My lovable, cuddly little guy is 4.5. It is hard to believe that 5 years old is just around the corner for him. He's still my little guy…he kept 1.5 inches ahead of C in the last six months, but they are close (and C outweighs him by several pounds). I refer to them as my little twins, since people ask me that fairly regularly if we are out-and-about.
He is a fairly happy-go-lucky guy. He can generally play with either sibling very well. He plays trains and Star*Wars with his little brother, or he and E will have some adventure that they go off on. It is fun to listen to them and their imaginations.
He loves school. He loves to add. He's constantly asking, "What is 6+6" or something of the sort. He's even getting so that he can answer his questions. He's a smart little guy. His coloring skills and tracing skills have grown by leaps and bounds this school year. His fine motor skills have really developed. He spends a lot of time coloring with us while E and I have school. He also loves to play with the different math manipulatives…creating pictures out of pattern blocks or tangrams. He loves learning and doing. At this age, E loved learning by reading…X will read some chapter books with us, but mainly he likes look and find books or other 'normal' picture books. Chapter books really aren't his forte yet. Learning styles are interesting….as are differences between boys and girls and siblings.
Games are still a favorite pastime. However, the games have changed. Busytown is no longer the favorite. Now, he loves playing XWing with Jut or the GameCube with Legos Star Wars. He'll humor me and play a few rounds of Spot It. Occasionally he wants to play Labirenth…but if he can play XWing, that is his game or Lego Star Wars. He'd play the GameCube all the time, if we'd let him. He is his father's son!
He loves watching TV. He'll spend most of the morning watching PBS kids, if I leave the TV on. It is another way that he shows that he's Jut's son. He's not the outdoor kid that he used to be, but as his allergies are not getting better, it isn't surprising that the indoors is a preferred location.
Biking is very fun outside, but he gets frustrated with his younger brother. C likes to play 'bumper bikes' and X doesn't have enough control on the 'big' bike and hates C's interference as he usually ends up in the grass.
He is starting to read things and recognize words. It surprises us each time it happens. I haven't really worked with him at all. E does from time to time but mainly he's picking it up all on his own. I'll start formally teaching him reading in the fall when we start back up with school. Jut gave him an incentive to learn to read this week. X wants to have his own Poke*man deck and we told him that he has to be able to read before Jut can teach him how to play. He may learn to read much quicker than E with that incentive!
Allergies are still a headache. He ate a few cashew crumbs back in February that Jut brought back from India and that landed him in the ER for the afternoon. He's always congested right now. He drives Jut nuts when he's eating with his inability to breath through his nose. Dogs are seeming to initiate asthma attacks. He had a really hard time over Thanksgiving and last weekend had trouble again. However, the most recent attack happened several hours after exposure to the dogs and may (or may not) have had something to do with eating bell peppers. I just documenting it so that I can remember to ask the allergist…his dislike of peppers may be more than just a dislike since he's claimed before that they make his tongue feel funny and he had an asthma attack immediately following eating a pepper. But, we shall see. Things to watch…the fun side to being a parent.
