Clara Lois

Clara, my sweet little second mother who loves to boss her siblings around and twirl around the living room. Where to start?

• Clara started ballet this summer and loves it. She dances everywhere she goes. My friend is her teacher which makes it a lot easier for Clara to go and enjoy herself. This fall she's also started a jazz/tumbling class that she's pretty excited about. This is my substitute for a paid preschool and it seems to be a good fit.
• The night before Nathan started school Clara was in tears. "I'm going to miss Nathan and I don't want to play with Alice because she's mean to me! I want to go to a real preschool without you!" But days later she had changed her mind and would miss me too much if she had to be without me.
• We've started a co-op preschool with my sister and her friends. Five little girls, with my two. We started this week and my girls are both loving it. It gets them out and playing with someone else, but without being so overwhelming for my shy girls. 
• I finally made good on my threats: I cut her hair. The daily battles over brushing out the tangles are over, which is wonderful. She loved her short hair. It fits her personality, it was easy to do, it made her look older. But then she started ballet, and her hair is too short to do a ballerina bun. Sad day. She goes back and forth on if she wants it long again.
• Ever since I went with my friend to get a pedicure for her birthday, Clara is pining to go to to a salon. She would love her entire life to be fancy and beautiful.
• She was mad at me one day because I presumed that she would want to wear pants. Not that I had just bought her some pants. No, the mere fact that pants in her size existed, and were somehow in her bedroom, was insulting. She only wants to wear dresses. (She does still wear pants, though.)
• She loves to follow her Nathan around. He comes up with the best games. She misses him when he is gone.
• She's doing the online Upstart preschool and loves it. She asks to do it every day.
• One day, as I cleaned the kitchen during naptime, she decided she would be the maid and would do all the cleaning. She swept the floor, got a dishcloth, and started mopping. I think she's really internalized all that Cinderella glamor. But I did appreciate the help.
• Our family gave talks a couple weeks ago and she did so good. She climbed up on the stool, planted her mouth firmly on the microphone, and repeated everything I whispered to her, clearly enunciated. She would not let me adjust the microphone so it wasn't in her mouth. 

 She's getting ready to fly, that four and a half year old.