Nathan is 4!

One of the first things you said as a 4 year old was, "I don't want to put my own diaper on." Apparently, Daddy told you that once you turned 4, you would have to put on your own diapers before bed. Well, that day came soon and you remembered. It's ok, we'll keep putting on your diapers before you go to bed, but the deal about trading a dry diaper in for $0.10 in the morning still stands. 

As an official "big boy" you now really love to be more responsible. You have totally stepped up as far as following through on what you say you are going to do (except for putting your shorts on, that you always seem to forget to do.)  

You've got a great attention span and I really enjoy playing games with you in the afternoon. You love listening to superhero books and you get to play plants v. zombies once a week. You can actually pass the levels by yourself! 

You and Daddy put a litchi seed in the soil about a month ago, so we now have a litchi sprout growing on our patio. You are really excited about it and you tell almost everyone about it. We hope to be able to get out in our backyard and garden soon. 

Well, for your birthday, you asked for a watch and a nerf gun. You are not getting a nerf gun. 

We did just a simple family celebration at home and you brought cupcakes to school. 

On your birthday, I read back to the posts that I wrote during the first few weeks of your life. Some things I have already forgotten, some things I still remember as if it happened yesterday. Can't believe you were once this small. 

And now, you are a big strong boy. We let you open the package yourself, because you wanted to. You persevered for awhile and then proceeded to use your teeth to rip open the package. It was pretty hilarious. 

Last week when I asked you who your favorite superhero was, you replied, "The Hulk, because he's so strong." I asked you again last night, and you changed your mind to "green lantern because he wears a ring."

Anyways, you told me that you wanted to bring chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles to school for your birthday. I didn't know you liked chocolate that much. 

For fun, I decided to make some marzipan and molded some hulk fists to top the cupcakes. Even though most of the kids in your class would've have appreciated them, it was something that I enjoyed doing. 

 On your actual birthday, I made a simple Plants vs. Zombies cake. I put all of your favorite plants on the cake and then you asked about the zombies. We basically proceeded to eat the rest of the cake in zombie voices. "Bra-a-a-ins" Hannah even joined in too.

Your gross motor skills are still pretty bad. You trip, fall, and run into things all. the. time. But as far as fine motor skills, you are pretty advanced. Not many 4 year olds can cut details into a folded piece of paper like you are doing below as you are making a snowflake.

 The weather has been beautiful lately. Mid 70's to high 80's. We've spent most of the dry afternoons outside.

 On rainy days, we stay inside and play with things like rice and construction cars. Lots of fun, but also, lots of mess. I think I'm still finding rice grains all over the house.

 On Saturday, we even went to the playground and then went to go watch Daddy play hockey until it started to rain.

 On Tuesday, we went with some church friends to the Nature Center and spent the morning there. Lots of cute kids and fun.

Nathan, lately, your emotions have been pretty strong. You want things your way, and you want it now! In fact, that is exactly how you express it to me. We've been having time outs and talking about letting the mean-ness or angry-ness go when you get worked up. I've also been trying by reminding you to "Let it go!" when someone takes something from you or makes you angry. I start to sing, you giggle embarrasingly, and then you run away. I guess that is working pretty well, for now, then.

Well, that's it for now. We have some more fun lined up this week. Until next time,
Love,
Mommy