4 1/2 Years Update

4 1/2 Years Old You're 4 1/2 years old!
November 21 We even have official stats this month. Only though, because by the time we took you to your 4 year check-up, we were 6 months late. Regardless though, you were 41 inches tall (35.9%ile) and weighed 29 lbs (0.63%ile). You're wearing mainly 4t tops and 3t bottoms. We just bought you a new pair of shoes for the fall and they're size 11.
December 13 Speaking of clothes you have a very defined style. You want to wear long jeans, preferably buttons, not tie, even in the heat of summer. (You'd also wear long-sleaved shirts too.... but those may have magically disappeared from your room.) You want to wear button shirts (aka colared button-down shirts). We've made sure to buy you extra pairs of each so you have enough to wear each day of the week.
January 7 You still aren't a huge eater, but do have your favorites. You love a sandwhich, especailly one with meat and cheese. You're also a big fan of hummus and crackers. Mac and Cheese and quesdillas are other good options. Plus those times you'll ask for a protein shake, taking after your dad. Then there's breakfast. Quarantine definitely got you used to have a large breakfast every day. Some of your favorites are egg and cheese sandwhich, "smashed-up eggs," scrambled eggs with truffle gouda, french toast, or cinnomon toast. You do love cinnomon, and once decided to eat a spoonful a cinnamon because you loved it so much. (Turns out, it's not that great, all at once, by itself!)
February 1 Next fall you'll you be starting at your sister's school. (Which means our daycare which we attended since March 2015, will be no more!) You keep saying how excited you are to go to Kindergarten, then we have to remind you, you'll be starting Pre-k. You're so excited though because your cousin (who is 6 weeks younger than you) will be there too. At least one friend from your current daycare will be joining you. (Given Covid, and the lack of interactions I've had with the other parents, I'm not sure where most will actually be going.)
February 20 On the subject of school and friends, your two closest friends are O and I. Of course neither will be attending school with you next you, but one of them should be going to Hebrew school with you.
February 26 - Purim You played soccer this Spring. About half the time you actually played scoring goals even. The other half, you basically stood around and refused to participate. You played tball over the Summer, and actually compared to last year did quite well, actually trying to get the ball on the field. You did swimming lessons as well, and while not a full swimmer yet, you're strong enough to jump in and swim to the side on your own.
March 5 You still love all things that move. Tractors, lawn mowers, fire trucks, police cars.... every day it's so exciting on the drive when you see one. You even had the chance to use the leaf blower are your Nana's recently, which blew your mind. You're constantly asking me how old do I have to be to have my own lawn mower or motorcycle or tractor or something else.
March 21 You have somehow turned into this crazy little person. Sometimes it's hard to believe. It's just so crazy to read back through these updates I've written and see how much has changed and yet how much stays the same. (Who would have thought after having a lawn mower themed party when you turned 2, you'd still be obsessed with them!) I'm definitely intrigued to see what else changes and what else stays the same in the years to come, but also wish things would slow down, even just a little.
April 9 Here's a comparison with your sister at 4 1/2 Years.
4 1/2 Years
Birth Story

