Ivy || 4 Years Old

Today we celebrate four years since our sweet little Ivy bean entered this world, gracing us with her tender soul, sweet snuggles, and feisty personality.

Ivy at 4 Years

Weight: 33.5 pounds (30 lbs. at 3 years) 

Height: 40.2 inches (36 inches at 3 years)

Personality: Sensitive Unicorn

Age three was tough. It was all around about how everyone describes a three-year-old. 

Emotional. 

Volatile. 

Adorable. 

It was a year of ups and downs and certainly defining and refining. We are all looking forward to age four and all the development and change it will bring.

 

Travel back in time to this post to see Ivy's mid-year update from age 3 1/2

 

Milestones of age 4

Completing PT

Dropped pacifiers (YAY!)

Warming-up to kids her age 

SLOWLY warming-up to dogs

First memory of sledding 

Started soccer

"I do my own" independent phase

Sleep

Ivy and I are regular roommates. We are still in the phase of her needing the comfort of someone sleeping in the room with her. I am usually on the trundle bed next to her and many nights she ends up coming down to the trundle and squeezing in next to me and falling back to sleep. I honestly don't mind this phase. Do I want to sleep in my own bed? Yes. But, I also know I won't sleep as well because I'll be up and down half the night if she cries out. Or she'd end up waking both Dan and I up sleeping in our bed. Right now, all I have to do is reach over and tuck her in or say "mama's here" and she goes back to sleep and so do I. One day she'll kick me out and I'll be sad. For now, this is what works best for everyone.

Eat

Perhaps Ivy will always be our little preference eater. She has remained rather picky and although she might occasionally try something new, it's not comfortable unless it's on her terms. Right now her favorites are yogurt drinks, waffles, pancakes, muffins, and bacon. She enjoys little deli meat sandwiches cut into small shapes, and she still adores most all fruits and snacks. She has the appetite of a bird and nibbles all day long. If any significant amount of time passes when she hasn't eaten, her attitude will remind you. She takes after me with that hangry energy. Ivy only has a few things she enjoys for dinner and they all fall in the typical toddler diet. Chicken nuggets, cheese, meatballs, pasta. We recently discovered she will devour corn or yellow rice. For her birthday dinner she chose Texas Roadhouse for their butter rolls and butter corn. And butter.

Play

Right now Ivy is really into imaginative play using all her little tiny figure toys like hatchimals and smashlings. She loves a good surprise pack toy and the tiny and cuter, the better. She has accumulated so many and has loads of containers she puts them in. She is funnily just like me when I was a kid and attaches to really silly things (like tiny pebbles or a holographic stuffed animal tag). She is also loving the play kitchen lately and cooks up all kinds of things throughout the day. She especially loves her little cakes and ice cream set. There were a lot of fun play kitchen toys on her birthday list this years so we're excited to see how her play expands with those new toys.

 

Ivy also really enjoys coloring and crafting even though it really frustrates her. She is diligent about coloring in the lines and she has ideas about how she wants things to look. Her life goal is be able to draw a unicorn. God help us because she can't yet do it.  

Ivy is also an excellent playmate with Kip, 75% of the time. If they aren't fighting, they are enjoying each others company in play.

Talk

Ivy is as shy as can be, unless she knows you and is comfortable around you and then she is a little jabber box. I was similar. At home Ivy converses very freely and expresses everything that's going on (both good and bad). She can get really animated and gesture with her hands while she talks. Her vocabulary and articulation are huge. She follows conversations very well and will engage when prompted or independently if comfortable. Recently, many people have remarked that she is quite chatty and that's because she is starting to become more comfortable around them and beginning to open up.

Things to remember about Ivy at age 4

"A hug - and a kiss - and a high five" (what she wants when someone leaves)

Calling dad her "monster"

Unicorn "winsee" (onesie)

Speed scootering

"that's a zaster" (disaster)

Rainbow Bear and Black Bolt

Collecting tiny things and itty bitty toys

Arranging said tiny things on her "shine" (shrine)

Getting more brave on amusement rides 

"Mingo" (mango) ice at Rita's

Dunkaroos at Coffee o'clock

The way she gestures with her hands while talking (and pointing with her middle finger)

Sweets obsessed

Singing along to songs 

Trying to pop "bumpies"

Poop prizes

Her bandaid era (insisting on needing a bandaid with every hangnail and putting them on independently)

The way she tilts her head and cheese smiles for a picture

"I do my ownself" 

Her genuine interest in watching and understanding Star Wars

Getting into Paw Patrol

What's next

Age four is a big year of transition. It's really the age when the toddler fades out and the little kid emerges. Ivy will be starting Pre-K at the elementary school in the fall. Five days a week, all day. It's a huge step for her—my little pandemic baby. Won't it be wild to see how the kids of 2020 handle school? I cannot wait to see how Ivy blossoms and begins to build little friendships and a life outside of our home. It can feel scary for a parent to let the little birdie out of the nest, but knowing how it transformed Kip has me excited for everything Ivy can soon experience. Four is gonna be great!

 

 

Ivy's birth is deeply etched into my brain, mostly because it was traumatic but those memories are also filled with the peace that I felt when I held her in my arms for the first time and those first 48 hours of her and I bonding together in the hospital. Bringing a newborn into the early pandemic world was absolutely terrifying. Yet, I am beyond grateful that she came into our lives when she did and all the many ways she has blessed it since. 

Happy Birthday, my beautiful girl. You are the sweetest treasure!

These bi-annual kid posts are a true labor of love. They takes daysss to prepare. But, I'm glad I do them and my future self thanks us for hanging in there and seeing it through. I hope you enjoy them too.

Funny look back on Kip at age 4.