I have completely slacked doing this last year for my kids but I write 10 things about them at their current age before they turn a year older. These are 10 things about #2 before he had turned 4 that we want to remember.
1. He is my snuggle bug.
He will be in the middle of a TV show or playing toys and stop to come say he
loves us and give us a gentle hug. He will give you adorable sweet kisses on
your leg or face and barley touches you when he does it. He will lie on your
lap, climb into bed and stroke your hair and face and just smile.
2. He lives in his own
imagination world. He pretty much has a Broadway play of Pirates of the Caribbean
in his head and acts out every scene with his imaginext figures accompanied
with every part and piece. When asked what he is doing he will tell you the
whole movie and has everything figured out down to the last detail. He loves to
line up his cars and people and have things in order.
3. He looks up to his big
sister tremendously. He watches her every move and waits for her to come home
from school, asking every 15 minutes how much longer till DD gets home. Once we
pick her up he right away and anxiously asks if she will play with him. He will
cry if she says no and will continue to bug her until she caves. He will
happily do anything to play with her, which includes doing what she wants of Barbie’s,
Polly pockets, house, restaurant, and crafts.
4. He literally has his
eyes half closed once we say our nightly prayers to what he calls his Heavenly
Flower. He is almost crashed when we sat Amen. He is our early bird and wakes
up as early as 6:00am bright eyed and bushy tailed as he quietly walks into our
room. Once he wakes me up he tells me he wants my phone and quietly turns the
volume all the way down so he wont wake anyone. He goes back to his bed to play
on the phone until 7. He has a rule of no getting out of his bed until he sees
number 7 on the clock. He then races down and wakes me again to say MOM, It’s
number semen (seven).
5. He loves to graze like a
cow. He will eat snacks and bites of food all day if I would let him. I
purposely give him very small portions knowing he will never finish the 2 small
spoonfuls of eggs. He loves watermelon, cantaloupe, eggs and chocolate chips.
He hates French fries and will not eat them even with dip. He always tells me
NO LETTUCE even if what we are eating is something you would not have lettuce
on. He will always tell me he wants to eat a strawberry but then he spits it
out. He loves ice cream.
6. He HATES taking showers.
I think he has only taken 1 in his 4 years. He hates water on his face and is
slowly learning to enjoy the pool. He has been very timid of the pool and
scared to swim unless we are right alongside him in the water. He doesn’t even
want me to watch in a chair on the side, It can only be right next to him.
7. Although he is very
quite and expressionless he has a LOT of thoughts in his little head. He takes
a lot in and really observes and remembers a lot. He can get away with murder
with his twinkle in his eye and constant smile. He is horrible at being sneaky
and as I am watching him he will tell me he didn’t color on the table and then
smile. We have the hardest time getting mad at him since he has tender heart.
He is not a sissy by any means and will hold his tears in like a true boy, rub
his eyes with his wrist and tell you he is fine. He never wants to hurt someone’s
feelings, other than his big sister. If you happen to do something that makes
him feel bad and you realize it he will make up a story and and put the blame
on someone else like his older sister so he
doesn’t make you feel bad.
8. Everything is on his own time. You cannot entice him with prizes, rewards, candy, etc. He is willing to throw his most prized
possessions away if he does not want to do something. (Which makes telling him
“Mom will throw away your toys if you don’t pick them up” almost impossible.) He
is his own person, and does not need to be the center of attention. Most of the
time this comes across as being shy, reserved, or not interested. But the he is quite the exact opposite. He loves quality time talking with
people individually, especially if he is in big crowds. He amazes us when he
decides that to do things like finally dribbling the soccer ball (after trying
to get him to do so for the last year), as if he has played for years.
9. He is a GREAT big brother. We were a little uncertain how he would handle a new sibling
taking up his mother’s time. He loves him Mom and she sings him their special
song from Toy Story. However, true
to his character, he has fully embraced his role as a big brother. You’ll catch
him out of the corner of your eye gently leaning over to kiss her on the
forehead, or see him take the initiative to put her binky in when she is
crying...all on his own. He strokes his little sister’s hair and says I love
you Tates.
10. He is funny when it
comes to church and the gospel. He is not very interested in going to primary
and tends to get bored as he tells us. If there is 1 big thing we have learned
is he takes a lot more in than he lets on. We were told by the leaders in
primary that they were teaching about the 12 apostles. They had played a memory
game of all their names. When it came time for kids to remember them no one
knew the apostle Boyd K. Packer. In true #2 style when literally NO ONE
could guess he quietly raised his hand. When called he softy said BOYD K PACKER
as clear as day. It was hard to believe he really knew that but when it
happened again the following Sunday Quinton L. Cook Everyone was in awe. He
often tells me that Jesus will come to live with us again on earth and we will
one day die and live with him in heaven. He will tell me that Heavenly Father
is in his heart and ask me to tell him about Jesus.
He is our sweet boy and we love
him so much. He is a very unique and special person and is loved by everyone.
We look forward to the following year with him before he heads off to
Kindergarten. We realize our time is too short with our children and are
enjoying every precious memory he gives us as we feel it is a great gift and
blessing to be his parents and family.
