Passionate Sophia

     Sophia turned four on October 29, 2011 and while I have jotted down thoughts here and there about the goings on of her fourth year of life, I am only now sitting down to compose them in an orderly fashion.  Writing these updates takes time and effort.  Recently I read a quote that renewed my determination to persevere in these annual observations despite their difficulty.  “To love a [child] well, we must become a student of him. To see him, we must observe him, consider him, perceive him, and learn him. This involves lots of listening, patience, and attentiveness.

The nature of seeing combines three elements:

1.      a curiosity about who he is

2.      an appreciation for who he is

3.      a vision for who he will become”

~ Wild Things, The Art of Nurturing Boys (as quoted on GypsyMama's blog)

So now I will write of Sophia’s fourth year of life, her activities and her interests but more importantly I hope to capture her essence.  Who she is now so that who she becomes might look back and see her beginnings and evolution through the years.

     If I had to use one word to describe Sophia at age four it would be PASSIONATE.  She exhibits great passion in her preference, her play, and her personality.

Preference – Sophia is a girl of strong preference.  She prefers Disney princesses over any other character (Hello Kitty would be a close 2^nd).  She prefers playing with others rather than alone.  Her favorite teachers are Mrs. Elmore (Sunday School teacher) and Ms. Ganelle (childcare provider at our church’s gym).  She prefers chewing gum above any other reward and she prefers to go to bed with a mountain of books piled around her.  “More books in my bed, please,” is a nightly request after we tuck her in.  There are usually more books in her bed than on her shelves.  She prefers to go through the day with tangles and knots in her hair.  Much to her dismay, her mother prefers neatly combed hair with two braids and two clips.  Neighbors, if you pause quietly sometime between 8:30 – 9:30 in the morning you will hear wild screaming coming from our residence.  Please know that I am not torturing my daughter but rather brushing her hair with loads of detangler – she is passionate in her vocal opposition of this daily ritual.

Play – Her favorite play activity during her 4^th year of life was painting/coloring/drawing.  Our hearts are warmed by her creations.  Her favorite theme in free painting were portraits of our family with flowers and vases.  She also learned to string tiny beads this year and has become quite the jewelry artist.

 {"Rainbow sky"}

Sophia is passionate about babies – both real and pretend.  When we are out and about town and see a small infant, Sophia will coo with delight then dart over to pat the baby’s head and kiss them.  I am working with her on no kissing or at least kissing only their socked feet (unfamiliar four year olds planting kisses on small babies understandably concerns most mothers).  She loves to hold other people’s babies and it warms my heart to see her be so loving and gentle.  On the pretend side, she is passionately devoted to her own “children,” as she calls them.  Her children are a diverse lot ranging from small bears, mice, baby dolls, and American doll knock-offs.  She takes her role as mother quite seriously and pushes them around in the stroller, swaddles them tightly, and corrects them firmly – frequently placing them in time-out.  She is passionate about dressing them and loves to acquire new outfits for her dolls.  Occasionally she asks me to babysit her “children” while she runs errands.  There are lengthy instructions on meal and bath routines.  When I’m “babysitting” Sophia calls me “grandma,” solidifying my resolve to never be called that later in life. 

 {"Momma, take a picture of me and my children!"}

 {Picnic with her children}

{Happy Birthday, Hello Kitty!}

She is passionate in her play with her brother.  She alternates between passionate admiration and passionate dislike as all siblings do, especially those sandwiched 19 months apart.  They spend many hours on “Morlandt mountain,” the small hill in our backyard.  They have created their own imaginary world amongst the magnolia tree that grows green and low at the top of the hill.  They stand on a stmp of a tree, grab the magnolia branches and swing by their arms like little monkeys.  When indoors, their preferred play activity is building “forts” from couch, bed, and throw pillows from around the house.  They stack them up high then jump from the dining room chairs into the pile.  Yes, I allow them to do this.  It wasn’t too long ago that I did the same thing with my brothers and the memories are precious.  They also enjoy playing with play food, serving us up pizza, cupcakes, and cookies on a nightly basis.

 {The beginnings of a fort}

Recently Sophia has become quite passionate about the dogs – defending them when we scold them for barking too much and bringing them treats and toys when they are locked in their crates.  She enjoys dressing Bella up in costumes but knows better than to mess with the feistier Schnauzer!!!  She loves to play fetch with them in the back yard and giggles with delight when they jump on the couch to sit beside her. 

     Sophia recently rediscovered "dressing up."  She took a long break from this past-time but I can now say that every afternoon our hardwood floors are covered with brightly colored princess and fairy dresses, scarves, hats, and beads. 

