I am going to try something new here and do child summaries at birthdays so I don't forget the details of each child's individual life as they grow and change. Since Genevieve just turned 5 a month ago, I will start with her.
Sleeping
Genevieve sleeps from 8pm until 7am which amounts to 11 hours of sleep. She rarely naps (since she was 3 years old,) but she will fall asleep during her rest time if she is overly tired. Genevieve is a very deep sleeper still. She is wearing a pullup at night and we are thinking about trying a bed alarm to help her wake up at night to potty.
Rest time
Genna's rest time is 2 hours long. The first part of this is for reading books and if she is tired she can then take a nap. If she isn't tired after reading, she can quietly play with the toys in the room she is in. On alternate days, she gets to have rest time in her room. On the other days, she must have rest time in the baby's room or the basement "school room." (Hannah and her take turns since they share a room. Their room is the preferred room since they have more toys in there.) She is very good about staying in her room and almost never complains about it. We do skip rest time on occasion when we are out or when Daddy is home and working outside, but not too often.
Eating
Genevieve is a good eater, but a slow eater if it is something she doesn't particularly like. Currently, she will try new things with some encouragement, but she is not as willing as she used to be. She has a sweet tooth and will eat dessert until she is sick if we don't watch her portions. She is also a dip eater and loves to dip things in a variety of dips. Genna doesn't like things too spicy, but she can handle a little spice. She likes a variety of snacks, breakfast foods, and lunches. Dinner tends to be her slow meal. She loves milk and likes water okay, but LOVES juices, teas, and seltzer water. I have mentioned before that I limit juices to special occasions in order to develop good drinking habits. Her favorite breakfast is yogurt and fruit. Her favorite lunch is a wrap, fruit, and carrots with Ranch. Her favorite dinner food is tacos.
Siblings
Genna is very loving toward her sister and brother still, but I have caught her being sassy back to Hannah secretly though she rarely does it openly. She still is my best sharer and will throw a game she was winning if it means that Hannah will be happy and still play with her. She is particularly loving and caring toward Isaac, always the first on the scene to comfort him when he gets hurt. Genna is currently getting left out with her siblings a lot. For some reason Isaac and Hannah leave her out of things and try to exclude her from time to time. We are working on this. She is looking forward to Speck's arrival, perhaps so she has someone who will let her take care of him. Isaac seems to resist it alot.
School
Genevieve is ahead in school. She completed Pre-K officially, but is nearly finished with the Kindergarten curriculum. She does her work joyfully, and only dislikes/struggles with Handwriting. She is a pleasure to teach because she enjoys learning and strives to keep up with her big sis.
Books
She loves to read! She will sometimes read for her entire 2 hour rest time even though I do not require it. She is excellent at sounding out big words and using context to help her figure them out or catch a mistake. She really enjoys The Magic Tree House books and can read them herself. She is not afraid to attempt a more challanging book.
Toys/Play
Genna is one to carry around a stuffed animal or doll all day. She is very nurturing and will take care of this animal or doll all day and then change to another one in a few days. She enjoys playing pretend with her brother and sister, and she also likes to play trains with Isaac. She loves to go outside and is getting really good at riding her tricycle. Hannah gets discouraged that she rides faster than her. Her favorite thing would have to be playdates. She is very social!
Dentist/Doctor
Genevieve had a lot of anxiety about getting shots at her 5 year check up, but it turned out I was wrog and she didn't need any. She has never been afraid of the doctor, and she usually talks his ear off during her appointments. This year was no different. She even got all dolled up with lots of jewelry and sunglasses that she wore throughout the appointment except for during the eye exam. Speaking of, she didn't pass the eye exam and has an appointment with the optometrist coming up.
Genna has always loved the dentist, so that was a breeze. She wanted me to sit in the room for moral support, but other than that was a perfect patient. (Her godfather will be happy to know that!) She will probably be getting a retainer later this year when her molars come in.
Talking
She talks all the time and will readily admit that she loves to talk! When she is trying to tell me something, I have to truly practice patience because it takes a while for her to get to the point. The only thing about this is that a long seemingly nonchallant story can end with something that needs my immediate attention. Blah, blah, blah, blah.....and Isaac spilled all of his milk on the floor. Hopefully, one of these stories doesn't end with something more serious.
Chores
Genna is not a huge fan of some of her chores. She has been caught licking a spoon clean and sliding it back into the drawer just to avoid loading it in the dishwasher. (You are so dying to come eat at our house, right?) She gets 20 cents a week if she does her chores and marks them off on the chart. She is not as consciencious about marking them off as Hannah though. She also has lost her allowance for not being responsible with it and leaving it around the house instead of putting it away. She is very distractable and loses things all the time. I am hoping this will teach her to take care of her things and put them where they belong. She must put her folded laundry away and hang up her dresses every week. Plus, we have "penny jobs" that they can opt to do to earn an extra penny that week like matching and putting away the socks or organizing the coat closet. Her daily chores are:
Make bed
Unload dishwasher-either all silverware or all plastics (takes turns with Hannah)
Loads own dishes after meals
Cleans up toys
Sets table with silverware only (help Isaac learn this too)
Clears table after dinner
Concerns/Trouble Areas
Areas that we are working on right now are crying too much when she should be using words and tattling when she should be learning to work things out on her own. She seems to be going through a testing phase right now as well where she will push the envelope a little, but if I am consistent it doesn't go very far or happen very often. Overall, she is very obedient.
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