Sam at Age 4

I took this photo of Sam in the car after swimming and realized that I could see a glimpse of him as a teenager. Maybe it's the detached look, or quite possibly the hoodie, but he just seemed older...

But he just turned four, not fourteen, so let's talk about who he is today: 

At this age, it's a little harder for me to describe how he is changing... he's achieved all the major milestones of physical and verbal development that one would expect for a four year old. Still, I find myself glancing at Kyle knowingly on a daily basis when Sam does and says things that are new and interesting. Here, in no particular order are some updates:

-He continues to be an empathetic being: He rode his bike out of my view and I came upon him leaning over a kid on the ground, assuming there was a collision, but no, he was just asking the boy--who had fallen--if he was okay. Of course, we're still working on learning to apologize after accidently hurting someone, but he is definitely concerned about people.

-He wants to share, including his Halloween candy. He came home from trick-or-treating and said, "Mom, this one is for you because you like these!" [Reeses Peanutbuttercup, how I love thee!] He's also okay with giving Elsie things that were recently very important to him, like his blankets and his balance bike.

-He imagines the future and he entertains the hypothetical: We were reading Make way for Ducklings and when the bicycle scared Mrs. Mallard, he said, "If I were riding that bicycle, I would be much more careful."

-He's been singing more often and augmenting his pitch, too: We've enjoyed melodies from Casper Babypants as well as several childhood classics lately.

-He's using creative problem solving: My coffee mug was recently broken by a toddler who shall not be named (who has been practicing her throwing skills) and Sam later said, "Well that's okay, we can glue it and use it as a vase." Wish I had thought of that!

-Growing self awareness for good or bad:  He wore his birthday crown to school, but immediately removed it when he walked in the door and I realized that he was feeling self-conscious. He also said, "When I stand up at school, they will all be laughing at me." And I said, "Will they all be smiling because it's your birthday?" And he said, "Ya, they'll be smiling and laughing." He certainly seemed a bit shy during the birthday ceremony, but he also looked proud and excited.

-Still a great helper: Sam asked me to take the above photo after he had helped me make dinner and I think that he was feeling proud. He's wearing an apron he made at school and he wanted Elsie to be in the picture with him. He's great at mixing sauces, blending cookie dough or bread mix with the electric mixer (with close supervision), setting his place at the table, and feeding the cat her dinner.

Lest I be too gushing about my first born, I should say that Sam is a four-year old boy through and through:

-He has his wacky moments: He created a word, "Cuckoo-hazard," which apparently is a noun, an adjective, and maybe even a proper noun all rolled into one. For example: "What did you eat at school today?" "Cuckoo hazard!" or "Mom, the cuckoo-hazards are in the trees and then they leap into the sky!" Um, okay. "How was your day, Sam?" "Cukoo-hazard." Right...

-He has his way-too-loud-and-energetic moments: even this larger house can seem very small when he's running all around it, shouting, or banging on the piano.

-He even has some sinister moments, too: imagine the above and add him "bumping" into his sister, or knocking all my folded laundry over.

-Lastly, he has his super-procrastinator moments, the kind--I am sure--which are familiar to most every parent everywhere.

Of course, actions like those have consequences and Kyle and I have been thankful to have found the 1-2-3 Magic book which has been a really fabulous way of disciplining Sam without getting too frustrated, hurt, or upset. We do, of course, try to emphasize the positive and praise or reward him whenever we can. But if he earns a time-out, he is always welcomed back with love, open arms, and no further discussion. As the book explains, it should generally be fun and enjoyable to be around your children and with Sam, I definitely feel that way...

Can't wait to see what another year brings.