Jessie is 4

Jessica Marie is 4 years old today.  Wow, how am I old enough to have a 4 year old??  She's so bright & beautiful & brings so much light to our world.  Jessica is a pretty typical 1st born, she's a natural leader in everything she does, be it school, church, or home.  She is always the one who directs the other kids on how they should play.  She can be a little *bossy* from time to time.  She loves fruit, it's the main piece of her diet.  Her favorite food is fruit salad, which she loves to help make.  She also loves to eat "Easter eggs" or hard boiled eggs.  She's a picky little eater.  She's very tall for her age, wearing a 5t in most things currently.  She continues to enjoy the Disney princesses, but she & Ella are also really into Scooby Doo right now.  She is often pretending to be Scooby & Ella is Shaggy.  Pretend is a big deal around our house....you never know from day to day which characters will greet you in the morning, it could be Belle, Cinderella, Scooby Doo, or a baby whale...you just never know & Jessica will correct you if you don't get it right.  Jessie is more & more interested in words & often asks me when we are reading what certain words say....she's getting the hang of it.  I've found this is more effective at teaching her words than flash cards...she gets bored very quickly.  Her poor preschool teacher is ready for Jessica to move to 4 year old preschool.  She is a dear woman & has told me numerous times it is hard to keep Jessica challenged & on task...I totally understand as I struggle everyday with that myself.  Although, Jessica is sweet, she has gotten into a bad habit of backtalk recently, which I am staying on top of daily, but it is tiring.  Despite, her challenging & dominant nature, she is surprisingly sensitive to discipline of any form.  She is a good little helper & always helps with laundry & helps clear she & Ella's plastic dishes.  She is getting better & better with writing.  She can trace her name great, but gets nervous if you ask her to write her name with no letters to trace.  She has done it before, but it's a work in progress.  She continues to love art & absolutely loves water colors, it's her favorite thing!  She also enjoys speaking a little Spanish...thanks Dora!  She loves to say her colors in Spanish & to count in Spanish also.  Jessica has a love of learning, already.  She loves to be challenged & to learn new things.  Jessica has also recently started singing to herself & anyone that will listen.  See video below. 

Singing Twinkle, twinkle little star



Answering a few questions about herself




She is extroverted & greets her little friends at school with a big hug & smile.  She is social with other kids her age & with most adults, although, she has gotten more shy around men as she has gotten older.  Daddy is her hero & everything he does is so much better than anything I could do.  One of my favorite things that she does is she sometimes comes & sits with me on the couch & lays her head on me.  She really isn't into hugging that much anymore, so I will take what I can get.  Sometimes, she will give me a kiss, but mostly that's reserved for daddy.  Her creativity is boundless & she is always making up some kind of "play" for she & Ella to do.  Mostly it comes from their little shows, but she always acts it out & makes sure her sister does as well.  Sometimes, it's from the Bible, which is sweet.  At Christmas, they played nativity quite frequently.  Jessica was Mary, Ella was baby Jesus, I was Joseph, & *wait for it* daddy was the camel.  Lately, it's Jonah & the whale story.  She is the whale & she eats Jonah (played by Ella).  She is most definitely a child who has learned the answer at Chruch or at Christian preschool is most likely God or Jesus.  At Valentine's, I asked her, who loved her & she said "God is my valentine."  I think that's about it for Ms. Jessica at 4.  We are so proud of you baby girl, it's hard to believe how big you are & how proud we are of you.  Happy 4th birthday to our darling daughter!

We snuck outside on Saturday (it was 43 & we had some sun…for us that's good) for some photos in her new Cinderella dress, isn't she cute, she was so proud of her new dress :)

This is so Jessica…talking non-stop :)