Veronica, age 4, has entered a new stage of development:

Scheming.

A couple mornings ago, Veronica said she wanted to go to her friend Caleb's house to play. As it's rude to invite yourself to a playdate, I asked if she would like it if Caleb came to her house to play. She replied, "No, I'm afraid he'll be mean to me." Which of course, led me to ask, "Then why do you want to go to his house?" And her response?

"Because his sister has Barbies."

*sigh*

Sorry Kiddo...doesn't work that way...and you don't play with the Barbies you have anyway!

Other developments continue to astound. At this time, she can spell her first name, her last name, and Caleb's name. She can recognize her name written elsewhere. She can recite her home phone number and easily count to the point where she's doing simple math (one day she was making up a story and said "there were three kids, two were boys and one was a girl.") One day she wrote her name backwards and if you held up the paper, you could read it perfectly from the other side.

She easily memorizes songs (nothing funnier than hearing her sing - yes, sing - "I'm going off of the rails of a craz-zee tray-ain.") She knows nursery rhymes and can remember storylines after one hearing. She frequently makes up her own stories and songs...every now and again, the lines in the songs rhyme, and the song seems to have structure. Even when she plays on the piano, it's not discordant at all; it may not be a song, but it's not just noise either.

Our latest thing we do together is watch the reality TV contest "So You Think You Can Dance." We both have our favorite dancers, and Veronica knows their names and can even remember some of their moves. (She told me on Sunday evening that her new favorite guy was "the one in the red shirt" last Wednesday night and then started aping some of his and his partner's moves...not bad considering she only saw the routine once.) She's very interested in dance, and I always call in to vote for her favorite couples. I'm looking to get her into dance lessons, as she seems to have a penchant for it; at the very least, she has the rhythm going for her.

And her empathy is unbelievable. Her great-grandmother Ruby recently passed away, and while her daddy wasn't upset and she had only met Grandma Ruby once that she could remember, she cried and cried. She will still get sad over missing Pita and is upset when you accidentally step on and squish a bug on the ground. If you are tired, she will give you her blanket to lay down with. Some nights she leaves me a baby doll or stuffed toy in my bed. She offers to share her favorite foods with me. It is adorable and oh so sweet. Oh yeah, there's bad moments too - her stubborness is unsurpassed - but the good ones far outweigh the bad. I just love her so much, and we're having a wonderful time together.