Elizabeth Grace From 4 Years OldElizabeth Grace - An Amazing Birth Story
Elizabeth Grace From 4 Years Old
Elizabeth Grace was hospitalized in January 2003 for 6 days with pneumonia. She was admitted weighing 27 pounds. This was after 2 weeks of not eating at home. She was sent home with an O2 saturation of only 88. She did do very well at home and her health improved rather quickly.
At 4.5 years old she was quickly caught up on her immunizations that were so terribly difficult to keep her up to date on since she was always sick with ear infections and such. At the same apt, she weighed in at 33 pounds and 28.5 inches tall. I measured her head circumference at home, 18.75 inches. All these measurements bring her to the 10% mark. She is getting so BIG!!!
Elizabeth Grace loves to sing songs with the daycare. Her favorite is Five Little Monkeys. She likes the one about the alligator best but also likes the bed song. We really make these songs fun by being snatched out of or falling out of the small fort in the playroom. We sing other songs that will help in learning the days of the week and the months of the year. She’s getting them, slowly.
She moves very fluently on the stairs of course having a 3 story house aids in much practice.
We cannot confuse her easily with silly made up stories. She’s witty and knows when someone is telling a story.
When it comes to crafts, she’s beginning to color within the lines. She also is improving with scissor use. Her favorite use of scissors though is just to make a shredded mess. She can draw circles, squares and triangles but just cannot get a heart or star yet.
She has an interest in tying her shoes but hasn’t yet figured it out.
She is doing a marvelous job at learning her alphabet. She knows the letters and the sounds. She also knows many of the numbers. She’s counting in sequence much better now too. She knows her colors very well. I do not think I made note of when she began naming colors but it’s been a very long time. I’m sure before her 4th birthday but I dare say she was very close to her 3rd birthday, one side or the other. She speaks in sentences and paragraphs and includes words such as ACTUALLY…
She really hasn’t started asking tons of questions as of yet. It will come. LOL
Elizabeth Grace understands the way our days are set. She’s got a sense of time now. As the day progresses, she knows what’s coming up. She might ask about supper while we are outside playing in the afternoon. She’s learning to put other’s needs before her own. She understands that the daycare baby’s needs must be cared for before hers.
I love this time of obedience!! She follows the rules so marvelously. I know that she is just doing THAT. She really doesn’t understand what’s right and wrong, she’s following rules to please me. She’s begun understanding that there are different rules for different locations.
Oooh, that reminds me. She has a TEMPER!! If she doesn’t get her way, she might fling an item across the room that we both know is against the rules. She also hits and screams. She figures she’ll punish me by breaking the rules. Nate and Marquita did this too so I’m not surprised.
Socially, she’s SMART! She knows the differences of behavior for when the daycare is here and when they are not. She knows how to act in different circumstances. She knows when I’m too tired to care… She gets away with more…
None of my children have had pretend friends. EG’s the same. As of yet, she’s not invented an imaginary friend. She is just now insisting that a light be turned on ahead of her when she needs to go to the bathroom. I guess it might be a “fear” but I do not think she has any other hints of fear.
Elizabeth Grace is doing a wonderful job of learning how to ride a two wheeler! She still wears an infant helmet made for 15mo olds. The toddler helmet made for 2-5yr/olds is much too big even with all the extra padding added.
I limit EG’s TV and encourage and assist her in other activities from riding her bike to crafts. She’s learning to be such a beautiful, smart LITTLE BIG GIRL!
On the day September 18, ELIZABETH GRACE WROTE HER NAME!!! She has since improved her lettering and continues to enjoy writing her name. She writes Elizabeth and I'm sure Grace will soon follow. I need to tell her the order of her letters still. She'll be getting it soon too.
I took EG to Sears to get a picture of her and her name! She can now write her entire name, but still with assistance in letter order. She can spell Elizabeth correctly most of the time. I've told her that we've officially started kindergarten. It's really not much more than we already do. I think I added about 5 min of lessons to her day and I try harder to not miss her bedtime stories.
We lost our dog Snoopy to possible stomach cancer. Since Elizabeth Grace has seen Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Bruce lose their dog and get a new one, she sort of understood what "die" meant. We went to the humane society. She thought she would find Snoopy there. :-(
Now our Aunt Dorothy is dying. I fear she actually understands what this means. :-(
EG's been acting quite like a baby. She's acting about 3.5 yrs old. I hope this is a short stage. I almost forgot that she'll soon be 5!
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