It’s hard to believe our youngest daughter is already four and a half years old. Somehow the little girl who completed our family has transformed into a funny, independent, opinionated preschooler with the biggest personality.
Being the third child means Arbor has always wanted to keep up with her big sisters. She learned early that if she wanted to join in, she had to move fast, speak up, and hold her own. Watching her grow has been so much fun because every day she surprises us with something new—whether it’s something hilarious she says, a new skill she’s mastered, or the confidence she has doing just about anything.
I always love looking back on these milestone posts, so today I’m sharing what life looks like with Arbor at four and a half years old.
Arbor’s Stats at 4½ Years Old
- Height: 3 ft 7 in (95th percentile) … she is TALL
- Weight: 44lbs (88th percentile)
- Clothing Size: Rarely 4, mostly 5 and sometimes 5/6!
- Shoe Size: 11 or 12
- Teeth: Arbor has 20 teeth (one still chipped in the front from her first summer running around the pool)
Personality
If I had to describe Arbor in just a few words, I’d say: bold, endearing, silly, full of life.
Arbor loves her family and friends SO MUCH and is always happiest when she has their attention. To Arbor – there is nothing better than a family dinner (or party). But if you cross Arbor, she will ignore you, or tell you “No thank you.”
One thing that makes Arbor uniquely herself is her sense of humor. Arbor is truly everyone’s spirit animal. People we know and people we don’t know say it all the time. She has this ability to make people laugh, bring energy into a room, and somehow makes friends wherever she goes. She is completely and unapologetically herself.
She’s incredibly strong and surprises us often with how quickly she can switch from a nonstop, chatty ball of energy to the snuggliest little cuddle bug. One minute she’s racing out of the pool, running laps through the house, or doing cartwheels across the lawn, and the next she’s lazily curled up in my lap (asking for snuggles).
Preschool Life
Arbor is currently attending summer day camp at her preschool, but will be going into Pre-K in the fall. Some of her favorite things about school include: her best friend Chase, water play days, and craft time. She loves sharing random facts she’s learned at school about animals, science, or nature, and she’s constantly asking thoughtful questions about how the world works.
4½ Year Old Milestones & Development
At four and a half years old, Arbor has reached so many exciting milestones. Some things she’s doing now include:
- Recognizes almost all letters of the alphabet
- Counts to 20
- Knows all of her colors and can identify most shapes
- Enjoys writing anything and everything she can – she always asks us how to spell things so she can write them down
- Gross motor skills (running, climbing, riding scooter, swimming, etc.): she can do it all – except swim without swimmies, but we have not tried it yet
- Cuts with scissors (mostly without permission)
She’s especially proud of how she can identify letters in words and ‘read’ some words. We’re amazed by how much she’s learned over the past six months. She has become incredibly independent and insists on doing as much as possible by herself.
Favorite Things at 4½ Years Old
Arbor LOVES to perform, especially when it is a cannonball (or belly flop) in the deep end or one of her sisters’ dance routines she has memorized. She is wants to try anything and everything – riding a new scooter, playing basketball, swinging a tennis racket, etc. One thing she does NOT like is the soccer team she joined in the fall. Arbor didn’t make it through 1 minute of spring practice before we quietly quit the team.
