Today, my baby turned 4 years old. So much of the past four years seems to be a blur and yet I can find myself lying awake at night remembering the night he was born, me loosing my phone at the clinic while picking up the breast pump and not knowing the way home, the rush to urgent care with my itty bitty baby who wasn't keeping food down (it turned out he just had reflux), the drive to the appointment to get his lip tie corrected, racing to the ER after he fell down the stairs . . . the anxieties I've had while mothering this child stay close and like to revisit me when I'm supposed to be sleeping.
But thankfully, the last four years have also brought many reasons to laugh and give thanks. He makes the best faces - especially his angry face, it cracks me up every time. His smile is pretty great too, obviously! He loves and hates being tickled. His laugh is contagious. He is healthy. He loves to cuddle. He loves being cozy, all wrapped up in blankets with his many stuffed animals.
or playing Zingo with them
Stephen has grown a lot this year-- in body, personality, and skills. He's 41 inches tall and 35 pounds. He is starting to recognize more of his letters and can count to 30 on his own (with a little help with "20"). He loves to draw and sticks to geometric shapes, lines and circles . . . but to him they are diggers and shovels and machines.
He loves to run and climb and jump, all things that have become quite challenging while sheltering in place. We do make it outside nearly every day and more recently he and William have taken up fighting trees with sticks, digging for worms, and climbing trees. Tumbling also came into the mix with our couch a month ago, so I purchased some thick foam so he could have his own tumbling pad in hopes of keeping him and my couch safe from harm, but in reality it made him much more daring.
Stephen has always been more aggressive than his brother but as long as we kept active this was usually not a huge issue. But with staying home more and not having our normal outlets for active play, he struggles keeping his emotions and body in check. He is a little boy with very big emotions and oftentimes doesn't have the words to ask for what he needs.
The one thing I want to remember about Stephen at this age is his love for his brother. They have been doing everything together for 8 weeks at this point and Stephen loves it. William thinks it's "annoying" but I treasure it. Stephen is learning how to do so many "bigger boy" things just to be able to keep up with William -- play Pokemon, building with legos, imagination play and using a computer (eek!).
can't forget that we are in our 9th week of Covid-19 Precautions
Other things that are his favorites: construction toys (he says he wants to be a construction worker when he grows up), building with duplos or legos, Richard Scarry books, Little Critter books, and collecting sticks.
He is growing so quickly, it's amazing to watch all the things start to "click" - like counting and letter sounds and listening/doing what we ask him to do (sometimes). He is a handful a lot of the time-- with his risk taking and need for adventure but this growing boy is also a joy and my heart is full.
Today, my baby turned 4 years old. So much of the past four years seems to be a blur and yet I can find myself lying awake at night remembering the night he was born, me loosing my phone at the clinic while picking up the breast pump and not knowing the way home, the rush to urgent care with my itty bitty baby who wasn't keeping food down (it turned out he just had reflux), the drive to the appointment to get his lip tie corrected, racing to the ER after he fell down the stairs . . . the anxieties I've had while mothering this child stay close and like to revisit me when I'm supposed to be sleeping.
But thankfully, the last four years have also brought many reasons to laugh and give thanks. He makes the best faces - especially his angry face, it cracks me up every time. His smile is pretty great too, obviously! He loves and hates being tickled. His laugh is contagious. He is healthy. He loves to cuddle. He loves being cozy, all wrapped up in blankets with his many stuffed animals.
or playing Zingo with them
Stephen has grown a lot this year-- in body, personality, and skills. He's 41 inches tall and 35 pounds. He is starting to recognize more of his letters and can count to 30 on his own (with a little help with "20"). He loves to draw and sticks to geometric shapes, lines and circles . . . but to him they are diggers and shovels and machines.
He loves to run and climb and jump, all things that have become quite challenging while sheltering in place. We do make it outside nearly every day and more recently he and William have taken up fighting trees with sticks, digging for worms, and climbing trees. Tumbling also came into the mix with our couch a month ago, so I purchased some thick foam so he could have his own tumbling pad in hopes of keeping him and my couch safe from harm, but in reality it made him much more daring.
Stephen has always been more aggressive than his brother but as long as we kept active this was usually not a huge issue. But with staying home more and not having our normal outlets for active play, he struggles keeping his emotions and body in check. He is a little boy with very big emotions and oftentimes doesn't have the words to ask for what he needs.
The one thing I want to remember about Stephen at this age is his love for his brother. They have been doing everything together for 8 weeks at this point and Stephen loves it. William thinks it's "annoying" but I treasure it. Stephen is learning how to do so many "bigger boy" things just to be able to keep up with William -- play Pokemon, building with legos, imagination play and using a computer (eek!).
can't forget that we are in our 9th week of Covid-19 Precautions
Other things that are his favorites: construction toys (he says he wants to be a construction worker when he grows up), building with duplos or legos, Richard Scarry books, Little Critter books, and collecting sticks.
He is growing so quickly, it's amazing to watch all the things start to "click" - like counting and letter sounds and listening/doing what we ask him to do (sometimes). He is a handful a lot of the time-- with his risk taking and need for adventure but this growing boy is also a joy and my heart is full.
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