Keira is 4

Keira turned 4 in December and she's already planning for her next birthday. 

Keira is proof to me that all children come with pre-programmed spirits, full of individuality. She is her own unique fun person. In some ways I see similarities between me and Keira, mostly in our worries and fears, but her personality is all her own.

She loves music and she loves to dance. According to Keira, she has to dance. One Sunday morning we had church music playing. Keira heard the call to dance and ran upstairs to change her clothes. She came down in her finest dress and announced that the show was about the begin! Kyle and I told her not on Sunday. Her response was that because the music was playing she HAD to dance. Just last month I took her to the doctor for her yearly check up and the doctor asked if she could walk on her toes. She happily obliged by gracefully spreading out her arms as she tip toed around the room like a ballerina. It is so entertaining to watch her dance, she puts on a performance- and is serious about it. She moves her body with a purpose and her face is serious, yet you can tell she is enjoying herself.

Keira wears a skirt or dress nearly everyday. I cannot get her in a pair of pants, unless they are leggings. She has a plethora of clothes handed down from Hailey that sit in her drawer. I've given up on the fight. As long as she somewhat matches I try to let it go. 

Keira loves to have books read to her. She loves to go to the library to check out new books. Her attention span for storytime doesn't last long enough, but she is more excited to grab a new stack of books and sit on the couch in the library looking through them. 

I've always felt a little guilty for not spending as much time teaching Keira as I did Hailey. I guess it's a little bit of middle child syndrome- the first gets the attention, and then the middle child gets a little lost while the third gets even more attention. Even with that, Keira is a smart girl and is picking up on her letters and letter sounds. She is able to recognize every upper case letter and the vast majority of lower case letters. She knows the letter sounds for a good number of them as well. Sometimes it's hard for me to know just how much she understands, because she is the child who knows more than she lets on. Or even knows more than she realizes. This year we have done a once a week co-op preschool with friends and it has been so fun to do. Keira is learning and playing with friends. We love it.

Keira likes to play by herself. Not all of the time, but often I will find her in the playroom with the door closed. Granted, that is mostly to keep Kacey out. She isn't so much of a fan of playing with Kacey because she destroys her play. Hopefully in the next year or two that will all change. There are many times though that Keira prefers to play on her own, and I think it's good for her. Sometimes she just needs some space to herself.

She does love to have fun. She is a fun girl. And funny. So many times we've had people tell us how much they love Keira. It's because she is just fun. While she can be quite dramatic, her dancing, singing, and down right silliness draw people to her. 

This picture is her in every way possible. The outfit, the pants tucked into the socks, and the pose. She stood like that for a minute or two posing for a picture. Thanks to Brittany for capturing it for us!

A few Keiraisms from the past year:

1. "Mom, if we go to Lagoon everyday this week I will give you a quarter out of my piggy bank."

2. One time while bowling, each time before her turn to bowl she had to put her face in the air blowing up from the ball return. Even in between her two bowls. I guess it was her good luck charm of the day.

3. One afternoon while our two neighbor boys were over playing Legos, Keira went upstairs to her bedroom and changed her clothes. She gracefully walked down the stairs dressed in a nice dress, a necklace, a ring and had spent sometime in the bathroom brushing her hair. She came up to Camden and Tate and fished for a compliment, "How do I look? Do I look pretty?" Haha, poor girl, the boys hardly looked up from their Legos to take in her look. 

4. Apparently we order too much pizza from Papa John's. Keira refers to Parmesan cheese as Papa John's cheese.

5. Fairy Potter = Harry Potter

6. While at Cafe Rio the ladies working were speaking Spanish to one another. Keira turned and said to me, "They don't talk very good."

7. In a way that only a 4 year old could so innocently say, Keira told my mom, "I'm getting bigger and you're getting old."