Four...wow. It just doesn't seem like you should be four. It seems like yesterday you were just our "little bitty" and look at you now. Every time someone asks how old you are and we tell them four, they can't believe it and neither can we. We look at you every day and it just amazes us, how big you have gotten.
This year was a big one for you, full of so many firsts and accomplishments.
Firsts:
This year you...
- Started using the big potty (you went from diapers to completely potty trained in one week--amazing!)
- Started swim lessons
- Got your first ride on a horse, and in a way that only you could, convinced the owners of the horses to give you several rides.
- Got your first quad and spent all Spring riding it around the backyard.
- Helped daddy wash his car.
- Started praying before bedtime each night.
- Were given your first dental X-rays and you did great! The dentist was thrilled at how well you did. Unfortunately, she did tell us that since you have cute no-gap teeth right now (great for smiling), you do have braces in your future--sorry bud).
- Went on your first fishing trip with your cousins Joey and Gianna.
- Spent a week at the beach in San Diego.
- Visited Legoland with your best buddy Carter.
- Flew a kite by yourself.
- Started naming your toys (the first of which was a blue rubber lizard you fondly named Carter).
- Went trick-or-treating with your friend Tanner. You even picked out your costume, which you insisted was a dinosaur (it was a dragon--so cute).
- Baked with Grandma Marni and Mommy.
- Took your first trip to the library and didn't want to leave.
- Was evaluated for speech and started speech therapy (more on that later).
- Started pre-school (huge!) and are loving it.
- Learned how to recognize and spell your name.
- Started tumbling classes (thanks to Papa and Grandma Marni)
- Started playing soccer.
Accomplishments that have made Mommy and Daddy so proud:
This year you....
- Mastered the alphabet and know all the letters by sight (upper and lower case).
- Mastered most of the shapes and can easily tell the difference between oval and circle and square, diamond and rectangle.
- Mastered counting from 1-15 correctly.
- Have stared working on writing your name.
- Have started to practice using scissors.
- Know all your basic colors and many others.
- Have fallen in LOVE with swimming and adore your swim teacher Bri. You are finally able to swim from the steps to the side unassisted. We are so proud.
- Have met many of your speech goals.
- Have become quite the helper around the house (e.g. feeding the dogs, cleaning up your toys, clearing your place after you eat without being asked, etc.).
- Mastered your quad.
- Mastered the stairs in Utah both outside and loft (oh joy)
- Have become sooooo independent.
- Have started trying new foods (Praise Jesus!)
- Did better on the parallel bars than many of the other kids in your tumbling class (of course you did...you do anything you put your mind to.)
- Have learned to dress yourself and only need help with your socks and sometimes your shoes.
Cute things you do:
You...
- Spell out words at random (on billboards, stores, menus, t-shirts, costco)
- spelled out "condiments" (it was on the wall at costco) and told me it spelled "pizza" because we were eating pizza there (we thought that was good logic on your part).
- Still give the sweetest kisses--you are incredibly affectionate.
- pretend to be a dinosaur--a lot.
- Still love anything reptilian or amphibian.
- Ask to go to Cabella's at least 5 times a week.
- Always asks if "this is the right way" when putting on shoes, underwear and shorts so to make sure you don't put them on backwards.
- Like to pick out your shirt that you are going to wear each day, but if you had your way you would only wear the green "Sham Rocker" shirt you got for St. Patrick's Day; you don't seem to care that it is long past St. Patrick's Day.
- Cheer when I tell you, that you are going swimming.
- Still take a 3 hr. nap in the afternoon (most days).
- Make new friends easily (in fact, today, you said hi out the window of the car to a man walking in the crosswalk--we might need to work on stranger-danger with you).
- Love anything chocolate.
- Insist on crossing your hands when holding hands to pray.
- Thank God for your friends, family and chocolate almost every night
- Make Mommy and Daddy laugh on a daily basis.
- Can't walk by Ghee's house without stopping for a piece of candy or graham cracker.
- Would rather be at Grandma Marni and Papa's house than your own, or so it seems.
- Love to play in your playhouse with Grandma Marni and protect her from "monsters" the whole time.
- Pretend to be an alligator.
- Switch people's titles (e.g. mommy, daddy, papa, grandma) intentionally to make people laugh.
- Still insist that your hands are "the same" when asked. (so sweet)
Cute sayings:
- good deal
- good idea
- Mommy, you almost scared me.
- you made it Mommy! Good job!
- Almost there...
- rubber boops (rubber boots---it is so cute I don't want to correct you)
- ghetti (spaghetti)
- This way mommy
- You say me no (you told me no--your answer to my constant question, "what did I tell you?")
- It's just an assident (accident)
- So cute
- Tasty!
- 5 minutes???
- You use the word "my" for "I" more often than not, but you are working on it.
- Ghee for Great Grandma Ruth.
- You monster
- I wove you mommy.
Not so cute sayings:
Things you love:
- Listen me (listen to me)
- Look at my face (unfortunately you learned this from me. "look at me.")
- Stop talking [to] me.
- No my want to.
- No my want to.
- No my want to.
- Wild Kratts (love for animals can identify most even weird ones like aardvarks and Tasmanian Devils)
- Super Why
- Toy Story (Buzz and Jessie in particular)
- Bubble guns
- Dinosaurs (still)
- Reptiles and amphibians
- Throwing rocks in the creek in Utah
- Playing in the water
- Your alligator pool
- Going to the aquarium
- Mud
- The dogs
- Horses
- Playdough
- Balloons
- Blowing out candles
- Books
- Throwing rocks into water
- Swimming
- Your two buddies Tanner and Carter
- Utah (Grandma Barbara's mountain house)
- Exploring the outdoors
Your "issues" with food only just started to get better in the last several months. Prior to that, you became even pickier than you were before (if that is even possible). For example, you used to love peaches...now you won't touch them. You also used to chow mashed potatoes and now it's a crapshoot.
There are some things that you still like:
- Chicken
- Broccoli (go figure)
- Mac and Cheese
- Fish
- Pancakes
- Waffles
- Eggs
- Toast
- Biscuits
- Honey
- Cheese Crisps
- Refried beans
- Egg Salad Sandwich
- Goldfish Crackers
- Applesauce
- Cookies
- Cake
New foods that you like:
- Rice
- Chips/Salsa
- Shredded Beef (or black chicken, as Noah calls it)
- Pinto Beans
- Spaghetti (ghetti)
- Chicken Sausage
- Breakfast Sausage
- Orange Juice
- Chocolate Milk
Thankfully you are much more willing to try new foods and, go figure, every now and then you like one of them. Oh how I look forward to the day you grow out of your picky eating habits.
Statistics:
- size 9/9.5 shoe (pretty sure you skipped size 8.5 all together).
- 3T/4T clothes.
- 35 lbs.
- as handsome as you can be!
You are so big and we see you doing amazing new things every day. You frustrate us one minute and then make us laugh the next. We love you so much and are excited to see your growth over the next year.
Happy Birthday, Noah!
We love you.
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
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