My Sweet…She’s 4. :)

I always have Mak’s “year” post posted on his birthday. Clara Beth’s is never on time. I think I know why. Mak is my first. My big boy. It’s fun watching him reach a new milestone. When he was a baby we rejoiced every time he accomplished a new task. Rolling over, sitting up, standing, walking…it was all fun. And it all continues to be fun as he accomplishes things like reading, skateboarding, swimming, and all of those “growing up” things. Of course I miss the teeniness of my Baby Mak. But reaching new stages in his life is exciting, ya know?

My CB is my BABY. I am so proud of her when she masters a new milestone in life. I enjoy watching her learn to do new things. But, I’m not gonna lie…it really hurts my heart, too. Because she is my last baby. When she reaches a new milestone it also means that our family is leaving the “babyness” behind. When she walked (at 16 months…she was a late bloomer. :)) it was great and all for her…but it meant that our family would never again have a crawling baby in the house. When she went to pre-school it meant that we would never again have kids who were too young for school. When she potty trained we would never have diapers in the house again. Okay, so maybe that one wasn’t so bad, but you get my point. As she grows up and “leaves behind the baby”…our whole family changes. We are turning into a family with kids. Just plain kids. Not a family with babies or even toddlers. Granted, they are the most amazing kids I have ever wrapped my heart around…but they are growing up. FAST.

I love that we can go to a restaurant as a family and actually enjoy each other’s conversation now. I don’t have to worry about having a change of clothes in the diaper bag…or even a diaper bag for that matter. They are pretty great at self-entertaining for extended periods of time. We can watch an ENTIRE movie together as a family. We read books together that we all really enjoy. Really? I am loving everything about this stage in life that we are in. But I guess as a Momma I mourn the baby days just a wee little bit. You other Mommas get that, right?

So, my beautiful baby girl…she turned 4 on May 22nd. It’s now September and I am just writing her blog post. Sorry, Baby. 🙂 Momma just needed some time to process the fact that you are four.

This little girl has ROCKED our world. She is so perfect for us. She can melt her Daddy with a simple look. She can get her brother to do anything in the world for her. I would choose to shop with her before any other girl on this planet. Give me a day at the mall with her and my Mom? I’m in heaven. 🙂

Four is suiting Miss CB quite nicely. She’s smart as a whip. But she is oh SO blond and she shows it on a daily basis. Example: Last week we were eating at my parents’ house with everybody…aunts, uncles, cousins…you get the picture. My Dad was quizzing the three big ones with some math. “X plus 3 equals 7?” He asked Mak first. Mak was focused on nothing more than getting outside to play football with his Dad, Uncles and Grandfather. He answered wrong. Then it was Tal’s turn. He was also ready for some football and gave no answer, just a cute smile. CB, without even being asked, pipes up with “Four.” (or “fow” really because she still has trouble with her Rs.). Ahhh…That’s my Girl! That’s right, Algebra at age 4. I told you she was smart. Fast forward 30 minutes. Supper is ready and all men are outside playing football. My mom asks CB to run outside and tell the boys to come in and wash up for supper. My girl says “Okay! I’ll get dem” and runs down the front hall. Ahem. If you knew anything about my parents’ house (the house they have lived in all of CB’s life) you would know that there is NO way to get outside by running down that hall. She came back about a minute later and sheepishly smiled at me , went to the front door, and called our men. Book smarts? She’s got ’em. Street smarts aka common sense? We’re working on it. 🙂

She loves loves loves LOVES babies. Ask her what she wants to be when she grows up. A Momma. And I have no doubt that she will be a FANTASTIC one. Her favorite playtime activities all center around babies. Cooking for them, feeding them, bathing them, dressing them and just loving them. She even gets me to babysit. Her favorite baby right now is named “Big Baby”. Some of her babies have real names and some have practical names. Big Baby, because she’s the biggest; Pink Baby because she wears pink. But she also has a Sarah Beth, Eloise, Lucy. If you play babies with My Baby you have made her day. There is nothing she desires more than to play babies. I love that. 🙂

Her second favorite activity at age 4 is dancing. We are in our second year of Dance and we LOVE it. This year she is in class with some of her best buddies. I am so excited about this year! I’m already anticipating the recital in May. 🙂 She frequently asks me to pull up songs on YouTube and we have a little dance party in the den.

