four-year-old bouncing baby boy

Indeed, my bouncing baby boy is four years old. WOW.

If you're interested in all the exciting details, here is my recap of the last year:

The summer after Wesley turned three we tried potty training, but had some awful issues and put it off until we all recovered. We had our condo up for sale and we were looking at houses, too. I still worked two days a week and he attended a daycare/preschool which we all loved. I felt like he grew so much in the year he attended there, with his communication and play skills. They really got him interested in art projects, too.

 

At the end of November I quit my job and we moved into a rental home, "our new house with the garage" Wesley called it. He called our old place our "old condo without the garage." So funny! We had baby Laurel in December and recovered for the next few months, looking for houses when our condo finally sold. We also had a hard time adjusting as a family of four, well, me at home with two kids. Wesley desperately needed some high-quality Wesley time. We were watching waaaaay too many Pixar movies (mom's only chance to unwind). So, we enrolled him in gymnastics one day a week, and I joined a preschool co-op three days a week. Those programs were HEAVEN SENT. They were just what Wesley needed. Since we started them in March he has grown SO MUCH with his speech and play and skills.

At one point, a few months ago, I was still really worried about him. I signed up to have him evaluated for delays by the local school district, because if he qualified we'd get preschool for free. With a new house to take care of, anything "free" sounds worth it to me, hehe. When the "committee" first saw Wesley they had some concerns about communication and cognitive skills, fine motor skills, etc., and they signed us up for 3 or 4 tests. At the first test, Wesley identified colors and numbers and shapes, he made a car go over a bridge and under a bridge and across a bridge, etc., etc., the woman was so impressed. At one point, she said she wasn't worried about delays at all, and quite the contrary -- she said Wesley is very "bright." No one has called him bright before. As he's grown, I've noticed it seems he is just like his parents -- we're perfectionists! At least I am. It's like Wesley rehearses everything in his mind, and when he is ready to do it all just so, he does it. Because it took him awhile to get to that point we were worried. And we didn't need to be.

Some of the funny things he says:

• When we ask him to do something -- "You can do it by yourself, I'm too busy."
• He asks us this like 10 times a day -- "Are you happy?"
• When we tell him something -- "Oh, is that right?"

We finally moved into our new house in April -- yay! It's our "new new house with the garage." HA! There's been so much transition, now we are finally ready to settle down. And that means we're working on potty training again :-) Things aren't perfect, and we're not done by any means, but we do have lots of progress. M&Ms are very motivational.

Let's see: Wesley's favorite foods are granola bars, any carb, any chocolate (haha), and shredded wheat cereal (who woulda knew?). Sure-bet foods are chicken nuggets, quesadillas, macaroni and cheese, PB&J sandwiches, and eggs and sausages. We're working on eating more fruits and vegetables. His favorite book is Go, Dog, Go! He has it MEMORIZED. He loves it. We read it 5 times a day, at least. He loves to dance (aka run around like a loon when music is on), and his favorite songs are Little Broken Truck by Caspar Babypants (we loooove them), and their version of Frere Jacques. We sing Primary songs too, and right now we like Follow the Prophet. He really loved Silent Night at Christmastime. He enjoys art, especially play-doh and painting. His favorite toys are his "blinking cars" (these matchbox-type cars that light up), his trains, and Big Airplane (which he takes to bed). I just asked him what his favorite thing is, and he said "motorcycles." So there you go. I feel like he is transitioning into liking cars better than trains, maybe that's just me. We're transportation all the way in his house. I've noticed he'll talk to his toys and say things like, "silly train! we don't crash into cars!" or "Big Airplane, you're funny!" He plays independently still so very well, but he also wants me and Shane to play with him more. I often find myself so busy and after he's gone to bed I realize that he asked me to make a railroad with him like 10 times, and I said I would, but I didn't. It's such a sad thought. I don't want to miss out on these exciting years, so I need to take that time to play with him (while I still can). He's enjoying kicking and throwing balls more and more, so that's exciting.  He is fascinated by traffic lights and electric wires (seriously). He hates putting on his own clothes, but I know he can do it. He takes FOREVER to put on his shoes and wash his hands. All part of growing up, I guess!  He's not very good at sharing. We need to work on that :-)  He has lately been talking about some of his friends, telling me we need to invite Caitlin to go swimming, or saying he is thankful for Emily in his prayers. Umm adorable. He loves swinging at the park. He is fascinated by bugs, especially spiders and ants. (At our family reunion this summer when Wesley would wake up before everyone else I felt like I had to take him outside so everyone could sleep in peace. I needed some excuse to be outside.... so we looked for bugs under rocks and stuff. I think that is when the fascination started :-)  We had a TERRIBLE time with bedtime about the time Laurel was born (ok and for months before), so we made four "bedtime rules," and if he follows the bedtime rules he gets something special for breakfast, like French toast or cinnamon rolls or even a cookie (don't judge me ;-)  It WORKED wonders. He does well with rules! Thank goodness bedtime is much smoother now.

 



 

He's learning so much. I'm eager to do things with him this summer, like work on writing his name and doing some exciting art projects. Just yesterday we made "bird feeders" with toilet paper rolls, peanut butter, and bird seed. Messy and so fun. We have a book that helps him spell out W-E-S-L-E-Y, so he knows the letters, and Grandma Twining got us a cool book that uses dry erase markers to help us practice letters, and the other day he made a W. AWESOME!

He's a good big brother, he's pretty hands off. He has held Laurel just a handful of times. When she was first born he called her "rural," but he has gotten really good at the "L" in her name. He's happy to hand her a pacifier or some toys. He is also happy to take toys away from her (the aforementioned sharing problem). But overall he's gentle and sweet and I'm glad we have a cute little family!



At the doctor's office this week he weighed 33 lbs and measured 39.5 inches tall -- right around the 25-30th percentiles for both. Perfectly normal and healthy! My baby boy is now a little boy. I love him so much.

More pictures here. It's the best of everything from the end of May 2011 to May 2012. What a year it has been!