My Big Girl

Wow, Liberty is six years old! What is it about being a parent that makes time go by faster?  When I think about all the things we have been through and all that we have done together, I just can’t believe that it has all gone by so fast.  She is absolutely the best.  I tell her all the time that she is my best friend.  I wouldn’t trade staying at home with her and getting to know her for the world.  We do everything together and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

She is in a completely delightful stage right now.  I couldn’t ask for a better attitude or better behavior.  That’s not to say that she doesn’t have her moments, but for the most part, she is absolutely wonderful!  I have learned over the years that this phase will give way into a more trying one, but even during the more difficult stages I would still wager that she is more well behaved and pleasant than the average six year old girl.

She has become extremely helpful.  We had some issues awhile back getting her to complete her “chore” list.  It primarily consists of things like cleaning her room, picking up toys, and picking up the trash.  It was a constant battle and by the end of the day we would both be upset.  Then, one day, it just clicked.  It did come after a near breakdown on my part and a chat with her Dad, but all of a sudden doing chores wasn’t a problem anymore.  Now she completes all of her tasks without my constant nagging her to get it done.  Then, she is so proud of herself.  It’s really a win-win for both of us.  Sometimes she even takes on extra chores so Daddy will give her money :).

Her absolute favorite thing to do right now is to help me cook or bake.  This takes an extreme amount of patience on my part, but it has been so worth it.  Now she is very competent in the kitchen and takes instructions very well.  I have taken the opportunity to teach her fractions while we measure and she is getting very good at it.  I love to cook and bake and I am so excited that she wants to do it with me.  I wish I had learned to cook when I was younger because learning as an adult has been extremely challenging.  I’m so happy that I can pass this on to my daughter.  Hopefully her husband won’t have to endure the painful cooking Scott did at the beginning of our marriage.  Not to mention the huge restaurant bills!

Practicing shopping—love these little shopping carts in a store in Texas

The question I hear most often is “Mom, what does (insert any  random word) mean?  She is like a walking Thesaurus!  She wants to know the meaning and alternate words for everything.  I hope this is a sign of high SAT scores in the future!  I actually downloaded an iPhone Thesaurus app so I would have the definitions ready to go.  It’s one of my many favorite things about her.

She has made significant progress with all of her fears.  They are primarily limited to storms at this point.  However, we have to be very careful about what we talk about in front of her because she is always looking for something else to add to the list.  She is just extremely fearful.  She worries constantly.  I know that some of these tendencies come from losing her sister, obviously.  However, the more I talk to other parents about it, it also just seems to be the nature of some children.  We are using the opportunity to teach her to pray and to rely on the Sovereignty of the Lord.  Praying seems to come very naturally to her.  The part that seems to get her is completely trusting the Lord and being ok with whatever he has in store for her life.  Its a hard thing to attempt to explain these spiritual matters to a six year old.  Nonetheless, the Lord is gracious to give both of us peace, patience, knowledge, and  understanding when we need it most :).

Favorites

1. Barbies, Barbies, and More Barbies!!  She currently owns over 20.
2. Coloring/Drawing
3. Making cards.  She loves to make her own cards.  She usually sends them to her Nana and Papa.
4. Swimming
5. Making new friends.  This is one of her favorite friends :)
6. Favorite movie is Barbie in a Mermaid Tale
7. Favorite foods: pizza and popcorn chicken
8. Sparkly, silver flip flops with heels
9. Skirts
10. Her HoneyWord Bible
11. Fake tattoos
12. Hair Bows
13. Dresses
14. Cooking with Mommy
15. Reading or  being read to
16. I just realized that in the majority of the pictures I posted Liberty is wearing the same clothes.  I guess you can tell what her favorite outfit is too :).

She has lost three teeth so far.  The last one came out the day before she turned 6.

She still has a flair for the drama  tic and loves to have her picture taken :)  She is always on the lookout for someone with a camera.

She adores her baby sister and she is the best daughter in the whole wide world!!