Jack was all about being 3 and 3/4s, but 4 1/4 doesn't have quite the same oomph. Still, he did seem excited when I mentioned Monday was his "4 and a quarter" birthday.
Let me tell you a little about Jack at four and some change:
SCHEDULE/ROUTINE
It's cool to see how his concept of time and its structure has evolved over the past year. Last year, he associated his days at school with what that day's snack was (Waldorf is a proponent of rhythms and each weekday has a set snack and routine.) He would talk about how Mr. Ben the music teacher came on rice day. He never said Monday, but instead said "rice day." (Which then became quinoa day after the flare up over arsenic in rice.)
Well, the boy is now far beyond this surface level understanding of his weekly schedule. He knows that Sunday is church day and he talks about the order of his activities (which class first, what floor, and when snack happens.) "I go to school three days: Monday is the first day, then Tuesday, then Wednesday." Monday is quinoa day, Tuesday is yum-yum day (we've not graduated past calling oatmeal "yum-yum"), and Wednesday is baking day. "On Monday, I go to swimming lessons. Once there was a holiday on Monday and I didn't go to school, but I still went to swimming."
"On Thursday, I stay home with Mommy. Daddy goes to work." Fridays are the day with his sitter. Saturday he knows that we all stay home. During this past week of Mardi Gras, he would keep checking in on where we were at in the week, confirming that he wasn't going to school on his regular school days and making sure he knew when it was Daddy and Mommy at home vs. just Mommy.
He's also QUITE aware of his TV schedule. We've kept it to two days a week. He calls them his "Sam days" and usually wants his second Sam day to be right after his first. (I try to hold him off.) He LOVES watching TV and I love being able to line up Cora's nap and Jack's TV time. Jack's TV repertoire: Fireman Sam, Thomas the Train, Bob the Builder, and he's always happy to watch Barney Visits the Fire Station or any real life fire video/movie.
TALKING
This would be the most inaccurate update if I didn't mention, emphasize, and underscore that Jack NEVER STOPS TALKING. I used quotation marks above because he's recounted his schedule to me so many times, I can hear his voice clearly and feel quite comfortable quoting him. Jack talks to me, then switches midstream to talking to Cora, then segways into his favorite tune:
"F-I-R-E-M-A-N,
Fireman Sam, he's our friend...
Safest place I know,
Pontypandy by the sea
Welcome to our town
Where we all live safely
We all live safely.....F-I-R-E-M-A-N..."
You have to love a song that segways back into itself endlessly!
Jacob and I crack up at the dinner table as Jack earnestly recounts the happenings of his day, complete with exaggerated facial expressions, interrupting himself with lines like "This certainly is a lot of rice!" and chuckling at his own jokes. The majority of the time, I love listening to Jack. Now when Jacob is out of town or after several hours of being alone with Jack...it can become a little bit insane.
QUIRKS
Because Jack never stops talking, it can be hard to get a word in to discipline. We are hearing a lot of "But I was trying to tell you something!" when we are interrupting to tell him no or to reprimand. This genuinely frustrates him and he starts to cry.
Every night before bed we have to go through the following before leaving him in his room alone can be considered acceptable:
He is the most awesome big brother. If Cora is upset, he always pipes up to advocate that we give her the thing she wants. "Just give her the snack Mommy." He gives her hugs and calls her "his baby princess." She terrorizes him a good bit, smashing LEGO creations he's worked hard on, but he never retaliates. He's protective, attentive, loving, and despite their 2.5 year age span, they can have quite the good time together with silly little games they create on their own.
He continues to be a voracious reader. We have 30+ library books checked out at all times. I'm reading the Little House on the Prairie books aloud to him now and we are both loving them. (We're on book two.) His latest interest has been Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggy series. He continues to adore Berenstain Bears and Jacob and I somehow muster up the energy to keep reading them. Since he no longer naps, he rests daily for 30-40 minutes just flipping through a stack of his books. We read to him at least two times a day, but I know there are days I read 20 books.
He can ask some profound questions about death and life after death. He about broke my mom's heart by saying that he wanted to die before Grammy so that he could be waiting for her at the gates of heaven.
The best thing about Jack is his insatiability about life. He wakes up every morning full of energy and excited about the day ahead.
It's a rare night that I don't wish I could be a better mother, more patient, more in-the-moment, and more worthy of him and Cora. They can wear me out and wear me down, but when I stop to think, (like by taking the time to write this) I'm just in awe of how awesome they are and what a privilege it is to be their mom :)
SCHEDULE/ROUTINE
It's cool to see how his concept of time and its structure has evolved over the past year. Last year, he associated his days at school with what that day's snack was (Waldorf is a proponent of rhythms and each weekday has a set snack and routine.) He would talk about how Mr. Ben the music teacher came on rice day. He never said Monday, but instead said "rice day." (Which then became quinoa day after the flare up over arsenic in rice.)
