Walking with the Cooks: Happy 4 years, Sarah!

We had such a fun day/week celebrating Sarah's birthday and remembering back to the day of her birth. She is our kind, delightful, helpful girl. We are so thankful for the four years we have shared with her!

Weight: 40 lbs 13 oz (86%)
Height: 40.25 ins (62%)
Clothes: 4T/5T; shoe, size 9

Likes: swinging (by herself!), chalk, swimming, babies, music (piano, making something a microphone, just having a singing day), special sweet treats, learning to do something herself (like buckle her seatbelt)

Dislikes: blowing out candles, smiling for pictures, loud noises paired with crowds

Schedule: Sarah can read a digital clock now and she has taken real ownership of her routine. She knows that at 7am she may come downstairs. If she wakes up before that she may play or potty, but has to stay upstairs/in her room. While Sarah rarely naps we have preserved a rest time from 1-3pm. She goes down at 1pm and knows that she is to stay in bed. At 2pm she may get up to read or play and at 3pm she may come downstairs once she has made her bed and picked up her room. It is working well for our family!

Eating: Favorite foods are green peppers, pancakes, cheddar, crackers, yogurt, and any fruit. Sarah eats well and is willing to give most things at least a try.

Talking: The nurse practitioner who conducted Sarah's well visit said she felt like she was conversing with a 7 year old. (Proud parent moment :) )Sarah is known for talking with her hands and with an occasional flair for dramatic story telling. She loves to sing, figure things out, and pretend.

Random, but fun:
* She is on track with her gross motor skills, which is refreshing and fun.
* It is so neat to watch her pick up writing skills. We haven't intentionally taught her letters and numbers, but we practice them with her and she in turn can copy anything we have given her to write. Making cards is her favorite way to practice!
* She and Josiah have their rough days, but for the most part they love to play together and interact really well together.
* Sarah is taking swimming lessons at the beach this summer. At first she was nervous about being part of the class, but now she loves her life guard instructors and is feeling confident in the water. She chose to be brave!
* This summer Sarah was also part of her first VBS group. She was a year younger than most children, but kept up with the group really well. It was a joy to hear what "stuck" at the end of each day.

Next appointment: Monday, July 27, 2015 at 10:15am

Back in January she was just learning to write her name.

Valentines party! The best day to wear pick socks with red sparkly shoes.

A preschool carnival at church. She was pretty excited about decorating her cupcake. She gets it honestly :)

Their first time riding together in the car. He didn't know he was missing out on suckers yet . . .

And again in the Target double stroller. This is probably her favorite carriage ride. (Yep, they call buggies carriages up here.)

MOPS St. Patty's Day party.

Little girl loves a project. I am not always super great at giving her projects, so the moment had to be documented!

Yep, she came up with that on her own.

She found a way to keep quiet time in her room during nap time.

Silly girl at her finest.

Decorating Dave's birthday cake.

Before we cut her hair . . . enjoying the view at the National Seashore on Dave's birthday.

She sang with the children for Palm Sunday and loved it.

Our girl who used to scream from the time we entered to the time with exited the doctors' office now loves to play doctor, as well as visit the doctor.

Sweet girl :)

We played tourist in May . . . before the tourists came :)

Everyone loves music time with Dad.

She loved to tell people that her Dad didn't like dandelions and she wasn't allowed to blow them. A sweet friend told her she could blow all she wanted in her yard :)