Eden At This Age

I wanted to write about some funny things or observations about Eden at this age:

1. "Hi Friend!"-She likes to pretend that she and I are friends. So, at random times (whether we are in a store or at home), she will blurt out, "Hi, friend!". Then, she proceeds to talk to me like she has just run into me by chance, and she is happy to see me. She will talk to me about all the mischief her "baby" is getting into or what she is up to at the store, etc. Of course, I play along and talk to her like I am randomly running into her while I am out, and the conversation usually ends when I invite her over for a sleepover at my house. If at any point I refer to her as Eden, she says, "Mom, I'm not Eden. We're still playing friend!". It's super funny.   

2. She likes to talk about what a big girl she is and all the things she can do now that she is going to be 5 soon. These things include (but aren't limited to): the fact that she can pump herself high on a swing, snap her fingers, whistle (she is extra proud of this one because mommy can't whistle), zip her coat, help with her little brother, and wait for toys that she really wants. Apparently, this is the criteria for being a big girl.

3. She sometimes cries when she thinks about herself as a baby. This is perhaps the thing that Eric and I find most humorous. Eden will sometimes randomly start crying because she "misses being a baby." She has done this with us and my parents. She has also done this when I bring out her baby book and look through it with her. When asked why this makes her sad, she says, "Because I was so cute!". We have to walk away to keep from bursting out laughing, 

4. Eden is perhaps our messiest child. She makes messes everywhere she goes. We try to work on teaching her take only a couple things out at a time, but she can never seem to get the hang of it. She likes to create and play all the time. When we have talked about why she is always making big messes, she says, "Mom, I just like to play with EVERYTHING." I'm thinking that creativity and messiness are somehow linked. 

5. She likes to draw. We go through pads of paper a lot around here (thank goodness for Target's dollar bin). She is happy when she learns to draw something new (like she recently figured out how to draw hearts), and I rarely instruct her on how to draw something. She likes to practice on her own, and then show me what she came up with. She has already asked me when she will be able to take an art class. 

6. She likes to learn. Eden loves to pretend she is reading books. Books are one of her favorite things. She talks about how she can't wait to learn how to read, and someday she wants to read books to me. Surprisingly, she does not like us to read to her a lot. Instead, she prefers to "read" to us. Something cute that I really like is that on days where I need to take a short rest in the afternoon, she likes to sit in bed next to me and "read" me stories while I lay down. It's really sweet. 

7. Eden is more introverted than I thought. When Eden started Pre-K, I thought she would be a social butterfly, and really take off socially. She had been looking forward to school for a while, so I thought she would basically say, "See ya, Mom", and be off. She has surprised me in that she really wasn't this way at all. She does play with other kids, but she doesn't mind playing by herself, and I have learned that she tends to react better socially when she is playing one-on-one verses a group (although she does play in groups sometimes). She is content to swing by herself or "read" books on her own or join in play with some other kids for a bit. She does enjoy school, but also likes being home to create and play on her own (or with her little brother).