Of Our Little Genius

Our budding almost-four-year-old never ceases to astound us.  I'll be honest, she's our first so every time she hits a new milestone I'm shocked.  Not being one to keep up with where she would be when, it's always a pleasant surprise when she discovers something new.  Thus, this may not be too jaw-dropping to the casual outsider, but for an easy-to-impress Momma like me, well, she's just plain genius.

 And pretty cute, to boot.

What has she done lately?

Well, it all started yesterday when she drew a submarine.

A submarine.

What three-year-old girl draws Mommy in a submarine?  And, surprisingly, it was fairly accurate once I knew what it was.  And it was no accident, because after erasing her magnetic drawing, she re-created the picture, but with Emmett in the submarine this time, and in water (my submarine was apparently floating in the sky).

Then, today, she filled in numbers on her coloring book page accurately to the instructions, with neither Mommy nor Daddy paying attention - meaning no one told her the little boxes were for writing numbers or which order in which the numbers were to be written.  We're sure it's just coincidence, but we're still impressed (like I said, we're pretty easy).

Finally, she read two words today.  Sure, there were about eight she did not read accurately, but while playing a game of Boggle Junior, she completely sounded out (without assistance) both "FOX" and "BELL" and was so (rightfully) proud of herself each time.  I loved seeing the look of thrilled surprise each time she was shown the coordinating picture that matched the word she had read.  I think we were both shocked at her accuracy.

Like I said, this girl surprises me every day.  And I may be naive, but she's my baby girl, and I'm kind of proud of her.

1,000 Gifts:
811. A tired baby head resting on my shoulder.
812. Healthy babies
813. Little man's dimples
814. Her beautiful round cheeks, framed by falling curls
815. A potty-trained girl
816. Anticipation 
817. The muggy coolness of late-summer afternoon
818. Waking up refreshed.

Whole 30 - 
Day 22 -
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs, Banana
Lunch - Leftover Mexican Chicken Soup
Dinner - Bacon-Wrapped Chicken, Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Day 23 - 
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs, Banana
Lunch - Leftover Bacon-Wrapped Chicken, Plumcot, Salad
Dinner - Mexi Salad (even better than I remembered!)

Day 24 - 
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs, Plumcot
Lunch - Leftover Mexi Salad
Dinner - Paleo Butternut Squash Lasagna 

Worst Parts of These Days: I've still been awfully hungry in the afternoons, especially when dinner comes a little late, but I'm doing alright.

Best Parts of These Days: Watching our children beg for seconds on Brussels Sprouts and eat Butternut Squash Lasagna without complaint.  I truly believe their taste buds are changing along with ours and this makes every second, every day without dessert (other than the "itty-bitty grapes" we give the kids), entirely worth it.