Well, the boy is now far beyond this surface level understanding of his weekly schedule. He knows that Sunday is church day and he talks about the order of his activities (which class first, what floor, and when snack happens.) "I go to school three days: Monday is the first day, then Tuesday, then Wednesday." Monday is quinoa day, Tuesday is yum-yum day (we've not graduated past calling oatmeal "yum-yum"), and Wednesday is baking day. "On Monday, I go to swimming lessons. Once there was a holiday on Monday and I didn't go to school, but I still went to swimming."
"On Thursday, I stay home with Mommy. Daddy goes to work." Fridays are the day with his sitter. Saturday he knows that we all stay home. During this past week of Mardi Gras, he would keep checking in on where we were at in the week, confirming that he wasn't going to school on his regular school days and making sure he knew when it was Daddy and Mommy at home vs. just Mommy.
He's also QUITE aware of his TV schedule. We've kept it to two days a week. He calls them his "Sam days" and usually wants his second Sam day to be right after his first. (I try to hold him off.) He LOVES watching TV and I love being able to line up Cora's nap and Jack's TV time. Jack's TV repertoire: Fireman Sam, Thomas the Train, Bob the Builder, and he's always happy to watch Barney Visits the Fire Station or any real life fire video/movie.
TALKING
This would be the most inaccurate update if I didn't mention, emphasize, and underscore that Jack NEVER STOPS TALKING. I used quotation marks above because he's recounted his schedule to me so many times, I can hear his voice clearly and feel quite comfortable quoting him. Jack talks to me, then switches midstream to talking to Cora, then segways into his favorite tune:
"F-I-R-E-M-A-N,
Fireman Sam, he's our friend...
Safest place I know,
Pontypandy by the sea
Welcome to our town
Where we all live safely
We all live safely.....F-I-R-E-M-A-N..."
You have to love a song that segways back into itself endlessly!
Jacob and I crack up at the dinner table as Jack earnestly recounts the happenings of his day, complete with exaggerated facial expressions, interrupting himself with lines like "This certainly is a lot of rice!" and chuckling at his own jokes. The majority of the time, I love listening to Jack. Now when Jacob is out of town or after several hours of being alone with Jack...it can become a little bit insane.
QUIRKS
Because Jack never stops talking, it can be hard to get a word in to discipline. We are hearing a lot of "But I was trying to tell you something!" when we are interrupting to tell him no or to reprimand. This genuinely frustrates him and he starts to cry.
Every night before bed we have to go through the following before leaving him in his room alone can be considered acceptable:
- Switch closet light on. Leave door generously ajar.
- Ask him how many kisses he wants before we go to bed. (We get numbers like "400 closets full" and "1,000 10-hundred"
- Tell him that we promise to leave the closet light on. All night long.
- Promise to tell him when it's morning, even though 99% of the time, he is the one telling us that it's morning.
- Promise him that we'll tell the other parent "all of these things" and that "we won't forget any of these things."
- Start to leave..."One more thing Mommy!" Listen. Say "okay...goodnight" a few more times.
He is the most awesome big brother. If Cora is upset, he always pipes up to advocate that we give her the thing she wants. "Just give her the snack Mommy." He gives her hugs and calls her "his baby princess." She terrorizes him a good bit, smashing LEGO creations he's worked hard on, but he never retaliates. He's protective, attentive, loving, and despite their 2.5 year age span, they can have quite the good time together with silly little games they create on their own.
He continues to be a voracious reader. We have 30+ library books checked out at all times. I'm reading the Little House on the Prairie books aloud to him now and we are both loving them. (We're on book two.) His latest interest has been Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggy series. He continues to adore Berenstain Bears and Jacob and I somehow muster up the energy to keep reading them. Since he no longer naps, he rests daily for 30-40 minutes just flipping through a stack of his books. We read to him at least two times a day, but I know there are days I read 20 books.
He can ask some profound questions about death and life after death. He about broke my mom's heart by saying that he wanted to die before Grammy so that he could be waiting for her at the gates of heaven.
The best thing about Jack is his insatiability about life. He wakes up every morning full of energy and excited about the day ahead.
 |
| Flowers for Mommy |
It's a rare night that I don't wish I could be a better mother, more patient, more in-the-moment, and more worthy of him and Cora. They can wear me out and wear me down, but when I stop to think, (like by taking the time to write this) I'm just in awe of how awesome they are and what a privilege it is to be their mom :)
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