Maintenance Required: The Poor Neglected 4th Child, Blog Day #15

I think it must be hard to be the 4th in birth order. I notice that, as a mom, I get caught up in what the older three kids are doing. And I cater to the baby because. . .well, because he's the baby. Being somewhat caught in the middle, 4 year old Zoe sometimes gets pushed to the wayside.

As if being 4 isn't hard enough. You're not a big kid yet, but you're not a baby anymore either. You have to brush your own teeth, but you can't yet see yourself in the bathroom mirror. You have to wipe your own butt, but don't have the motor skills yet to maneuver the giant roll of toilet paper.

I have to say, though, that little Zoe can hold her own. Her personality, matching exactly that of her father's, gives her the extra oomph she needs to keep up with her siblings. What she lacks in size, she makes up for in her brightness and liveliness. She's bossy enough to take on any eldest child and funny enough to entertain an entire Thanksgiving gathering.

Her latest act is shaking her bootie. And she does it well. Whether it is to music, or her own chant "Bootie Bootie Bootie!", it's her favorite thing to do. And she knows it's funny. And she knows it's cute. As she gets older, she adds her shoulders. It takes quite a bit of coordination to shake your rear while moving one shoulder at a time, and all this to the beat of the music. My personal favorite is when she is going through the different settings on the electronic keyboard and dancing to the different types of beats.

Not only is she funny, she has a strong sense of belonging. Her preschool teacher has mentioned to me many times that, "Her family is the most important thing to her." She loves to be able to hang out with her siblings. Sometimes they take care of her and let her walk the dog with them. She has, so far, started at the youngest age to ride a bike with no training wheels because of the cheering and encouragement of her brother and sisters. I can't wait to see the older kids participate in her Kindergarten studies.

She is also very sweet. I love her little voice singing Amazing Grace. She has a great ear and nearly always sings in tune with her loud little voice. She has started narrating and working on her r's, s's', and l's. Her favorite words to practice with are "Trader Joe's". I was wrapping her little sandwiches in parchment paper and writing a little note on it. She wouldn't throw the wrappers away. So I wrote her a real note on a separate piece of paper and she loved it. When she feels special, she places importance on preserving what made her feel special. Her loyalty is so sweet.

I love her, and I think from now on I will be more purposeful in paying special attention to her. I will ignore my fatigue and burn-out and spend the 5 minutes reading a book to her. I will "clock out" late to sing her extra songs. I will take her on dates and include her in school.

Here are some favorite pictures of her: