Learning Is A Lesson

Baby Girl is going to turn 4 years old on Super Bowl Sunday. Our team is going to win their 7th Super Bowl that day so it's going to be a big day in our house.

But this morning, as I was "helping" her get dressed I realized just how much she has learned since last year...and how much she learns every.single.day. She was dressing herself today - underwear on sideways, pants on backwards, removed, on backwards again, removed, on correctly and so on. It was a test of both her patience and mine. Turns out, she gets her patience from me because it took all that I had not to just do it for her. She does it a little faster and a little better every time. She has learned to use the potty by herself (including washing her hands). She can write her own name (and some other words). She has learned how to play Match and Go Fish.

She makes learning look easy. Yes, she's smart (my mother-in-law would say she takes after her father) but making your body parts do what they're supposed to when asked (like pushing the button through the hole) is hard to "learn". It's all about practice, patience, and positive reinforcement. But she tries. And that inspires me to try - with practice, patience, and positive reinforcement. I am still running (I'm at about exactly 2.37 miles per run) and I'm learning to have patience with myself. It helps that Baby Girl occasionally stands in front of the treadmill and mimics running. Cracks me up but also reminds me that I am learning to be a positive influence on her.

And my positive reinforcement is a new pair of running shoes when the weather turns and I can run outside. Hers is new markers. :)