4 is so the best age ever!

I am really enjoying my little girl at the moment. 4 is such a great age! There are so many things I am loving about her right now.

Her imagination runs wild at the best of times. She keeps herself busy for hours with literally nothing. Just yesterday she was busy baking a cake in the sandbox with a pail, some spades, leaves, flowers etc. This followed on watching Nigella with mommy and declaring that she wants to be a chef just like Nigella. Yeah, I'd also love to be Nigella. Just tonight her career choice changed in the bath to being a pharmacist - someone that can mix medicine with bathwater and shampoo. These are off course following Wonder woman and a "police girl" after the theme for school last week was "people that help us". We have also been through phases of being a veterinarian (after visiting the vet with one of the pups), a hairdresser after her visit to mine and off course, the now famous Dr Barbie. I love how sometimes we are a family of crocodiles (from baby broter crocs, to little girl crocs and mommy and daddy crocs) and sometimes a family of panda bears, or whatever catches the imagination at the time.

I just love it that she is trying so hard to help mommy sometimes, even if she gives up soon. I love it how she knows when mommy is sad and daddy is tired - as long as she is not tired, she is the perfect little helper. Sometimes her insight is way above what we believe a child of her age should be - she understands when things are tough, on a instinct level she tries to help.

I can not get enough of the little girl hugs and kisses. I can not get enough of the dressing up and princess stuff and I certainly can not get enough of her hiding and surprising me around the house every day and the hugs that follows. I also wishes that she would come and cuddle more often in our bed in the mornings.

She loves her room and her bed and play on her own. She is surprisingly neat in her own way - she packs things away in containers, maybe not how I would group them, but in some sort of way she has some order installed. And she keeps it mostly intact. She gets hugely upset if a visiting friend or her brothers makes her room untidy. And I love how she is all interested in make-up and hair and all sorts of feminine finery.

Her independence and her clear ideas on choice really thrills me (although sometimes is a more negative than positive way). This little girl really knows what she wants. She amazed me yesterday about how clear and precise she chose when I took her clothes shopping. How she reasoned what top to wear with what bottom and choosing and not complaining when she had to decide which to leave and which to buy. And a poncho works just as well as a skirt.

Her "remember when" game is such a joy - she "remembers" things like - "do you remember when I was born you wanted a little girl just like me?" to yesterday's special lunch or Fridays ingredients of her lunch box. She definitely has her daddy's great memory.

I am so glad that God blessed us (and me particularly) with our little girl. She is such a joy. We are going to be great girlfriends one day, well maybe we are already.

And in other news, we have not been sleeping for 3 weeks - that's now me and Little man L. Any ideas? I am today cutting down on his nap, adding an iron supplement and hoping for the best. Failing which, cry out??? Anybody tried it, did it work?