 {Dress up and dance - I love the pointed toes!}

Personality – Besides being passionate in her personality she is also self-assured.  Her confidence shines forth when she displays her artwork.  After she completes a painting or colors a picture I hang it in our gallery in the laundry room.  Later that day or the next day I will frequently find those same pieces of artwork removed from the gallery and strategically placed through-out the house for greater visibility.  For example, she props them up against the lamp in the living room, on my jewelry box, or on her brother’s tool bench.  We find them hung on the old widow latches in the kitchen, taped to the wall in the dining room, or placed on her daddy’s pillow.  She is proud of her work and resents it being relegated to the laundry room.

                She is passionate about gifts – both the giving and the receiving.  I once made her a homemade card and she slept with it for days.  When her brother naps she likes to gather up toys from around the house, wrap them in towels, then place them outside of his door for him to discover and open upon waking.  As a special gift to me, she has become quite the helper.  She can rinse dishes and crack an egg like an expert.  She has become quite efficient at cleaning up toys, although we are working on organizing them - mommy included!

                She is tender hearted.  We monitor the movies we watch because she becomes frantic if the main character is harmed in any way (you can imagine the tears and screams of protest during Dumbo and Pete’s Dragon).  Another good example of her tender heart is an interaction we overheard at a park recently.  Sophia was playing with two girls about her age when her brother came over and tried to join in their play.  The little girls informed Vincent that he couldn’t play because he was a boy.  Sophia replied matter-of-factly, “He’s my little brother.  He’s a Morlandt.”  She then gave him a role in their pretend play, most likely the “baby” but I was proud of her still.

                She is passionately “in charge,” and this can be both a blessing and a challenge.  We are working on “you will not always get your way.”  She is a girl who likes to know what is coming next and likes to teach others.  We attempt to harness her leadership spirit to appropriate situations, with frequent reminders that “Mommy is in charge.  Daddy is in charge.  Jean Jean is in charge.”  She has grown so much in the last year in this area.  I am proud of her strong, yet tender spirit.

                She continues to be passionately fearless.  She’s never met a stranger.  Just the other day we were playing in the sandbox at the zoo when she walked over to a stranger to admire her earrings.  Sophia reached up to touch the stranger’s dangling pink crystal hoops.  She then looked the stranger in the eye and said with passionate longing, “If I had those earrings I would treasure them for the rest of my life.”  You will not find the words “shy” or “reserved” in describing Sophia.  She is fearless on the playground and will climb up and jump down from high equipment.  She has learned to climb over our chained link fence and has led her brother and neighborhood friends to do the same. 

                And finally she is passionately descriptive in her language.  One moment we are the recipients of loving soliliques, the next harsh tongue lashings.  Her vocabulary continues to expand, with such grown-up words as “banished,” “require” and “foolish” appearing in her daily conversations.   

                For posterity sake, I now feel the need to record her weekly activities.  For many reasons that I will not go into here on the blog, we decided to keep Sophia and Vincent out of Mother’s Day Out this year.  Yet you will not find us home on most mornings of the week.  Sophia’s week stays busy with ballet, Bible Study Fellowship, Dawson childcare while mommy works out, Kindermusik, gymnastics (last fall), and playdates with sweet friends.  She spends the night with her Jean Jean about once a month and those two girls have the best time!  Cookie baking, jewelry making, art, worksheets – her nights with Jean are jam packed with activity and fun.  About once or twice a week Sophia and I sit down at the kitchen table and have “school.”  We are working on identifying letters and sounds, following directions, and writing her name.  Our one on one time together while brother naps is dear to my heart.  In the fall Sophia will be starting Preschool at one of our local elementary schools.  We are all very excited about this opportunity!

 {Beginning of the 2011-2012 ballet season}



{Sophia's ballet recital last year, Spring of 2011.  This video so perfectly captures her sweet, unique personality.  She gets totally lost in the moment and has her own way of doing things. I love this girl....}

 {Sophia and Lawson - partners in crime...}

                {Sweet girls - Natalie and Sophia}

 {One afternoon while brother slept, Sophia and I went on a butterfly rescue mission}

 {Butterflies were everywhere!} 

     Baby girl, my prayer is that when you have grown into the beautiful young woman I know you will be, you will look back and feel that I “observed you, considered you, perceived you, and learned you.”  I may not get it right and you will certainly change over the coming years.  But know this; you delight me and your daddy.  You’re our “Soph la Doph” and I love you dearly….