purt = put
par-tart = Pop-Tart
glubs = gloves
ganora bar = granola bar
biscetti sauce = spaghetti sauce
frockadile = crocodile
trocolate = chocolate
oppapuss = octopus
ga-forgo = forgot
upsided = excited
danilla = vanilla
Sunscream = sunscreen
You love to sing and have learned so many new songs this year in preschool. You love to sing the "days of the week" song and the "months of the year" song as well as Mr. Sun, "Itsy Itsy Spider", Baby Shark, and so many more. You also love to dance and especially love to shake your booty (and tell us you're shaking your booty); if music is playing, you're usually moving some part of your body to the beat (sometimes without even realizing it). You've learned left from right and know how to put your shoes on the correct feet (Daddy taught you how to line your shoes up so that they're on the right feet). You are a class clown and love to do things to make people laugh (hence the booty shaking). You are also a very sweet boy and hate to see people upset. You love animals (especially cats and dogs) and love babies - you will often go up to people to ask them if you can pet their puppy...or pet their baby!
You are very coordinated and athletic. You took gymnastics for a few months and loved it, especially jumping on the tumble track. You are a little guy (weighing only about 28 lbs) and are less than the 10th percentile for both height and weight, but you are so super strong, especially for how small you are. You love to run and jump and can jump pretty far. Daddy taught you how to throw a frisbee recently and you learned how to throw it correctly after only a few tries. You also are getting better at hitting a baseball, throwing, and catching. We still don't know if you are going to be right-handed or left-handed. You seem to prefer your right hand for eating or drawing, but tend to prefer your left for hitting or throwing.
You are getting better about loud noises, but still don't want to go back to swimming lessons because the pool is too loud. And some public restrooms (like at the airport) you still refuse to use the bathroom because they are too loud. Speaking of restrooms...you now will pee standing up (you're finally tall enough!).
You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to wear sweatpants and it's a daily battle with you right now since it's too hot to wear sweatpants. I finally had to hide your sweatpants in your closet to help with that battle. It could be 90 degrees outside and you would want to wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt outside to play! You also love to wear your pajamas whenever you can.
You still take a nap each afternoon and will sleep for a few hours. We still have you in your crib, but will probably be moving you to a big boy bed soon. You don't mind your crib and don't ever try to climb out, so we really haven't been in any rush.
You still have a bit of a temper, but we are learning how to handle it and teaching you how to better handle when you're upset. You would get mad and lash out with yelling, hitting, or spitting. Our reaction would be to yell or spank...not setting a good example. We recently discovered an episode of Daniel Tiger where Daniel Tiger's friend taught him how to handle being mad and it's been a game changer for all of us. The episode had the song, "when you're feeling mad, like you could roar...take a deep breath (inhale)...and count to 4...one - two - three - four (while exhaling)". It seems silly, but it has worked so well for you and us. You respond to the song and it gives you a few minutes to calm down and get ready to listen to us and make better choices. We talk a lot with you about making good choices and what bad choices are. Everyday we ask you how your day was and you typically respond with "I made good choices".
You love to be outside as much as possible and love to play in the sandbox, ride your cars around the back yard, or ride your bike. We think you might be able to ride without training wheels soon and are really working with you on using your balance bike to learn how to balance. We just need you to learn how to keep your head up and eyes forward and you'll have it (but you'd usually rather be looking down, behind you, or anywhere other than straight ahead).
Your favorite color is blue, you love mac & cheese, muffins, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. You prefer vanilla over chocolate or anything fruity like gummy bears or fruit snacks.
You love to play with cars, trucks, and tools and are starting to like to dress up in your different costumes. Your imagination has really grown and it's so fun to listen to you play. You often prefer to play by yourself, but also love to play with Graecyn (usually doing something to annoy her).
For your birthday, I decorated the house with car-themed decorations and streamers and you had your favorite vanilla muffins for breakfast (with candles in them). We surprised you by taking you to see Toy Story 4 in the movie theater - it was your first movie in a theater. It was awesome because we had the entire theater to ourselves (I guess not many people go to the movies at 9:30 a.m. on a Tuesday)! The movie was playing in 3D, which Daddy, Graecyn and I enjoyed. You didn't like wearing the 3D glasses though and refused to keep them on (I discovered half-way through the movie that one of the lenses was smeared with butter...no wonder you didn't want to wear them!). After the movie, Daddy played the claw games that were at the theater...and like usual, he won something for you and something for Graecyn! You got a toy motorcycle set and Graecyn won a stuffed unicorn. After the movie, it was home for lunch and a nap and then we headed to Rain Forest Cafe for supper. I wasn't sure if you would like the Rain Forest Cafe or if it would scare you (since you really don't like loud noises), but you loved it! Our table was right in front of the tigers and you loved it every time the animals made noise (Graecyn still dislikes it because the noises and movements startle her). We finished supper and headed back home for cake (you picked a John Deere themed cake) and presents. You got a new big fire truck that shoots ping pong balls, a toy laptop, new sandbox toys, and a Buzz Lightyear toy. Graecyn gave you a small stuffed monkey that you picked out from the gymnastics store (it is now one of your favorite toys and you sleep with it every night).
You had a great birthday and a great year! You have brought so much joy to our lives and I can't wait to see what's in store for the next year!
We love you buster brown!!
xoxoxo,
Mama
