Although Clara was convinced that by 4 years old she'd be able to do the monkey bars she has now ammended her prediction and has decided that 5 just might be the magic age afterall.

In the meanwhile the big 4 years old has brought on a multitude of other accomplishments, for example, just a few days past her birthday Clara started screeching in her bedroom "I can do it, I can do it". She had turned on her bedroom light without the aid of a stepstool or holding a book in her hand to extend her reach (a pretty ingenious tool she'd come up with months ago). She got dressed without any help several times today - we went to the wading pool and the sprinklers so there were several opportunities for practise. Her art has also changed so much recently, the kid is colouring in the lines!

At 4 years old Clara is not at all the kid I would have predicted. She's loving, empathetic, and very in tune with her emotions, these traits have not surprised me. It is her shyness, introversion, and incredible imagination that have caught me off guard. Clara can have fun watching a crowd of rowdy kids her age (and older) and she might even think she wants to join in but the second the action gets too close she often becomes overwhelmed and backs off to find a quite safe place. Sometimes it breaks my heart to see her watching groups of kids at the park but then when the circumstances are just right, like this afternoon there she sits shoveling sand and sharing her trucks with 3 other preschoolers quitely, just playing together.