Adi at 5 years

 
Adi has become an independent, witty, creative and perceptive girl. Animals are still her passion, especially dogs and horses, but she plays well with other kids and has a naturally gentle touch with her little sister.  She is still emotionally sensitive but seems to be her best during stressful moments when she can 'step-up' into a grown-up role.

Animals

The thing that Adi wants most in the world is to have a dog and especially to walk it on its leash. She came to an appointment with me where a puppy was being trained as a guide dog. So Adi got to walk it around in circles, telling it to stop and go and sit. It was the first time I've seen a dog obey her and she was elated. She often gets to walk her babysitters dog and that has made it so she is disappointed on days when the babysitter doesn't come.

Creativity

"Pretend I'm asleep and you're trying to wake me up."
"Pretend I'm a dog and I won't do what you say."

And so it goes around the house all day. Adi *loves* pretending, but she very much wants to make up the story.

Food
Adi's favorite foods: peanut butter, chocolate, candy, tacos, macaroni and cheese, soda. Her favorite vegetable: cauliflower (this surprised me, too!).

Emotionally expressive 
It seems that Adi has a talent for knowing why she is upset and the vocabulary to put it into words. She remains a very emotional person so it will be helpful to her in life to be able to identify and communicate what is causing her emotions.

As I was leaving her at my parents' house and she was clingy:
ADI:  I'll be sad until I forget about you.

At the end of the Finding Nemo movie, when the daddy fish finally finds his son:
ADI:    [sobbing] I want to go home!
DAVE: Why are you crying?
ADI:    Because I'm so happy!


Tough girl
After the kid's running race at our town's labor day festival:
ADI: See this [red mark] on my knee? That's where I fell down during the race.
ME: You fell down? Did you cry?
ADI: Nope, there was no one around [that I knew] so I just got back up and kept running.

When she is up to it, Adi can be very tough. In contrast to the emotionality that she often displays, she seems to be adopting a cocky attitude more and more of the time. This is not so pleasant when she is talking back to us around the house but, indeed, is better than the alternative of bursting into tears when we correct her.

She also likes scary stories and movies and likes to be chased or startled. This seems at odds with her sensitivity! And, in contrast to other ticklish people I've known, she *loves* being tickled. In fact, it can sometimes break her out of a bad mood.

Miss Independent
We frequently hear Adi say, "Stop telling me what to do!"  She has informed me that she thinks she is old enough to live on her own without a mother and father telling her what to do.  Although she did allow that I could visit so that she wouldn't miss me. 

She is much more likely to do something if we can remind her in a way that makes her think she's doing it on her own. She loves to surprise us and gets angry if we ruin the surprise-- whether she's tip-toeing around a corner to say 'boo' or cleaning up the living room while I'm putting Vivian to bed and then blaming it on "fairies".

With the clip-on earrings she chose with her birthday money from Great-Grandma Bundy

Wearing a shirt that my Grandma and Grandpa Richards had made when I was four years old.

Pushing Vivian in a swing; wearing one of her favorite skirts and her favorite hairstyle (which she can do herself... with my clip which she has adopted).

At Uncle Buck's wedding, wearing Aunt Kara's old dress.

Frosting her kitty cake.

Examining a bug in the microscope. Adi is fascinated by bugs and loves worms, whom she usually names "wormy" and tries to keep in a jar.

On her 16" (wheel diameter) bike.  Adi was very cautious for the first few weeks on this larger bike-- only wanting to start on perfectly flat ground but she gained confidence after a few weeks of riding and now will stand up on the pedals or hold with only one hand (a very subtle trick!)