I'm way behind in making this post - I have no idea where the time goes! Back in April, our darling Ceci turned four. So crazy! For her actual birthday, we were in Rhode Island for Uncle Joe's wedding weekend. Ceci woke up in a hotel suite with us and the Toczylowskis which added some extra fun to her day. We went for a walk in Newport, she picked out a rainbow beanie baby purse as her present, and then we had a lovely lunch with the Toczylowskis, Nan and Gramps before heading back to Haverhill.
The following weekend, back in England, we had Ceci's Paw Patrol birthday party - a huge bash with 22 of her classmates (and their parents), a few of their siblings, a couple cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and some family friends. It was a blast. With such a huge crew, we rented out a small sports hall that came with a bouncy castle and soft play and just let the kids run wild. We also had party food, cupcakes, cake, coloring, and prizes. A great time was had by all, most especially the birthday girl. And even though we clearly stated that presents were not expected on the invitation, just about everyone brought Ceci a gift, meaning she had a MASSIVE pile of presents to open that afternoon. Which, of course, she loved. For her first real friend birthday party, it was a huge hit! And it was so lovely seeing her play with all of her friends from school.
Here's a quick recap of the few months of Ceci's 4th year...
The biggest change of all - in January, Ceci gave up her paci!! Ceci's been a total paci-monster pretty much from day one. For almost 2 years she's used it solely for nap and bedtime. Then as she gave up her nap a few months after turning 3 and started having rest time with her tablet, she stopped using it during naps as well. She started with 6+ in her bed and as each broke or got lost she slowly wound down to just 1 last one. We talked a lot about the paci fairy coming when she was ready (and actually just before we went to America, just before she turned 3, she thought she was ready for the fairy to come but after an hour of trying to fall asleep without it she sweetly asked me to tell the paci fairy she wasn't ready). As each paci would break and she took it to the bin (aka the trash) we'd remind her that she was a big girl and we weren't going to buy any new ones. A week into Jay's new job (a 1.5hr commute each way, so he sleeps at work three nights a week), the last paci gave out . Ceci tried to sleep it with one more night (nearly giving me a heart attack that a piece would break off and choke her in her sleep), before she conceded that it was really broken. I started talking about the paci fairy coming to take it and the look of horror in her eyes was heartbreaking. So I quickly came up with an alternate plan (one I had picked up in a mommy FB group) offering to take her to Build-A-Bear to make a new friend and put the paci inside. She immediately brightened saying "I want to do that!". Not wanting her to change her mind, I quickly packed up both girls and took them to the mall. I kept reminding Ceci that once her paci was inside her new friend we couldn't take it out and though she'd be able to feel it and hug it she wouldn't be able to put it in her mouth; she just kept responding "that will be fine!" . She picked out a Skye (from Paw Patrol) and the woman working there was so sweet helping her put in the heart (actually two - "sister hearts" because Cali wanted to put one in too) and her paci. She was so proud. We went for a treat, to the park, and out to dinner after to celebrate and then home for the real test - bedtime. Surprisingly, there were no issues. She just went to sleep hugging her Skye. It was a miracle. She did wake up in the middle of the night and had some trouble falling back to sleep for a couple hours, but no tears. The next night there was a mini-meltdown at bedtime because she was overtired ("Mommy I don't want to be a big girl anymore!") but it didn't last more than 10 minutes and then she was so tired she just fell asleep. And that was that. It's been 5 months and we've had 0 issues. Unbelievable. I thought for sure it would be a total nightmare (this girl was addicted to her paci), but by following Ceci's lead and waiting until she was ready, it really did all work out.
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| Her new Skye with paci inside! |
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| A little treat with Skye |
She's completely done with napping. While we were in America last summer, just after her third birthday, Ceci started having trouble falling asleep at night - not so much refusing to go to bed as just not being tired - she was wide awake until 9 or 10pm. But I knew that simply cutting out her nap would be too much for her so I started letting her watch a movie in her bed instead (I tried letting her watch a movie on the couch but it was still too stimulating - she was a mess by dinner time - she needed dark and quiet). She'd still occasionally fall asleep and on those nights bedtime was hard, but most days she just laid down and quietly watched a movie and then would easily fall asleep at bedtime. As her body adjusted to not sleeping during the day, the movie time started to evolve, and now she's in her room with her tablet but with the curtains open and the freedom to play with her toys, look at her books, watch shows on her tablet, or play games on her tablet - she just has to stay in her room. Some days when she's really tired she'll lay down in her bed and watch a movie, and when she has more energy she'll dance or play. She's self-regulates really well. We're now at the point that if we're on a day out or there's an event during nap time, she can skip it and be fine. But she (and I) still need that quiet time most days. She'll be starting Reception (England's Pre-K) in September, which is full day (9-3) so we're in a good place for that transition.
