Louise: 5 years

I was going to say “I can’t believe I have a five year old!” – but…honestly, I can. Louise has grown into such a KID that it would be weird to me to NOT have a five year old. She surprises us every day with her words and actions, with her thoughtfulness and her intelligence. She can still throw a fit (let’s be real) but overall, her composure is impressive. Although I enjoyed Louise as a baby and loved watching her grow, I can confidently say that this phase – the kid phase – seems like it’s going to be amazing.

I’ve also decided that the five year mark is the end of the monthly updates. I’ve really enjoyed doing them for Louise, and I look back on them all the time to remind myself of her development. But as she moves into kindergarten and has fewer big milestones on a frequent basis, I think it’s time to switch to ad-hoc updates and let the official monthly photos and blog post go.

Louise: 4.11

One more month until my girl turns five!

She’s been into making up words. Her favorite is “malootey.” Celine has jumped on this bandwagon and her word is “bimbaber.”

She’s also testing out lying…little white lies about what happened at school, or feigning innocence when she’s caught doing something wrong.

Louise really plays up any time Celine hits or kicks her. I will be sitting in the living room, minding my own business, and Celine comes tearing in the room and plops herself next to me in the chair. Around the same time I hear an exaggerated scream and Louise stomps in the room, whining and yelling about whatever Celine did.

Louise: 4.10

New things she’s saying:
“On it.” For example: “Louise, can you wash your hands before dinner?” “On it.”
“Nailed it.”
“Certainly”

She has started wanting to go overnight without a pull-up, which we’re excited about. She still has accidents but she’s gone one night without any, so I’m hoping we’ll be fully potty-trained by her 5th birthday!

She was sick over the weekend and really milked it. She was complaining that her stomach was hurting, and when she finally threw up, she had a smug, satisfied face, like “see? I told you!.” It was pretty funny (although not super funny considering she vomited for eight hours).

Louise: 4.9

Just a regular month with a big girl!

She received a glowing review at her parent-teacher conference which was good to hear. It was cool to hear that she is comprehending and speaking in French, since we can’t really monitor that at home. She’s on the cusp of reading and they’re working hard at school to get her there. We’re working on it at home too!

She’s back at the swimming lessons and getting better at it each time, putting her face under water and kicking like a champion. I’m looking forward to warmer weather when we can put her skills to the test!

Louise: 4.8

It’s like a switch flipped and now we have this grown-up girl on our hands. (Do I say that every month now?)

Her thing is saying “I already know that.” As in:
Me: “Louise, we’re going to New Orleans today!”
L: “I already know that, mom.”
or
Me: “We’re going to Mariano’s for dinner tonight.”
L: “Dad told me that this morning; I already know that, mom.”

Such a know it all! 🙂

She is getting jealous of the attention we’re paying to Celine regarding potty training. We’ve gone back to giving her a (small) piece of candy when she goes poopoo because otherwise we don’t think she’d ever go out of protest.

Louise 4.7

I don’t know if it’s the threat of Santa watching her every move, but Louise has been extraordinarily good and nice this month. She’s particularly focused on helping Celine – sharing, opening doors, sweet-talking her, etc. It’s so cute but I have a beady eye on her to figure out what her angle is. =)

This is the first year that she’s really understood the whole Santa thing and sees him as a nice person, versus someone to be suspicious of.

Louise: 4.6

Four and a half years old.

It is the most cliche thing in the known universe to say, but…look at how big she’s getting! She’s asking us such complicated questions and is overall acting like a total kid now. She obviously still has her frustrating moments but goodness…she’s doing a good job of transitioning from a toddler to someone who’s going to kindergarten next year.

She knows exACTLY how to push Celine’s buttons and does it from time to time, but can also be the sweetest big sister. She’ll share food and toys when she thinks nobody is looking (or when she thinks she’ll get a reward), and she tries really hard to be a good influence on Celine. It’s very sweet.

She is WAY into posing for pictures now which of course I’m 100% ok with. She’ll do something and say “mom…take a picture!” and pose. Our photographer for our holiday photos was very pleased with Louise’s ability to take direction. She commented that Louise has always been an easy child to photograph and I have to agree! (Especially when you compare her to Celine…)

She had such a fun time trick-or-treating, but neither girl is particularly concerned with where their candy went or why they can’t have any (for the record, we keep it in a cabinet – and had to throw away last year’s Halloween candy to make room!). It’s more about the experience for them than the candy.

I am really looking forward to this holiday season coming up in a few short weeks!