Clara is Four!

On Tuesday, Clara turned four. She is getting to be such a big girl. She is such an artist and loves creating and also performing. She prefers creative freedom and loves to draw, but she doesn't really prefer to color.. She loves to sing and dance, especially with an audience. It's actually really hard to photograph her because she is constantly dancing around and just hates standing still. She is our night owl and frequently stays up quite late in her room, reading and playing. She chose to try ballet recently and is so far really enjoying it. She is our first kid who is completely potty-trained even at night and pretty much just decided one day she wasn't wearing a diaper at night anymore and then she never did again.  That determination is very typical for her. When she wants to do something, she usually just learns it. She was the first kid who learned to swing on her own for that same reason. She loves swinging and biking and has really well-defined calves in the summer because she is a biking fiend. For Joshua, three was his hardest age, but for Clara, I think it may be four. She has gotten even more opinionated lately, and that is something we are working on. She will tell me things like, "It's SIMPLE! I am not combing my hair". In fact she is combing her hair because basic hygiene is mandatory in our family.  Or after she has been told what her only option (for food or an activity, etc.) is, and if it's not the one she wanted, she'll growl, "I already told you!  That's NOT my favorite!"  She remains on the tiny side, but is still somewhat taller than Hannah. She is 37.75 in tall and weighs about 27 lbs.