She's physically grown so much. She's SO tall. I hear a lot of comments when other parents find out she's just 4 - everyone thinks she's a year or two older. And it's no wonder, she's in 5-6 clothes! It seems like it happened overnight, all the sudden her trousers are too short, she can see over the countertops in the kitchen, she doesn't need the step stool to reach the milk in the refrigerator, and on and on.
With all that height, though, comes her mother's clumsiness, haha. The poor girl has long legs and big feet just like I did and she is constantly walking into things, tripping over herself, and covered in grazes and bruises. Poor kid. But, in the last few months, she's been getting much stronger and her confidence in herself is growing rapidly - her climbing has improved immensely, and she can get on the swing, get herself going, and pump her legs all by herself now!
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| Getting confident climbing at the park |
Ceci LOVES school. She goes five mornings a week and is thriving. She runs into school without so much as a goodbye or backward glance most mornings (sometimes I'm lucky enough to get a kiss and a hug). She's getting much better at eating the provided cooked lunch (our final frontier is the broccoli cauliflower bake that comes around once a month). She has several best friends but happily plays with everyone - she's like the mayor of preschool, she says hi to everyone we see walking in and knows everyone's name and what they're up to. She craves that social aspect of school. She's also learned so much. She knows all her letters and the sounds they make and has even started sounding out words. She can count up to 30, even higher with a little help. She understands basic addition and can recognize how many are in a group up to 5 without counting. It's been so amazing watching her little brain soak everything up and the connections she makes. Her vocabulary is crazy - she'll correctly use words I didn't even know she'd heard before. She loves painting and messy play, making creations out of tape, paper and whatever scraps she can find, and playing outside with her friends.
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| Making Valentines for her classmates (with Toffee Bear from school) |
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| She loves the magnetic tiles she got for Christmas, especially building rocket ships |
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| Painting! |
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| She loves her umbrella and playing in the rain |
She continues to be an amazing big sister. Now that Cali is in the toddler room at school (more on that in another post) they overlap outside play time and most days the play together happily. I'm constantly hearing stories from their teachers about what a great big sister Ceci is. If Cali is upset, Ceci will try to comfort her. If Cali needs help, Ceci will jump in and try. They also play together so wonderfully (most of the time). They love imaginative play together - especially mother and baby. Cali loves pretending to be a baby and Ceci loves mothering her. They'll turn the living room into a swimming pool, pretend the climbing frame is the park, build beds, make picnics - it's lovely to watch.
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| Taking care of "Baby Cali" |
She's such a big girl. She loves putting on my make-up and having her nails painted. She loves wearing jewelry and has her own jewelry box of treasures. She loves wearing dresses and all things pink and glittery, and picks out her own clothes every night. She loves to dress up and pretending to be a princess. (I have no idea where she got all this, lol).
She loves helping around the house. She's great at helping to cook (she can make French toast basically by herself, with just a little help with the stove, though she flips all by herself!), actually likes to help clean the bathrooms, and is always on the lookout for things she can do all by herself. She's finally able to dress herself, too.
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| Vacuuming in her ballet dress (with ear muffs on because it's "too loud") |
She was a fantastic flower girl at Uncle Joe's wedding. I wasn't sure how she'd do with a big crowd, but we talked a lot about it, went through the rehearsal, and she was great! She even kept her flower girl partner (who was only 2) with her, holding tight to her hand. All the while wearing the proudest smile. Such a lovely memory for all of us!
And with the Royal Wedding build up here in the UK afterward, she was totally obsessed with weddings for a while - she kept telling us she was going to have her wedding soon, marrying Aidan at school and Kayla and Evelyn were going to be her flower girls. Talking to her teachers, she apparently orchestrated all this at school and they did indeed have a huge pretend wedding, complete with chefs cooking up a reception dinner in the play kitchen!
Ceci, you are such a special little girl. I love your kindness, confidence, resilience, and sense of humor. I can't wait to see what the next year brings. Love you to the moon and back baby girl!!
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| Still smiling like her dad for pictures! |
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