The Suisse Family Robinson

I feel like my little girl is a big girl now. She is 4 years old! I swear the day she turned 4 she started talking like a grown-up. "Mommy, I think I should pick first because I am 4." "Mommy, how about I take 4 vitamins now since I am 4?" After being told that George Washington would be over 300 years old if he were still living, "Oh then, he's going to be 4 like me!"

Lara asked to spend time with her cousins Bonnie, Sarah, and Isaac for her birthday. So we left after work on Friday for a trip to the Washington D.C. area. Both girls were so excited to see their cousins and had a blast! Lara also liked finding out that she shared a birthday with George Washington during our visit to Mt. Vernon. Another post about that later.

Now on to another part of birthday posts that I like to call "I Like to Brag About My Kid and Their Birthday is a Perfect Time to Do It."

1. The top thing I like to brag about Lara is her musical talent. She picks up melodies like no one's business. We can sing a hymn or primary song every night for 3 nights and she has it down pat, in perfect pitch. She loves making up her own tunes and can even do it in irregular meters. Thank you, Music Together! One more year and she's ready for formal lessons. What should it be? Harp? Piano? Probably both.

2. Lara looooooves reading and letters. She often sits down and reads books to Vivi, pointing to each word. She often plays a game with Reed where he says a letter and she comes up with a word that starts with that letter. Thank you, Cheetah teachers!

3. Lara has a deep love of the gospel. She loves reading the scriptures, memorizing the Articles of Faith and the Family Proclamation (with music, of course), going to primary, watching the prophet during General Conference, etc. You name anything about the church and she loves it. She hates it when we're out late and have to do our night time routine in the car, including scripture, song, and prayer. She much prefers reading the scriptures so she can look at the pages and point to the words. And then putting a sticker on her scripture reading chart :) Thank you, Primary!

4. Lara is very artsy. This is an attribute that came from her beloved Daddy. She loves drawing, painting, coloring, and making crafts. When she draws, she is very precise with her shapes. She recently has started drawing people and they're probably better than when I draw. No joke. Thank you, Reed!

5. Lara is a wonderful big sister and that is a true blessing. She is willing to help Vivi whenever possible- reading to her, playing, sharing, singing... She loves playing "school" with Vivi and asking her academic questions. "What does a bird say, Vivi?" "Touch something that is red." "What letter is this?" She is looking forward to the new baby and talks about she wants to hold her baby brother or sister and make them laugh. :) Thank you, Lara!

Lara has been really interested in the Articles of Faith recently and has memorized most of them through song. As a parent and as a music therapist, I could not be more proud :) I should also say that Vivi can sing most of these songs also, I just don't have a video of that yet.

On Monday Reed and I took the girls to the ultrasound so they could see the new baby. Vivi was a little nervous about letting me lie on the chair and having this thing on my belly but Reed was able to calm her enough so she could look at the pictures. Lara was spellbound and quietly curious. She is very excited about the prospect of having a new baby in the house and whenever anybody asks what she would like her reply is "A baby brother, because I already have a sister." I can't seem to explain to her that we will have more children and she will most likely have multiple little brothers and little sisters. :)

Don't bother asking what we're having, we don't know! It'll be a boy or a girl because I'm sure it's human. The top picture is of the baby's little foot and the bottom is the facial profile. The baby was yawning when the technician took the profile picture. Kind of makes it look weird but I thought it was cool! Certainly a very active baby, constantly moving and playing with his or her feet. Luckily, Reed and I agree on names this time around so the process will be easy once the baby gets here in June. If a boy, Jaron Reed (this has actually been picked out since before Lara was born) and if a girl, Mariella Nova (pronounced the french way, of course).