining of
stomach aches again and usually has loose stools.
She is trying to give up naps. Ahh!
She still takes a nap 3-4 days a week.
I limit them to 1.5-2 hours or she will be up really late!
She does okay without a nap as long as it's only 1-2 days in a row.
I really need to preserve the afternoon quiet time until the baby starts sleeping
for 4-5 hour chunks. We'll see how that goes!
We love our sweet little girl immensely!
I am so glad to have her and hope that I can make her role
as the only girl in the family seem special (without making the boys feel bad)!
Below are a collection of photos from the past 6-8 months featuring Lainey!
Enjoy!
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