A Little Over 3.5. 8-20-15

A few random updates:

• The main reason I'm posting is that Boop memorized her 1st book earlier this month, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. She almost knows the entire book verbatim and only needs a few prompts here and there. 
• Not sure what happened, but she woke up one morning with skin like the texture of misshapen coblestones. Maybe from playing in the yard and helping clean outside. Boop learned the word sphigmomanometer at the doctor's office, and we practiced it for when the doctor came. She actually did get most of the word out for the new doctor, in spite of her being a bit shy.
• She is starting to get better about cleaning her messes by herself--when she wants to, but she's also excelling at making some very frustrating messes. Last night, she just decided to pour the rest of her Benadryl in the middle of the kitchen floor.
• Bedtime is a chore. Note bullet point about Benadryl. Starting about 8:30pm, she runs around like a wild banshee, jumping on beds, and throwing objects. I got her a daybed and painted it purple like she wanted. Unfortunately, the Mickey Mouse sparkle paint did not work out too well. In spite of my efforts to get her bed just right, Boop is not very good about using it, always upset that it is "too hot!" It's the same as mine. Maybe the situation will difuse as cooler weather rolls around, at which time it will undoubtedly be "too cold!" It will also be dark earlier, which may help me usher her to bed at an earlier time.
• Boop has been writing her name for a little while, but I suspect it's more legible for people with dyslexia when she gets going a little too fast. Sometimes it's rightside up, sometimes upside down, sometimes backwards, but mostly a combination of the 3. But at 3.5, I feel pretty good about her progress.
• She's a big girl, and it's a bit hard for her to get all those muscles to cooperate. If coordination is a problem for her, she came by it honest; plus the fact that her development hasn't quite caught up to the big body it must command. She's getting there. We're working on coloring inside the lines. Sorry John Mayer (no, not really. A millenial, she is not). 
• Winnie is still hanging tough. She's coughing more due to the heart murmur, but she can bound up and down the stairs without missing a beat. When we took her to the pet store for her birthday in July to pick out a present, the shelter volunteers were shocked to learn that our puppy was really 13 years old!
• As for me, I'm still trying to get my stuff together. Life happens. I'm coming down after several weeks of steroids from poison ivy. School starting is always measured chaos. Trying to find time to do fun things for Boop, as she's only this age once. Trying to make sure she is doing enrichment activities, too. For example, last Saturday, we ran from Boop's music class to a birthday party for Boop's friend to opening ceremonies for my school. I think these things will only get worse. 
• The good news is that the finanical planner felt pretty comfortable with me retiring in 8 years--not that I ever really would quit working entirely, especially since retiring at that age would mean living at a bare minimum.
• And so that's Boop waking up. I call her Broadway Baby. She sings every move that she's making. Apparently, she is making her grand entrance down the stairs.