Time for a more fun post after yesterday’s post about the illnesses plaguing our house!
Paul is 4! I feel like we've been talking about his birthday for quite some time. He was way more excited for and aware of his birthday than he has been in the past so that is a fun development. I feel like we are hitting the start of the sweet spot of parenting. Most of the behavior challenges we experienced around 3-3.5 have improved. He still will get upset at times, but nothing like the dysregulation we saw in the fall. I think I will start to plan some mommy/Pablo outings now that he doesn't need to nap and does so well when out and about!
Growth: He's around 30 pounds and I am not sure how tall - probably around 41" or so? We'll find out at his well-child appointment on Friday. He's definitely petite for his age. I think the rule is that you need to be 40 lbs to move to a booster seat in the car and that feels like it's YEARS away for him! He is mostly wearing 2T bottoms but can still wear 18m shorts. He recently moved into 3T tops and pajamas.
Words and phrases: He continues to be very chatty. I can tell that he picks up on things we say, especially Phil's common phrases. Often when we ask how his day at school was he will say "it was really busy!" The other night he was kind of hyper and was running around in circles and then stopped and said, "I got a little carried away." At dinner time when Will inevitably throws food on the floor, Paul will tell us, "He's just a baby!"
He also has a great imagination. He still talks about his cat Jax who lives by a lake but also apparently has a house in California. Paul said he drives his convertible there to visit him and that Jax also drives a tiny car. He also pretends to be different animals, especially in the cat family like a cheetah. Much of his pretend play involves him being the daddy and me being the mama and Will being the baby. So last week, we were the mama and daddy birdies who went to find worms to feed to Will the baby birdie.
Dressed up as Cat Boy, playing with his Cat Boy toy |
Playing in his "space ship." This car seat box got a lot of use! |
Likes:
Eating: is pretty meh. We keep exposing him to things but there is no forcing this kid to eat something he doesn't want to eat. He has been willing to at least try things (but pretty much immediately spits it out) so I guess that is progress? His favorite foods are dino chicken (which have blitzed veggies in them), banana pancakes, cottage cheese, mac and cheese (although he is particular about the shape of the pasta - like he won't eat shells!), pizza, Cheerios, crackers, and cookies. So basically mostly carbs.
Potty training: He night trained on his own this winter so that was nice as I wasn't sure how to handle that. He's been night trained for several months now and hasn't had any accidents. We thought he would have a hard time with it when traveling and sleeping in a new location but he didn't have any issues!
Big brother adjustment: he's adjust well to being a big brother. He can be a little rough with Will at times but I think that is to be expected. They don't play all that much together and the surest way to get Paul interested in a toy is to give it to Will! They play best during bath time although Will can get a little too wild for Paul sometimes! He is very sweet towards Will most of the time and I can't wait to watch their relationship develop.
Yes, "big" school will be here before you know it...but sounds like you're soaking up all the fun that is 4.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great age. More independence, but still little enough for great snuggles where they still fit in your lap.
He seems like such a fun boy to be around - lots of interests and curiosities. My kids went through a VERY long phase of loving Wild Kratts. And we have that space puzzle (I think it's the Melissa and Doug one you're showing?) - Levi and I did a puzzle yesterday and he told me he wants to do that space puzzle today.
I'm so glad you fit in a fun celebration before the various stomach bugs hit your poor family! Hoping for health and lots of laughter in the year ahead for you all :)
Happy Birthday to Paul! Wow -- it's been such fun to follow him on yours and his journey. I think he's very smart and advanced (more so than ours, to be sure) and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that his parents love the books and also read and model for him. Isn't it fun when they can start to have an intelligible conversation? Sounds all good, Lisa!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Paul! Four is fun!
ReplyDeleteWow, when you said the next big change will be kindergarten, I can't believe it! And it will be here sooner than we know it - the 2023-2024 school year, right? That is CRAZY to think about!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that the attitude issues are calming down a bit as he turns 4. Those must have been so difficult to deal with!
Paul really does seem like a sweet, kind, funny little dude. How lucky you are to be his mom! <3
I feel like 4 years old is when they really shift from "toddler" to big kid. Like you have newborn/baby from 0-1, then "toddler" is 1-3 and then...big kid! It's so nice though when they can do things like games, puzzles, behave on an airplane... just makes everything easier. I'm also glad to hear the attitude/ sensitivity has settled down- that's so frustrating and exhausting. You are heading into some great years!! I just LOVED the say, 5-8 year old range. They are so cute, so sweet, still need you/ love you/ want to be with you all the time...but are so much easier!!
ReplyDeleteFour is a fun age and he’s full of energy and brightness! It’s fun to chat with him and we can tell he’s maturing so much. I wish we could have spent more time in AZ doing fun things, like swimming in the pool, but another time.
ReplyDeleteHis uncle Kevin was very small at that age and we called him our Skinny Ninny, so I have hope he’ll get bigger, too, like uncle Kevin!
4 is such a fun age - I loved my niece and nephew at age 4. I especially love the imagination and using all the phrases that they've picked up from the adults LOL so funny.
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