Mid-year Big Sis Update

I keep questioning how I will soon have a five-year-old and then there are the days when I wonder if I will survive until five! 

Willa keeps us on our toes with her one of a kind personality and never ending energy. The girl knows no strangers. She talks to everyone everywhere. When we're in the grocery store she'll introduce herself to random people and then proceed to introduce me and Leo..."And this is my mom, Dara, and my brother, Leo". At least she's always very polite!

There is never a dull moment with this girl. Right now she practically lives outside. She loves to play in our backyard. She just learned how to swing on her own and is great at just playing independently in general. She loves the sand and anything dirty where she can use her imagination. She doesn't really need many toys--just nature. The other day she was taking big chunks of dry dirt from the landscaping and throwing them against the wooden steps on the swing set. She also likes collecting leaves and other weeds and "making things". She especially loves flowers and it takes a lot of self control for her not to pick them out of all the yards when we go on walks. 

While she just loves being active this girl will sit in front of the TV until I make her move. Her new favorite show is Dino Dana (an Amazon original).  Dana is a 9-year old girl who loves dinosaurs. Her life changes forever when she's given a Dino Field Guide, which not only teaches her new things about dinosaurs, but gives her the power to imagine dinosaurs into real life. Willa still says she's going to be a paleontologists when she grows up so this show is just perfect for her. 

Another thing that she just loves to do is listen to stories and podcasts. It's great because she does that for her quiet time each day while Leo naps. We sometimes do audio books too. She will listen for hours!

I have so many good pics I want to share from the last six months...

She loved playing in the snow.

 This was one of the first things she made on her own and we were impressed. It's a vacuum she cut out and colored and the shape was just like ours!

 Granni took her to her first play at the Hoogland Center for the Performing Arts in Springfield. We saw Charlotte's Web. Willa had listened to the book and watched the movie. She enjoyed the play.

 She climbs on everything. She doesn't use the chair anymore and just climbs up on on the counter to get things out of the cabinet. 

I took her roller skating for the first time. It didn't go very well so we won't be doing that again for a few years!

 She's working on her selfie skills.

 She had all of her grandparents attend Grandparent's Day at her preschool.

 She still loves playing at the museum.

 That's her climbing up the top of the tube slide :0 Dad stood close by just in case but she made it up several times.

 When we go to the park she spends most of her time in the trees building things and using her imagination.

 She occasionally is happy to help me fold laundry...but never when I suggest it.

 She absolutely loves to eat out. We started having her earn dollars and she saves them so she can go out to eat. 

 Like I mentioned before, she loves to get dirty.

 Granni was her special guest when she was student of the day at preschool. Willa can't get enough of Granni.

 She finished up her year at Calvary Christian Academy K4 and will go three days a week there next year.

 She was in Miss Amy's class and was always excited to go.