1 Month ~ 2 Months ~ 3 Months

4 Months ~ 5 Months ~ 6 Months

7 Months ~ 8 Months ~ 9 Months

10 Months ~ 11 Months ~ 12 Months

14 Months ~ 16 Months ~ 18 Months

20 Months ~ 22 Months ~ 24 Months

2 1/4 Years~2 1/2 Years ~ 2 3/4 Years

3 Years~3 1/3 Years~3 2/3 Years

4 Years

4 Years Update

4 Years Old You're 4 years old!
July 1 - Heading back to daycare after 3.5 months! I feel like a blinked and you went overnight from being a baby to an actual kid. It's so hard to really grasp that we're completely out of the baby years here. Who would have thought it goes by so quickly, especially from the other side.
July 18 No official stats since at the time I'm writing this (over 3 months past year actual birthday), we've yet to take you for your 4 year check-up. We'll see if that changes by the time I post this. You are wearing size 10.5 shoes, 4t tops, and 3t bottoms. Or least 3t bottoms that have some type of drawstring. Otherwise 2t might fit in the waist.
August 9 For your birthday we talked about inviting a couple of friends over, but for a variety of reasons, that didn't work out. We did instead invite your cousin over for cupcakes, which was still a lot of fun. But not what we would have planned otherwise. You actually haven't been to a single birthday party since July (#lifeduringcovid), but did get invited to a Zoom party with Elsa.
August 16 You have quite the personality. I'm not even sure how to really discribe it! You're always saying some of the craziest things. ("When can I have my own shed? I'll put my tractor, pushing lawn mower, and bike in it and it will always stay clean.") Or that one of your favorite Christmas presents was a robe, which you call a bra, which leads to phrases like, "Will you hang my bra up just like Sissy's?"
August 19 In terms of food, you have your defined favorites. You love a charcuterie board, always asking for cheese and salami for dinner. For lunch at school, you want the same thing every day (cheese and turkey sandwhich, yogurt, and fruit). And on the days we pack something different you likely won't eat it. You still love tacos and quesdillas. And since I'm pretty sure I haven't written in here, there was that time over the summer where you asked for a salt sandwhich because "I've never had that before." So we sprinkled some salt on a piece of bread which you then ate and asked for another one.
August 31 You love fire trucks and fire fighters. The highlight of most days is when we get to drive by the fire station on the way to your school to see if the trucks are out. Of course you still love tractors, flat-bed trucks, box trucks, buses.... basically anything with wheels. And of course you love playing "box man" which consists of putting a bunch of boxes on a chair and pretending it's a dolly.
September 15 We did start chapters books, which I was really excited about. We started with Dragon Masters' Rise of the Earth Dragon, which you really liked. You then picked Henry Huggins by Beverly Clearly, solely due to the fact there was a dog on the cover. That one has taken a little bit longer to get through and we'll read a chapter in several sittings, but you're still a fan.
September 17 You love jeans. Each day you complain if I don't put you in jeans because "they have pockets." You're always asking, "When can I have my own belt?" I'm sure one of the best parts for when you finally start school will be getting to wear a belt. (Although, they aren't technically required till Kindergartnen.)
September 27 You are so much fun and such a character. One that definitely tests all our patience. But you're still so snuggly and love to tell me, "You're the best Mommy ever." Your dad and I alternate putting you and your sister to sleep each night and the nights I put your sister to sleep you always want me to come snuggle with you after.
October 13 I'm still in awe of how much you've grown and the little man you're becoming. And especially knowing how quickly these first four years have gone, I can only imagine how quickly it will feel after four more when you're 8, then 12, 16....
October 24 Here's a comparison with your sister at 4 Years.
4 Years
Birth Story

1 Month ~ 2 Months ~ 3 Months

4 Months ~ 5 Months ~ 6 Months

7 Months ~ 8 Months ~ 9 Months

10 Months ~ 11 Months ~ 12 Months

14 Months ~ 16 Months ~ 18 Months

20 Months ~ 22 Months ~ 24 Months

2 1/4 Years~2 1/2 Years ~ 2 3/4 Years

3 Years~3 1/3 Years~3 2/3 Years

In Memory

A couple days ago I shared the photo below to my Instagram stories. I saw it pop-up in my Instagram memmories from 3 years ago, and as adorable as the photo was, wanted to share it.

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A post shared by shoshanah (@shoshanahinla)

When looking through my story's views I was surprised to see my grandmother's username listed. I knew she hadn't been doing very well and didn't think she was using her phone anymore. But seeing her name excited me. Maybe she was doing better than expected! And if she did have her phone, I should call her.

Three days later I was driving to pick up school uniforms from a friend. Her sons had outgrown them, and my son would need them for the school he was starting in the fall. Under normal circumstances I'd call my grandmother in the car while driving home from work. Honestly, without a commute, that didn't happen very much lately, but I did still occasionally call her when I was parked outside during my duaghter's dance class. I thought about calling her on the drive over, but hadn't been to this friend's house before and knew I'd need my phone to navigate. I made the decision that once I picked up the clothes, I'd call her on my way to pick up my son from preschool.

As I was turning into her neighborhood, my dad called. I silenced the phone since I was only a couple turns away, and told msyelf as soon as I picked up the clothes from her porch I'd call my dad back first and then my grandma.

Except, as you might guess by the fact I'm actually writing something here, that didn't happen. Instead my dad was calling to tell me that my grandmother had died about an hour ago.

My grandma had turned 89 earlier this year, so it wasn't too much of a surprise, even when my dad told me it was close a couple of weeks ago. I know the last decade especially has been really hard for her. She lost my grandfather just over 11 years ago, and then my mom, her daughter, 18 months after that. About 3 years ago she had a bad fall and had to move out of the retirment community she had lived in with my grandfather. And then of course there was COVID. I would talk to her and she'd tell me how alone she was, how they'd bring her food and she'd eat in her room, alone, by herself. She had lost so many loved one throughout the years, and her life was so different from what it once was barely 10 years ago.

With all that said, I'll still miss her. Similar to the posts I wrote when my grandpa and my mom died, I wanted to share a handful of photos of her looking back on her life. "