She has a TEMPER!!!! Oh Great Day, you have not seen a tantrum until you have seen a Clara Beth tantrum! Seriously, earlier this year I called my best friend in tears thinking there was most definitely something terribly wrong with my child because a sane person would NEVER behave this way. I have since learned that my child must have sleep. Sleep is more important to this girl than any other human I know. If she doesn’t get enough of it there will most definitely be an insane tantrum. She still goes to bed at 7:30 every night. Really, I think she would do well with a 30 minute afternoon nap, but that never happens. She’s still on a pretty strict bedtime schedule. Hey, it’s my last “baby” thing to hang onto, right? 😉

She is SHY. Painfully shy. I understand it because I was painfully shy. If you tell her hello she will not respond. We are working on it, but I’m not gonna push her. Like I said, I was shy. I came out of it in the 8th grade and I’m pretty sure she will eventually come out of it, too. Monday we were walking on the Rail Trail. She was on her bike, I was walking beside her. Every person we passed would say hello and tell her how cute she looked (she had her baby doll in the bike seat on the back of her little Hello Kitty bike. It was pretty cute.) After the tenth group or so passed us, she told me she had a secret to tell me. I leaned down close and she whispered “I almost said hey to them!” And she was so proud of herself. If you knew my girl you would know how big that was for her. Just thinking about saying hello to a stranger was a BIG deal. So many times I get looks from people when she doesn’t speak to them. I guess since I was a shy kid I don’t really see it as such a flaw. I am confident that she will grow out of it. And give her 5 minutes and she will chat your ear off. She’s just a little timid. And that’s okay. 🙂

She totally gets the “girly” thing and loves doing anything that’s “just us girls”. She sits with me while I put make-up on and she always asks for blush. A bubble bath is the supreme luxury. It takes a long time for her to decide on fingernail polish and she rarely chooses just one shade. She is most comfortable in a dress. She loves jewels. Pink is her favorite color. Light pink. Princesses are tops on her list these days. We have lengthy conversations about the pros and cons of being Ariel versus Aurora for Halloween. She “ooohs and ahhhs” over me when she sees me in a new dress…and she expects the same attention when she is in a new dress. I LOVE her girliness! I don’t know what I’d do without it!

Her Daddy is her hero. Each morning when she wakes up she comes to our bed for snuggle time before school. In the mornings, she usually pushes me away in favor of Daddy’s hugs. I’m okay with that. She knows he’s special and so do I. He can make her do that “lose your breath you can’t even speak” belly laugh like no one else. I hope she sees the way he treats her…and the way he treats me…and knows that this is what she deserves. That one day, when the time comes for my Baby to choose a husband, she will remember the way Daddy treated her. And know that she deserves the BEST.

She and Mak are in a “most of the time I love you/sometimes I REALLY don’t like you” phase. Some days they play together for hours and I never hear an argument. Then other days they can’t be together for 10 seconds without a screaming match. I love that they have each other and I hope that they will grow up knowing how valuable their relationship is. Watching them play together when they are happy with one another does my heart so good. I love them both in a way that I never even knew was possible. 🙂

She LOVES Jesus. HE is so very very real to her and I can’t even begin to tell you the way this makes me feel. Watching your child fall in love with her Savior is one of those things that is indescribable. I remember the night that Mak told us that he asked Jesus to forgive him for the bad things he does and to live in his heart. It was one night before bedtime. He did it by himself and then told us about it later, typical “Independent Mak” style. Then this year, while driving home form an Ikea trip to Charlotte…the radio blaring…CB says “How does Jesus come in my heart?” We explained to her, in the simplest way that we knew how, that Jesus died on the cross for her. For her sins…all of the bad things she has ever done. And that he took her sins as his own, even though He had lived a perfect life. He was crucified on the cross, separated from God. And THEN…He ROSE from the dead! And He is ALIVE. And He wants to be her Savior, she just needs to ask. It was the most randomly timed conversation ever. But I love that. She prayed in the car with us…ALL of us, her family, the people she loves most in this world. Typical CB style. On the way home from Ikea. 🙂 I can’t wait to watch her grow into the woman that God wants her to be. I know that she is just a child…but she knows that Jesus loves her. Collin and I cried the entire way home. 🙂

This Baby Girl that joined the Smith Family four years ago is SO special. I can’t imagine life without her. I am so blessed to know her. But not only do I know her…I get to be her Momma. That is such a blessing. She makes our family so much better. Clara Beth, you are beautiful, inside and out. Momma, Daddy and Mak love you more than you can imagine. You have our hearts, Sweet Baby!