pictures:)

4 going on 14...

every time i see daley, i see liesl singing "i am 16 going on 17..." she is so grown-up these days. many of her sentences begin with "now that i'm 4..." it's both amazing and bittersweet, because with each passing day she gets further and further away from my little baby girl. there have been many moments in the last year where i could not imagine i would have the energy to remain consistent with her for the next decade, but for every argument there is this sweet moment when you look at her and realize that she is struggling. she is the only girl sandwiched between two crazy boys, she is also so emotionally mature, but has a hard time expressing herself. she is so different from the boys, she needs the reassurance of a hug to feel like she is being heard and loves to snuggle.

as i type i can hear her in the other room singing. she loves music and loves to sing. she has a great ear as well, she can differentiate between a multitude of songs and sounds, and more often than not has a strong opinion of whether said song is any good!

she has also done wonderful at school. she is so well-mannered and her ability to follow direction is really quite remarkable. i was completely surprised when she sat down and wrote her name without any hesitation the other day, and it was legible!

i have also missed daley's 4th year birthday post, so that will come soon (hopefully)!

pictures:)

my preschooler...

has quite the attitude as of late! she makes jack look like a saint at this age. i'm embarrassed to admit that i have been punched, poked in the eye, hit, yelled at and told that i wasn't wanted in this family anymore-nice!? of course, this is met with loads of tears, and when all is said and done remorse, but still i went and pulled out all of the parenting books again to better equip myself, only to find that nothing short of screaming (and then crying right along with her) seems to work, and even then it's a crap shoot! once the dust settles, i'm left wondering where my sweet little girl went. between her tone of voice, use of hands(which is new to me because jack never used his hands), and screaming i'm ready to ship her off to the island of misfit kids;)

on a happier note, daley had an amazing time on vacation (the above behavior didn't make the trip). she jumped right in the water, showing little to no fear this year! amazing what a difference a year makes. she remembered having fun and dancing at the salty dog last year, and that is all she wanted to do this year! she could not wait to go, and much to my surprise without hesitation got her face painted, played dress-up, hula-hooped and danced around. much like jack she woke up ready to go to the beach, and could stay there all day playing in the sand, taking walks & flying her kite.

see above title...i now have a pre-schooler! we went to her open house last week, and she started this past wednesday. i knew she was ready, but i didn't realize how ready when she walked in and never looked back! of course, i cried as i drove away, because i swear just yesterday she was placed in my arms...i'm sensing a pattern here;) apparently i need to learn to let them go a little bit...

i've got a whole bunch more, but here is a post-dance ice cream pic;

ballet shoes!

saratoga has these awesome ballet shoes on display up and down broadway right now. daley loves them, and i promised her we would take her picture in front of all of them...so we set out to do so. we didn't get to all of them, and she kind of lost interest, but it was fun to look at them nonetheless. i'm hoping to get her to the ballet this year, i think she would love the nutcracker:)

and along with big brother's sass...is a little girl's enormous tantrums. seriously, where did she come from sometimes?? it made me pull out the parenting books last night. not to mention i went to bed feeling like such a failure. of course, she woke up all smiles and very sorry. i cannot wait for this fun phase to pass. she is making cocktail hour come earlier and earlier;)

let's end this on a good note...while there may be tantrums, her imagination is amazing. she and jack come up with the best games and have really been playing well together. especially because i am often preoccupied with a certain little guy! for instance, just the other day they were amazed by the fact that a group of ants were eating a dead bug(gross!). so they decided that the ants needed a salad to go with their bug. they made an "ant" salad which consisted of grass, day lily leaves & mulch! they kept checking on them to see if they were eating it...it was so cute!

again, post-nap hair, but totally adorable!

in honor of independence day...

i bring you my most independent, stubborn, headstrong child....miss daley olivia! i do believe she is the root cause of my new found gray hair;) i know that this will be a positive later in life, as i am certain that no one will be stepping on her toes, but if she could just tone it down right now for me i'd greatly appreciate it. it has, shall we say, not brought out my most graceful personality!

on another note, she finished her "school" and ballet. she had such a fun year, and has really grown-up. while i'd love to have her with me this fall, she is definitely ready for preschool. i'm pretty sure she'll be the girl that walks in, turns around and waves, and doesn't even give it a second thought as i walk out the door!

daley also had a blast on our trip to nyc. she was mesmerized by the all the sounds, tall buildings, lights...i can totally see her there one day. she's just the type of girl who would thrive in nyc...see comment above about no one stepping on her toes! her favorite part was taking a taxi...she didn't want to get out!

we start swim class next week, and i'm hoping that this helps daley to become a bit more comfortable in the water. she's a bit nervous when it comes to getting her head wet and putting her whole body under water. funny for a girl who doesn't need help with anything;)

here are some pictures. she seems so much older to me!

*above is her "class" picture:)

school, big girl beds, serious temper...

this about sums up daley in the last month and a half. she is going to a friday drop-off class, and she absolutely loves it. part of me wishes i had sent her to school this year had i known she was so ready, but the selfish part of me is glad i didn't because i get to spend more time with her! she is so cute when she heads into her class, with her backpack on of course.

so along with school, she has finally decided she is ready for her big girl bed. we have been asking her if she wanted a bed for months, and she honestly wanted nothing to do with it. fast forward to jack getting his new bunk beds, and suddenly she was all about it. last night was her first night in her "big" girl bed. she did awesome. i'm a little sad because she is one step closer to being a little girl, but i'm proud of her and relieved that we didn't have to go back into the room 100 times!?

i'll end on one of the less fun phases, which would be daley's new found temper. jack never really had tantrums. actually, i think he is more defiant now than he was as a toddler. however, his pales in comparison to daley's. i've never experienced anything like this, and i am clearly outmatched!! to say she is strongwilled would be an understatement. thankfully she seems to simmered down a bit as of late, but it was touch and go there for a while;)

first day of class

 

easter egg hunt 2013

 

follow the bunny tracks...