... is now 4. And has been for a good few weeks (but I've been a bit slack in the blogging department.) She grows more gorgeous each day. And with the gorgeousness comes added FEIST (is that a word? The noun, to the adjective FIESTY???) Also - to my dismay - comes added bolshiness and a bit of strop in for good measure. Thankfully (and I may come to regret "boasting" of this) Caitlin doesn't do temper tantrums. But if anyone wants a masterclass in BOLSH, look no further. The Maestro is here. But she's a redhead so I figure it's in her genes and I may be responsible for a bit of that!
Caitlin is still a Mummy's girl who loves cuddles and stories and kisses (although if she's asked for too many kisses there is a slight roll of the eyes and a weary sigh like it's all a bit of an effort!) She loves to sing and sings beautifully in tune. What she doesn't like is snging when she knows that people are listening so we have to be very careful to compliment her AFTER and not during a song if we want to hear it all! She has just got into baby dolls and My little ponies and girlie things although her very best toy ... is still whatever Sam ahs got in his hand at the time, which tends to disturb the peace in the house. Consequently she likes dinosaurs, dragons, knights and swords, transformers.... Today her biggest bugbear is that Sam got a go-cart for his birthday that she is just a bit too small for and a bow and arrows which are for age 5+. Steve showed her the writing on the package which said "Not to be used by girls called Caitlin who are only 4" - which she thought was very unfair and duly stropped.
Caitlin is Sporty with a capital S. She loves running, kicking a ball, kicking anything, jumping on the trampoline, sliding down the pole at the park and swinging from monkey bars. In fact her upper body strength is so good that she can descend the pole without actually sliding - just coming down hand over fist in a slow, controlled way. She tells us that she is so strong, her muscles can crush bones. She has an "Anything you can do I can do MUCH better, especially if you're a boy" attitude, and I have NO IDEA where that comes from (although I might glance sideways at Jess for this one.) We werw at the Playbarn in Poringland on a playgroup outing. Thi is a fantastic place with soft play and climbing indoors as well as tractors, diggers, pony rides, climbing frames, mazes, ride ons, slides etc outside. She has a lot of friends at playgroup but mainly plays with boys and this day was no different as she, Kyle, Cameron and Callum decided that they wanted to go outside to play with the diggers. There are three very popular diggers in an area covered with bark and children can pedal the diggers and work the mechanism to scoop up piles of bark and deposit it somewhere else. As we made our way to the door, Kyle said to no one in particular, "Caitlin will have to wait for her turn because there are only three diggers and there are four of us." Leaning down as we got to the door, I whispered, "Caitlin, when the door opens, RUN to the diggers." She turned and asked why, and I said "The boys will run so YOU run." The door opened and Caitlin turned to look at me when the boys started running. I mouthed RUN! to her and she took off and powered ahead of them, reached the diggers and sat down on one just as they got there. That's my girl! Anything you can do...
Caitlin loves to laugh. Her deep throaty giggle is one of the loveliest sounds in the world. I love it when I hear her and Sam playing and something makes them giggle together. Apart from playing with Sam, her favourite things to do are drawing, cooking, dancing, playing at the park, riding her bike. Favourite DVds now include Disney's Robin Hood and Mulan, Kung Fu Panda, Night at the Museum, Stardust, Elvis Presley in G.I. Blues and Blue Hawaii. She still loves Les Miserables. Oh and she likes to do Tony Horton's P90 routine with me.
Oh yes!
She has a competitive streak a mile wide which we are trying to tame! She loves playing games but hates to lose. We are currently teaching her how to lose graciously and how to be a sporting winner. There are plenty of teaching moments! She loves waking her big sisters up in the morning and going into Rachel's bed for a cuddle (which Rache loves too as it means she gets longer in bed!) She's great at imaginitive play and planning out the stories. She and Jess love hiding from Sam - they always hide under the duvet on Jess's bed and Caitlin lies so still and stays there for so long that I start to worry!
Caitlin has lots of favourite foods. She loves blackberries, crisps, blackberries, melon, strawberries, blackberries,pineapple, coleslaw, party ring biscuits, cheese, fish fingers, toad in the hole, bacon and more blackberries. She loves anything that you might be eating when she isn't. She loves cake, chocolate, cookies, fizzy drinks and sweets when she can get around me (which isn't often because I tell her that they are only for grown ups). Chicken is too chewy but pork is OK. She likes sour cream but not salsa, raw mushrooms but not cooked, cooked carrots, not raw. Corn on the cob, peas, broccoli and ice lollies like me and ice cream. Lots of ice cream. Like her daddy. And her mouth never minds the cold. No brain freeze for her!
Caitlin is a minx, a monkey, a mischief maker, and a little madam! She still loves to suck the life out of Mumble's fin at bedtime and loves putting the other dry fin on her nose (who knows why?) - when both fins are soggy, it's time for another Mumble. Recently she has taken to disappearing in the afternoon. If we don't realise soon enough that she is actually not with any of us, we'll find her hiding half underneath our bed, sucking on a MUmble (which she isn't allowed during the day - hence the hiding bit) and fast asleep! She loves endless stories being read to her and is doing so well with her phonics that she can now recognise the, and, of and it and can sound out cvc words like man, can, but, not, etc. Sge's enjoying George's Marvellous Medicine which i have been reading to her and Sam, the Gruffalo, Hairy Mclary, Room on the Broom, The Large Family and Charlie and Lola. I love our afternoons together when we play games, or do what she calls "Mummy and Caitlin's school day." when we do number games and sounds and phonic games and things like they do at big school. Where she is going in one week. She is ready - I'm not. I will miss my playmate!
Caitlin is adorable. She says she's not. Rachel said to her today "Caitlin, your hair looks beautiful." Caitlin replied, "Baloney!" (Thanks Steve for teaching her that one!) You say she's beautiful, she'll say she's not. Ask her what she is and she'll say "I'm not anything!" But cuddle up in bed with her, and whisper in here ear and she'll nod when you say "Are you my princess? My special angel? My treasure from heaven? My gorgeous girl?" And she is.
My little hardcore Cait. I tell her she is my best friend and she tells me that she can't be because I am a grown up. To placate me, she eventually tells me she can be my best little friend. Haha! I love that girl!
Posted by: Lau | September 02, 2010 at 08:55 AM
She is an absolute treasure. She is everything that Lin has said about her and more. A very beautiful, clever, funny, loving , precious little girl.
Posted by: Grandma,(Moo Moo ) | October 19, 2010 at 05:17 PM