- Favorite Foods (her diet is called ‘carnival food’)
- WATERMELON
- Popsicles
- Giant sour bomb popsicles from the ice cream man
- Hot dogs
- Cheese pizza
- Peanut butter waffles
- Scrambled eggs with ketchup
- Popcorn with pickle seasoning
- Favorite Shows: Bluey, the Peppa Pig app on Roku, Sofia the First (sometimes), anything her sisters watch
- Favorite Books: anything and everything, but especially a book with ‘pieces’ like Letters from the Postman
- Favorite Songs: too many to list – she has different songs she likes to listen to in the car with whoever is driving (often influenced by the drivers’ favs). She requests music from Alexa all day long – Taylor Swift, “King of Wishful Thinking,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”
- Favorite Toys: Loves to play with little figurines in the Barbie house, Peppa or Bluey’s house, or a homemade magna-tile building, Bitty Baby (esp when she brings her to the pool to hang with her girlfriends and their dolls)
- Favorite Outfit: how could we pick one? She loves to dress herself, usually in something BEAUTIFUL (like a dress) with fancy shoes (these are a pair she loves to wear even though they are too small)
- Favorite Color: BLUE
Funny Things My 4½-Year-Old Says
One of my favorite things about Arbor is she says the WILDEST things. We have six iNotes filled with her one liners or stories. Lately she will rattle off an outlandish story while we are driving in the car… just to see how we’ll react. For example, “My teacher, his name is Mr. Zucchini, and he was out of school today.” She loves to quietly ask, while smirking, “Who is your most favorite person in the whole house you love more than anyone else in the world?” even though she knows I will always say “Everyone.”
She mispronounces some words, like Lemonade, and we hope she never stops saying “yemonlade.” Up until a few weeks ago she gave the letter R a soft sound in every word. But now she is consciously trying to say everything with a hard R sound, which has made us all sad. Whoever taught her how to pronounce the letter R correctly… rude.
Arbor wakes up every morning and says, “What are we doin’ today? Who is bringing me to school?” and ends each day with “What are we doin’ in the mornin’?” She loves to have a plan for the day and is mentally preparing herself to be two steps ahead of everyone based on the agenda.
Life with Two Big Sisters
One of my favorite things to watch is Arbor with Abis (Annabelle) and Aiya (Ailey).
She looks up to Abis because she is the biggest sister and takes care of her when she is sad.
She and Aiya love to play imaginary games and get super silly together.
Of course, siblings don’t always agree, and lately the bigs have been working on being more patient with Arbor. Sometimes they get into Mama mode and boss her around – which never goes over well. Arbor can truly hold her own. When she is mad at them she pronounces their names correctly – which they do not like.
Watching the three girls together makes my heart so full because I was worried about the huge age difference. I think the 8 and 5 year age gap is the best ever (most days).
Things We’re Working On
Like every four-year-old, Arbor is still learning and growing every day. Right now we’re working on:
- Accepting “no” the first time.
- Speaking kindly when she’s frustrated (there’s never a need to shout unless it’s an emergency)
- Waiting patiently instead of interrupting.
- Cleaning up toys before starting something new.
- Keeping her hands off her big sisters when she is frustrated with them – they are the only two people in her life she has ever laid her hands on.
Things I Never Want to Forget
I always want to remember…
- The way she still reaches for my hand and wants to lay in my bed with me at 8pm every night.
- How she says “Abis” and “Aiya.”
- How excited she gets when someone gives her their full attention.
- Her made-up stories that are somehow completely believable.
- The way she asks Alexa to play a different song every ten seconds.
- Watching her set up little scenes with her toys (restaurant, school, etc).
- How she still fits perfectly on my hip, even though she’s so tall.
- The little moments that remind me she’s still my baby, even though she’s growing up way too quickly.
Looking Ahead
I know this stage won’t last forever, and if there’s one thing motherhood has taught me, it’s that time can move both painfully slow and incredibly fast. There are FEW fleeting seconds I wish things would speed up. It’s primarily when Arbor is acting like an inconsolable toddler tornado – but even then I remember her older sisters still throw tantrums.
I try… so hard.. to soak up every bedtime snuggle, every silly conversation, every random question, and every “Mommy, watch this!” because I know these ordinary days will someday become the memories I treasure most.
Happy 4½ years of living live to its fullest and making the world a happier place Arbor.
You fill our home with laughter, imagination, endless questions, dramatic stories, and more energy than I ever thought one little person could have. Watching you grow into exactly who you’re meant to be is one of the greatest privileges of my life.
I hope you always stay curious, always keep making us laugh, and always know just how deeply you are loved. We love you more than words could ever say.
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