Liesel

This girl is ALWAYS singing. . .doesn't matter where ;) 

preschool pals. She loves talking about all the friends she has now.

Liesel has turned from a toddler to a little girl this year. Sometimes I look at her and see her face as a teen, and it kind of freaks me out. A visual reminder that my days to snuggle, rub her face, smother her with kisses and hold her close are numbered. And that thought is actually painful to me. What does that feel like as a mom? You cuddle and snuggle and tickle and kiss and love your little ones and then they grow up? At least I still have time. 

And she's in no hurry to push me away now. She loves mommy attention and frequently reminds me that she needs more of it. 

She is a little light. She is good. 

The other day we camped at the Needles. Brian has been working down there still and commuting for months. We camped at the campground with him and he woke up the next day for work. After he left, I started packing the car and left the keys in the upholder. Hannah went in the car and started playing and accidentally pushed the auto-lock. My keys, and Hannah, were in the car. It started out with me calmly trying to explain to Hannah how to open the lock. It didn't work. After 10 minutes, it still wasn't working. I wasn't thinking straight, but Liesel was. I turned around and there she was, kneeling under a hanging tree, praying for help that mommy could open the car and get Hannah out. A few minutes later, another camper drove by and showed me the release for pushing the seats in from the trunk. I was able to get in and unlock the door.

Liesel frequently talks about how Jesus will come again and wants to know when. She loves the primary songs and sings them so often. Which is why I was especially bummed when during the Primary program she was so disruptive that they sent her down to sit with me. She only sang one song and made silly faces or turned around in her seat. She did say her line fabulously: "Mommy helps me brush my teeth and tuck me in bed." Looking back, it makes me laugh. :)

Her prayers are so thoughtful.  She likes to review her day and is thankful for things that happened or specific things that are pertinent to the food, family or personal prayer for that time. It surprises me. 

She is strong and a good hiker, but complains 40% of the time. She's four though, and I hope eventually she looks forward to the hikes and not just the snacks. She loves playing outside and can spend a long time entertaining herself in nature. She loves to dig in the dirt and has absolutely no qualms about getting her hands, face, arms, legs etc completely covered in mud. This weekend we got our lot filled with more dirt and I looked out the window and saw her lying in it. New clothes, hair down and just relaxing in the dirt. 

She has a way with animals. The chickens next door she feeds almost daily. All those little biddy's come running to the fence when they see her, knowing she has a handful of kosha seeds (a weed she collects) or a grasshopper to feed to them.  Bugs don't phase her in the least. I finally decided to try and scare her out of picking up spiders in case she went for a poisonous one. But seriously, she's fearless. 

We actually got a kitten-- and even though it's stay was short-lived, it was amazing to watch how much that kitten loved her. She would wake up (wayyyyy to early-- one of the reasons I wanted to get rid of it) and go to the garage without waking any one up. She would get the kitten and bring it to her room and pet it, play with it and sleep with it. At night, it would fall asleep next to her on the bed. We eventually got rid of it b/c it refused to go outside and would cling to the window screens meowing. It was too much for me. I don't like animals inside and ultimately Brian and I decided to find more of an outside cat for her next year. 

Liesel is quite fearless when it comes to heights, climbing or singing on stage. She's not a particularly cautious child and doesn't want my help scrambling down steep sandstone. It drives me nuts and I find myself in full panic mode when we're close to a cliff. 

She is a wonderful sister to Hannah and they play together so well. She already tries to tickle my belly to get to the new baby. She gives it kisses and is always asking if I can feel it kick. She asks so many questions about what the baby does in there, how the "tube" works to give it food, why it looks so pink (I showed her a photo of a baby in utero to try and help her understand-- big mistake), and how it will get out. . . hmmmmm. 

I'll write more around her birthday in a month, but she's grown so much the past few months that I had to put something down before I lost any more time. 

We sure love our Liesel. She's a gem and a light in our home.